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Post by Carmilla on Jan 23, 2016 9:53:44 GMT
In one of the more busy corners of the mall, a new shop had recently opened up, taking over the shell of a body works shop that gave up hope. The person behind it wasn't really anyone particular, at least from the name.. if you were an Inkling, of course. If you were from Octarian society, maybe you'd recognize, stop and wonder: "how on earth did a vampire squid end up in Inkopolis?"
She'd like to ask herself the same question, but that was just how things went.
The shop's exterior is decked out with a dark black sign illuminated by a single blue light: in white letters, it reads "Abyssal Arts Studio & Customization Shoppe".
Beneath, the glass doors are hung neatly with bells and a single sign that, from 11 AM to 6 PM, reads "Open for Business!" in a rather cheery font.
Inside, it's dimly-lit, but rather cozy. Warm orange lamps light the corners, giving a homely feel to the place. On the walls, there's paintings of cities, people, and everyday life, but splashed with a neon-on-dark palette, which pops quite pleasantly against the black walls.
(In a quiet corner, one frame in particular houses many little clippings from the Octo Valley Gazette, showcasing a lot of coverage of important art and culture exhibitions.)
The main pieces on show, however, aren't paintings or reminders of home, but rather, they look like turf war weaponry! The models are familiar, but that's where the similarities end.
Sitting out front is a Hydra Splatling, painted in vivacious shades of blue with sharp pink details looking reminiscent of the city skyline. Nearby, there's a few Splattershot models showcased, flames and ferocious krakens playfully decorating them. There's even a Bamboozler Mark II up for show, colored in a surprisingly similar palette to the more exclusive hero replica gear.
There's even a few shirts and goggles that look familiar to the eye.. but now they sport quite different accent colors, such as a hoodie branded tastefully with bright green splatters.
(You could swear that these little details glow in the dark as you look over them, how neat!)
Sitting at the only desk to be seen is . . . an Octoling? No, she doesn't quite look like one, now that you get a closer look at her. Her tentacles are small, curled close to her body, tipped with tiny blue lights, and two little fins slowly wave from atop her head. Whatever she is, she certainly doesn't look like she's from around here.
Decked out in a red dress of many shades, she appears to be busy, carefully painting twirling golden details onto the handle of an Inkbrush Nouveau. . . but as you step closer, she looks up. The smile she gives you is slight, but genuine, her eyes faintly reflecting the light.
Gently putting aside her tiny paintbrush, she sits up a little straighter to meet your gaze.
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Post by Cathy on Jan 24, 2016 18:41:41 GMT
You think you know what it feels like to be me, but really you haven't got a clue Aah, the sun! Cathy had always loved it. It was true that it was only her second time in it's light, but she had heard rumours about it when she was little and, despite what the other soldiers said, she had believed that it was real and a symbol of joy and peace. She was currently in Arowana Mall, window-shopping or whatever her friends had called it. There were many clothes shops, and they seemed to always be bustling with fashion-obsessed inklings. Cathy rolled her eyes playfully as she passed another example of it.
However, she was uncomfortable with the sideway glances that she was getting. Geez, do they have nothing better to do?! It's not like they've never seen an Octoling before! Maybe if I just ignore them, they'll stop it... She tried this tactic, but, after twenty more frightened looks, she gave up. She saw a group of boys her age, who seemed to be looking at her like she was a grenade. One of them was jamming on his Isquid's screen, which startled Cathy greatly. Desperately looking for an escape, she darted into the nearest store and hid behind a flower pot.
That was when Cathy began to realise what particular store she was in. It was decorated in a flashy manner, and many weapons were on display. Although, as Cathy got a closer look, they seemed to be different from average weapons...
"Ai! Welcome to Abyssal Arts, my name's Carmilla. Just looking, or do you need something?"
Cathy jumped as the voice spoke. She looked for it's owner and gasped. Standing behind the counter was Carmilla the vampire squid. Back in Octo Valley, a girl named Lily would often tell the littler ones about Carmilla the vampire squid, who would come to your beds at night and suck out your ink. She even had showed them pictures of her, but the older ones would scoff and accuse Lily of making up stories and faking photos. But standing before Cathy was the inkling in the pictures, and Cathy was determined to overcome her fear. She nervously walked up to Carmilla and mustered up the boldest face she had.
"Excuse me," Cathy squeaked, "But are you Carmilla the vampire squid?"
paint. [ TEMPLATE CODE HERE] |
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Post by Carmilla on Jan 25, 2016 1:14:49 GMT
It had been a bit of a quiet day so far, so hearing the door open with a soft jingle of bells was music to her ears! Up until this moment, Carmilla had been spending the day working through her commissions, a half-cup of chamomile tea in hand's reach.
(The first few times, it had been a bit of a mistake to drink tea while working, as she'd end up wetting her brush in the tea.. but she had learned to just place it on the opposite side of the desk.)
She bowed her head politely, since it wasn't exactly easy to do that or much else while seated. For that brief pause in conversation, she looked over the young octoling, giving her a warm smile. Her guest certainly put a lot of emphasis on asking her what her species was, though.. most of the time, nobody really took the time to ask.
Winking once, Carmilla looked back to the mockups that lay neatly on her desk, before taking a sip of tea.
Either way, it had started to dawn on her that there was something a little off about a single octoling like this, traveling alone.. it wasn't exactly the safest thing to do, especially if you were unarmed. Hopefully, this girl wouldn't just run off after getting the answer she wanted.. Carmilla always wanted to try and provide a sense of support and community for her kind if at all possible.
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Post by Cathy on Jan 25, 2016 12:38:22 GMT
YOU THINK YOU KNOW WHAT IT feels like to be me, but really you haven't got a clue "Yes, dear! Camilla Pyroses, at your service! You know, you say that, but I'm really more like you than any squid. It's just the common name that happened to stick."
Well that explains a lot. Like how none of the photos were of her sucking out anyone's ink. But, nevertheless, she's still a vampire, so she...Eek! Cathy watched, horrified, as Carmilla began to drink something out of a cup. However, as she put it down again, Cathy realised that it was only tea and sighed in relief. Then she noticed what was ling on the other side of the counter. An Inkbrush with twirly gold patterns on the handle. As Cathy began to get a closer look at what was on display, she found that all the weapons had intricate designs painted on them. She especially liked a certain design, which were rainbow flames all over a Splattershot Pro.
"Hey, do you paint custom patterns onto weapons and gear?"
Cathy was beginning to like the shop that she had found more and more every minute. A little short, but cathy got over her fear paint. [ TEMPLATE CODE HERE] |
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Post by Carmilla on Jan 25, 2016 18:55:48 GMT
She hadn't missed the rather funny look she was given as she drank her tea, and Carmilla could only return a questioning, lopsided smile and a raised eyebrow. It wasn't anything super new to her, of course -- after all, her parents had named her after a vampire from a human story, finding the tale and character to be quite a charming one. In retrospect, the name rather suited her, she figured.
But it wasn't of any worry, since myths were things for only children to fear, and such fascinating ideas tended to bring in even more customers!
Having contentedly returned to detailing the inkbrush, she looked up every-so-often to follow her visitor's attention around the shop.
Granted, she hadn't ever worked on a scooter, but she had worked on a few bicycles, even a car once. It hadn't been all that bad, it was just a matter of having a patient client and finding a medium that would stick.
The sharp whistle of the tea kettle in back made Carmilla visibly perk up, and she sighed silently as she put down her paintbrush again. Well, at least she wouldn't go dry any time soon, especially since this had been her last cup from the previous batch.
She quickly ducked into the back office and put the teabags to soak, then returned to her seat, holding on pretty closely to the train of thought she had going at that moment.
And a knowing wink. That wasn't like her, opening up so easily to a new customer.. but what could she say? Between the kinship and the mutual understandings that came from that, and the slight entertainment on her end from that superstition, it was being a bit hard to not start fading into the role she usually took at home.
She was just doomed to be the perpetual older sister figure, it seemed.
(Not that she minded, of course.)
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Post by Cathy on Jan 27, 2016 15:21:09 GMT
You think you know what it feels like to be me, but really you haven't got a clue "That would be correct! Weapons, gear, your everyday clothes, your best friend's old scooter... if someone can imagine it, or at least describe it, I can probably do it. It's done almost entirely on a by-commision basis, so if you had anything in mind, or any other questions, honestly, just ask, dear-"
The sound of a whistling kettle came suddenly from behind her. Carmilla went through a door which, Cathy guessed, led to the kitchen. Now alone, she sat on a nearby sofa and sighed. Carmilla wasn't much different from her. They had both been expected to be something they were not, so they came to Inkopolis to escape the prying eyes of the army. However, Cathy was supposed to be looked up to, while Carmilla was supposed to be feared. Suddenly Cathy was brought out of her thoughts as Carmilla returned.
"There's a pot of lavender tea in the back. No ink or anything in it, I promise," Carmilla gave her a small wink, which made Cathy's remaining fear vanish.
"Thanks, Carmilla," Cathy replied, "For being so nice to me. Back in Octo Valley none of the soldiers were. They never even called me by my real name, it was always 'The Silver Octoling' or 'Mavaru's cousin' or-"
Cathy stopped. Her eyes grew as round as saucers. She had just given away her biggest secret, and now she was going to pay. Carmilla would tell the Elite Octolings where she had been coming, and the kettle that connected Octo Valley and Inkopolis would be cut off. She had destroyed her new life, just because she had been stupid enough to forget what she had to always keep a secret.
"NoNoNoNoNoNoNo!" Cathy's eyes began to water, "NO!!!"
She sobbed uncontrollably. She had ruined everything. whoops, Cathy (s.o story in application) paint. [ Template Code Here] |
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Post by Carmilla on Jan 28, 2016 5:30:38 GMT
As she went to go seat herself again, Carmilla took a second to get comfortable, pouring a bit of sugar in her tea as she stirred it and blew on it.
"It's never a problem, being nice," she answered softly, a hint of nostalgia in her expression as she turned back to her current project once again.
"It's not often I see other Octolings.. they remind me a lot of myself when I had just left for college, really. Being alone in a place I've never been before.."
Honestly, it was a little easier on her than all of the others that either moved out here or regularly visited, but the feelings were still there. If there was anything she could do to make things a bit better, she always had it on her mind.
"Hm?"
Carmilla had only been partially-listening, and as a result, didn't particularly think too deeply into what Cathy had said; but the sudden outburst was quite enough to get her to focus closer on the conversation.
"Ah.. please don't cry. I'm not going to tell anyone," she offered, looking at the kid with a concerned frown.
"I don't really care what you are or where you're from, to be honest." A shrug folded her shoulders for a second.
"These days, the only thing I really have to do with Octo Valley in general is donate to quality-of-life charities.. keep up a bit with the music scene, check the news, call my parents. I'm not interested in the military or any of that, so.. reporting you wouldn't do either of us much good. You're safe here."
It was a little hard to believe that this kid was supposedly a soldier, either. Wasn't she a bit young for that? Or was the defense forces seriously recruiting children nowadays? Had they gotten that desperate for troops?
The thought made her heart ache a little in her chest; they were too young, too fragile, too impressionable, with so much ahead of them..
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Post by Cathy on Jan 29, 2016 14:49:42 GMT
you think you know what it feels like to be me, but really you haven't got a clue "Ah.. Please don't cry. I'm not going to tell anyone. I don't really care what you are or where you're from, honest."
Cathy stopped sobbing.
"Y-you won't?"
Cathy felt awful. Of course she wouldn't, she's your friend. Although she may not be now... Cathy sniffed and wiped her eyes.
"Sorry about that," she mumbled, "It's just that I expected anyone from Octo Valley to alert the military if they found me. Now I probably should explain why I got so worked up. Oh, and could I go and get myself a lavender tea?"
Cathy got up, walked to the door leading to the back, and went in. She soon came out with a cup of steaming liquid in her hand. She sat back down and began to speak again.
"You see, being the Silver Octoling is a big deal back in Octo Valley. Not as big a deal as being the Golden Octoling, of course, but almost as much. I've been in the army since I was four, as everyone expected big things from me. I'd even go and fight when my troupe was called, but I was naturally put with an elite octoling to keep me safe. The thing is though, I have never, and never will be, good with shooters. That surprised the lot of them, but Octavio said that I would learn over time."
Ten years later and that time has still not come. I was in Skilled Troupe B, and the leader, Siamica, is as rotten as...well, rotten. If you don't do well, she throws you off of Glowlight Plaza with no respawn pad, and that's not a figure of speech! I've never been thrown off though, because Octavio would kill her, and frankly I'd prefer it that way. But anyway, one day Evie mocked her tactics, and we never saw her again.
Now, back to business. When Octavio was defeated, she was put in charge of all Octolings. And do you know what she did? She said that she was going to kill all Octarians who weren't Octolings in the army. She claimed that it was for 'the better of Octo Valley'. She even boasted that she would track down all Octarians living elsewhere and find a way to lure them into a trap of death. And, she said that most of all, she would murder the agents who defeated Octavio."
I hated that for many reasons. First of all, I was secretly glad that those inklings had stopped our plans. They had won the war fair and square, but yet here we were grumbling about 'how our victory was taken away from us' and all that nonsense. Second, all my friends, The Flooders, would be nothing but scrap metal. My only true friends, gone forever because of some stupid law. Third, there were many innocent Octarians, like you, who had done nothing wrong. They would all be gone too. That law was stupid, I thought, and something needs to be done."
"Then it hit me. Of course! Now that most of the higher Octolings had been killed trying to stop the agents, I was the only Metal Octoling left. I knew that they 'needed me to regain what was lost', so the only solution was to disappear. I didn't want to commit suicide, though, so I ran away to Inkopolis. There, now you know."
Cathy was out of breath, and her mouth was feeling dry, so she sipped her tea.
"But enough about me," she said once she had sipped enough tea for a few minutes, "I want to know more about what you do in this shop!" sorry about that heap of backstory paint. |
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Post by Carmilla on Jan 30, 2016 2:56:31 GMT
"Don't worry about it. You're here for a reason, I trust you. And go ahead, just don't burn yourself."
Watching Cathy as she darted around the counter and prepared herself a cup of tea, Carmilla added, "The sugar and cream are clearly marked if you wanted any."
For the time being, she turned her attention back to her current project, flipping through the notes and mockups so she could match it with as much accuracy as possible. At one moment, her shellphone blipped gently, once again distracting her from work; she blinked and tended to the message.
"how's work today? [ -- Aila <3 | 3:34 PM]"
"nothing special. having tea w/visitor & working on commishes", she tapped out, a gentle little smile on her face, and her gaze went back up to meet Cathy as she moved back to find a place to sit. There were a few chairs seated in front of the desk, fairly soft and plush to the touch.
".... Since you were four? Oy vey. But go on."
Clearly this was going somewhere, though, so she refrained from asking too many questions for now. She merely listened, slowly grinding her teeth along one another.
Most of these names, bar the king's, were pretty unfamiliar to her. It had been awhile since she had actually checked the newspaper, so, outside of what was documented in the news or in popular online media, Carmilla was, sadly, not as caught up as she wanted to be.
But.. if all of this was right -- and she had valid reason to question, since this girl was maybe fourteen or fifteen at oldest? -- then it was probably best to start digging for details once again.
"You mean Octavio got overthrown after his defeat? That's rubbish," Carmilla briefly commented, an annoyed leer in her eyes.
"As far as I remember, he was always either prominent or leading things back when I lived in the valley. The whole zapfish thing was kinda.. not his best decision, it could've been more diplomatic, but otherwise, he's always had our best interests in mind."
She wasn't sure whether or not to buy the idea that the supposed new leader wanted to completely militarize everything, though. That seemed.. a little too harsh, especially since there were (from what she recalled) a good amount of families without direct military ties.. and so she just sighed, now watching with more interest.
Honestly, this was a lot of information to take in at once; something to sleep on, to be fair. Letting Cathy finish her tale, Carmilla made a soft "hm", cleaning her painting utensils for the time being.
"That's... quite something. I wish I could understand you a bit better, really; I was a spoiled only child who never had much to do with fighting or politics, my parents did their best to keep me out of it. I do really appreciate all the stuff you've told me about, though, since I'm.. a bit out of touch, honestly.."
Breathing a sigh, she looked over to her phone as it beeped again to announce a message, but that could probably wait. If it was important, her fiancee tended to get really impatient about things.
At least this was a much nicer topic to talk about.
"Well, I like to think it's nothing terribly special, really. All the folks who're really into sports bring their stuff here, and I give it all a custom paint job, with price varying on complexity and materials. Weapons, ink tanks, clothes, shoes, hats.. that's the usual sort of thing. It pays really well, since there's plenty of teenagers running around with too much pocket change and a huge need to make their look match their sway.
Earlier this year, I covered one kid's entire vest in sequins."
She snickered softly, winking once.
"Sometimes I do canvas prints, too, or.. whatever else a client might want me to try and paint for them, honestly. Anything, as long as they pay and are really specific. I worked on one of the Splatfest vans once, that was a blast."
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Post by Cathy on Feb 4, 2016 14:17:22 GMT
you think you know what it feels like to be me, but really you haven't got a clue "You mean Octavio got overthrown after his defeat? That's rubbish!"
Cathy suddenly realised that what she said hadn't been correct at all.
"No, he wasn't overthrown. Come to think of it, he wasn't even defeated. You see, if he had maintained his fury throughout the battle, maybe things would have been a little different. But, as he watched Mavaru die to the hands of the agents, something happened. Something in him snapped. He then pretended to explode, and arranged his robotic clone to look like it had been knocked out. Then he escaped through some secret exit. But, he didn't come back to the military. Instead, he concealed himself in the deep underground domes, and all he does down there is remix human songs. Last time I heard him he was making some rap version of 'Under the Sea'."
Cathy giggled at the memory. It had been hilarious watching Sciatica's look of horror as the bouncy human song flowed through the room as she was lecturing Cathy about 'healthy eating'.
"Hm? Oh, that sounds cool! I wish I had that much talent!" finally got it done, sorry for the wait paint. |
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Post by Carmilla on Feb 6, 2016 1:34:49 GMT
Well, that was certainly what it had sounded like at first.. if that wasn't the case, she could be a little less wary on the topic, then? A look of consideration went over Carmilla's expression for that moment; she had to be careful about what she said here, at least. Didn't want anyone to know more. . . important information.
"I.. see. Well.. whatever the leadership situation there is right now, it sounds like it's in need of help. Yet Inkopolis just sits and continues to push at the borders with its agents, never doing any good.. nobody's going to get pleasantry out of it."
Lightly rubbing her temples with a hand, she rose from her seat, taking the Inkbrush and moving it to a stand where it could dry for the time being.
"I'm sure you have plenty of talent, you just haven't found where it is yet. If you're not good at art, maybe you're just good at something you've yet to try."
Taking a moment to tap out a message to her fiancee over the phone, something occurred to her.
"Wait, if your overseers don't know about your deserting.. do you just live out around here, on your own? You're awful young to be doing that." Even the most troubled of her roommates had some support through her childhood by means of aid programs.
Although, maybe it wasn't the best idea to be asking this, because then she'd get concerned, and then she'd get involved. Technically, Carmilla already put a cut of her profits towards efforts that supported Octo Valley and its amenities, so it wouldn't be too out of the question. . . but she couldn't get hasty.
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Post by Cathy on Feb 7, 2016 19:53:43 GMT
you think you know what it feels like to be me, but really you haven't got a clue "Yeah...the leadership business could use a little work. And no, I certainly don't have any talents, besides messing things up, that is."
Cathy sighed, for she believed that everything she had just said was unfortunately true.
"Hey," Cathy said, suddenly having an idea, "Could you customise my Octo goggles for me? Oh, and maybe even an Octobrush? I'd be the freshest player on the battlefield with your amazing patterns!"
Cathy waited for Carmilla to answer, and began to think up conversations to start while Carmilla (maybe) customised her headgear. wow that was really short paint. |
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Post by Carmilla on Feb 9, 2016 7:36:10 GMT
 | who died and made us stars? ☆ our millionaire flair and our antics, we're like mirrors seen through smoke.. |
It was a shame she couldn't do anything about the whole leadership issue, but.. well, it was something to think about in the future. Not really worth mulling over it too much right now.
"I most certainly could," Carmilla answered, leaning over her desk and looking over the goggles. She was quite familiar with these, assuming they were the standard model.. Taking them with the same caution as if handling glass, she turned them over a bit before neatly setting them back down.
"Both this and your Octobrush?
Certainly, and although it won't be free, all my work is twenty-percent off for anyone under eighteen years old. As such, it should be fairly cheap.
What did you have in mind?"
Cathy ☆ testing format 1 2 3. paint. |
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Post by Cathy on Mar 12, 2016 10:24:50 GMT
you think you know how it feels to be me, but really you haven't got a clue "Well..." Cathy looked around the shop and spotted the rainbow flames that had caught her attention before, "How about some flames? That seems nice. Oh...I haven't got my Octobrush on me...ok..."
Cathy twiddled her thumbs nervously.
"Maybe I could send my Octobrush here for patterns? That would work, right?" paint. |
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