Nyxie's Writing Prompt Thread

This thread is just gonna be filled with little stories fueled by WavePearl's weekly prompt thread.

Though most of the prompts are Pokémon based, I will bounce off other fandoms as well if the prompts seem to fit.

Also, I might go back and do older prompts if I feel inspired to write about them instead.

 

"..."

"Well...?"

"... I don't hate it."

"See? What did I tell ya?"

"Shut up."

Sierra ignored her smug, laughing roommate and simply focused on her reflection.

The play was supposed to be a story about two Pokémon who saved the world. But in order to make it watchable, they decided to use human actors and have the students simply dress up as Pokémon to compensate.

Sierra was supposed to play Turtwig, one of the main characters in the play. She didn't have high hopes for what her costume would be like, but her expectations were blown away. Instead of using a Turtwig onesie or a big cardboard suit, the costume designers opted to humanize the design while still making it recognizable as a Turtwig.

Her outfit consisted of a thick bulky fabric that was reminiscent of something she'd learned about existing in Ancient Sinnoh. Long green sleeves and pants with yellow gloves and boots at the end. A brown fabric sash wrapped around her waits, tying into a small bag that was surprisingly big and functional for a mere decoration. A round cape hung behind her back with the grass-types shell pattern on it. A red neckerchief and golden pin sat on her neck, denoting her as a main character. And in her hands was the top head sprout, which would be added to the ensemble once she got her hair done up in a bun.

"And here you didn't wanna have Atticus make you your costume. You're practically drooling on it now!" Chimed Soleana.

"Am not." Sierra insisted, closing her mouth. "... but fine. I will admit, the goon's got some skills."

 

(This is part of the Cyrus Guild Stories. But since its so short and follows the prompt thread I will put it here.)

"Due to circumstances beyond my control..."

Eleanor crossed her arms.

"We are now stuck in this spider web."

Eleanor raised a slow, unbelieving eyebrow.

As her two team members fidgeted under her her red gaze, she accessed the situation in front of her. Webs were not an uncommon obstacle in the infested walls of the Grand Hollow dungeon. Bug-typed monsters roamed these walls and many of them liked to spin webs, either as a 'base' or as a trap for uninvited visitors.

Case in point.

The two McGeoghan twins were suspended high above the ceiling, so high that even with Nore's freakishly tall stature, they'd be able to stand comfortably underneath them. They were splayed out some uncomfortably wide and open while also being entirely too close to each other, like an aerial version of that 'twister' game that she saw once. As if the situation wasn't weird enough, Julie has somehow managed to get herself to fall upside down. All of this still visible from the thick strands of web that entangled them.

"There's a reason why Xy says you shouldn't fly in the dungeons." Eleanor said, not changing her pose. "I thought you'd listen to him, given that he's also a bird and all."

"Can ya blame me?" Julie said. "I-"

"Probably best to not continue that sentence sis," Jolie spoke up, cutting her off.

Eleanor simply facepalmed. I'll try to get you out." Wisps of ghostly fire began to surround her.

"Woah woah Hey Hey!" Jolie yelled, seeing the fire. "Isn't that a bit much, Boss?"

The Banette smiled serenely. "Due to circumstances beyond my control, I have no other choice but to do this. Now hold still."

 

(Splatoon OCs. I'll probably elaborate on them a bit more in future posts)

"Polo?" Rae entered the living room. "Are you here?"

The living room was a mess. Crumpled sheets of pad paper overflowed the tiny trashcan by the table. The few sheets of non-crumpled paper had scribbles all over them from different colored pens. Said colored pens were scattered on the table, with some uncapped. A bass guitar leaned precariously on the couch, and the throw pillows were clumped together in the middle of the couch.

"Marco..." Came a weak, warbling noise from under the couch cushions.

Hiding a smile, Rae made her way to the couch. She reached into the depths of the tiny pillow fort, and pulled out a tiny yellow octopus. "There you are,"

"You found me." Polo weakly chuckled, waving his little tentacles around.

Rae frowned, seeing his unusually low mood. "Are you alright?"

"No..."

She hummed, fixing the cushions before sitting on the now clear couch. She set Polo's swim form down, letting him comfortably shift back into Octoling form beside her.

"Its just..." Polo raked a hand through his tentacles. "None of the words are hitting right. I have a tune, I have an idea, but nothing is working the way I want it to go!"

Rae picks up one of the non-crumpled sheets of paper and gives it a read. She hides a wince. Multiple words and phrases are scribbled out, rewritten, then scribbled out again using various ink colors to signify whether he or she would be singing those lyrics. She may not know the exact tune planned out for this particular draft, but it just looked bad. Worse than any of the other things hes written before for sure.

Polo is still rambling as he fixes where his bass is. "Lottie isn't here, so I can't really ask her for help. But I shouldn't need to! I've been a backstage hand to other artists. I've even been one to the King himself! Words should come easy to me! Not like this!

Oh. Oh no. Polo was spiraling. She'd never seen him do that before, but Vance did and she knew how to help. "Hey, hey. It's alright. Writer's block sucks and it happens to everyone. No need to beat yourself up about it." She wrapped an arm around the shorter Octo's shoulders and pulled him close in a little side hug. "You've written amazing things for the band already. This one little bump isn't gonna change that."

Polo smiled as he snuggled into the inkling's side. "Heh. Thanks... I needed that... You know, You could be a great counselor like that."

Rae snorted and flipped a tentacle. "Psh. Please. I have enough problems already, I don't need to listen to strangers problems too."

Polo laughed at that, and Rae began to smile too. "You feeling better?"

"Heheh, kinda." He looked around the living room with a wince. "But, I don't think I can go back to writing just yet."

"Then don't write!" Rae stood up, before wishing she didn't so she could stay by his side for a bit longer. "We could do something else. How about we go for a quick game of Turf War? What do you think?" She asked, clasping her hands and looking at him. "Maybe beat up some fools instead of beating yourself up for this."

"Was that a joke?" Polo smiled as he got up. "Well, I could use the exercise. I'm in."

 

(Oh this prompt is perfect for the Cyrus Guild stuff. The characters featured here haven't been properly introduced in the guild's main thread, but they will be coming eventually.)

"I SWEAR we passed by this pot earlier!" Sparkle yelled.

"And I'm telling you, theres just multiple pots in here! They just look the same!" Harley shouted back.

This was Team Treasure Bound's first mission as an official Dungeon Team of the Cyrus Guild. Excitement was running high in the group. Their first mission was a simple one. A client was passing by the entrance to the Cotta Dish dungeon entrance when they tripped and accidentally dropped a small chest of treasure into the dungeon. She couldn't retrieve it on her own, so she asked for a team to go retrieve her lost item.

Unfortunately, it seemed like the team itself was the one that got lost.

"We can't have possibly encountered the same pot twice!" Harley's cheeks sparked in annoyance. "Here," He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a piece of paper, shoving it to the Emolga's face. "See!"

"There's nothing to 'see' there! You didn't even mark it or anything!" Sparkle protested, her own cheeks sparking as she pushed the paper aside and got into the Pachirisu's face.

"Wait, you guys have been relying on a map?"

Both arguing members turned to look at the third member of their team, Jacq, who was leaning on his hammer while they argued.

"Duh," Sparkle flipped her hair. "We don't wanna get lost on our first outing. Could you imagine the embarrassment?

"Indeed." Harley nodded. "Lewis of Back bust was kind enough to give us a map, and it'd be stupid of us not to use the advice of our elders."

"Right..." The Tinkaton leaned forward. "But didn't the guilmaster say that were was no true way to map the dungeons?"

A pause.

"WHAT?!" Both electric-types shouted in unison.

"Eeyup." Jacq said, popping the P as he leaned back. "That was one of the first things that they told us. No two journeys in the dungeons are alike. The rooms and stuff change with every visit. Looks like someone hasn't been paying attention during orientation." He flashed them a lazy grin.

"And you didn't SAY ANYTHING?!" Sparkle's cheeks sparked dangerously.

Harley took a deep breath and let out a forceful exhale. "Right, so we can't rely on this and we have to find our own ways out?"

"Yep," Jacq got up and swung his hammer over his shoulder, making the motion look effortless. "By the way, you guys were both right. There are lots of pots here, but we've passed this particular pot at least 3 times now. Lets try not to make it a 4th." With that the fairy turned around to the path from which they came from.

"... I'm gonna kill him." Harley decided, clenching his fist and crumpling the useless map in it.

"Who? Lewis, Jacq, or whoever the heck made these things exist?" Sparkle couldn't help but inquire, the last bit talking about the dungeons itself.

"All of them if I had to." Harley sighed before following after Jacq. Hopefully they can get this mission done soon...

 

(Splatfest themed! But not based on the current splatfest because that hasn't ended yet. I'll probably write something about that tomorrow when the results come out. For now, have this. Also Splat OCs because duh.)

'Spicy vs Sweet vs Sour'

Every time a new Splatfest theme was announced, a hubbub was sure to arise. Everyone wanted to know what your stance was on the topic, which side were you on and whether you were ready and willing to fight for that team. No one was truly free from the chaos that it caused, even if they weren't planning on joining.

Case in point,

"So! Which teams are you planning to join?" Lottie opened the question up.

She was with her friends, enjoying some nice greasy food truck snacks when the announcement of the Splatfest went live. Almost as soon as the broadcast ended, Lottie turned to her friends and asked.

It wouldn't take too long for them to respond.

"Well, I think I'd be able to join the Splatfest this time around." Polo (her cute fellow Octoling) chimed in first. "I'll be joining Team Sour."

"Really?" Rae (her pretty Inkling friend) looked surprised. "I would have never pegged you for a Sour guy."

"I thought you didn't like Splatfests," Vance (her handsome Inkling friend) spoke up, a rare feat for him.

"Well, we finally have a Splatfest I can actually participate in," Polo gestured to his tentacles, which were permanently yellow. "And I actually have an opinion on this one. Sour foods are great! They give a nice little-" He snapped his fingers. "Zing to things. It's really refreshing!"

"Well, good for you," Rae said, looking a little green at what Polo was saying. "I'm Team Sweet all the way. Sweets are the best thing, there's a reason dessert is so popular! Nothing ends a meal better than a nice dessert." She ended her argument with a little flip of her tentacles.

"Mmm. Spicy. It makes the food tastier." Vance said, turning his light blue tentacles to a deep red.

"That and you like the pain." Rae said pointedly.

"And the pain is good." Vance nodded along, changing back to his original colors.

"What about you Lottie? Which team are you going to join?" Polo asked, bringing the question back around to her.

"Huh?" Lottie pointed to herself. "Which team am I joining?"

"That's what he asked," Rae said a little unnecessarily.

Lottie didn't mind her. This question was just a really hard one to answer. What flavor did she like the most? She liked all of them! She was a big foodie and she liked all the tastes equally.

She can't really pick by colors either. Pink was her favorite and default but she wasn't really restricted by it. All the colors looked nice anyways.

Maybe she should choose by the idols? Nah that wouldn't do either. Shiver, Frye, and Big Man were all awesome in their own ways, and she's been on all their teams at least once.

But what if she picks on which of her friends is joining which team?

Oh no, that's the hardest one of all.

Polo was a fun dude, her first friend since who knows how long and an Octoling to boot! He knows at least some of what she went through before they met the other two. Joining him in his first ever Splatfest would be so fun! And he was really cute to boot.

Rae was a reliable girl. She's felt more love from her friendship than she ever did with her sisters. Girls gotta stick together and they'd probably rock the purple-pink ink together. And she was really pretty.

Vance is a passionate fighter. Out of everyone here, he was the most experienced in turf and battles. He's less sociable but he can definitely guide them to a great big victory for their team. And he was one handsome devil.

Oh. They were all staring at her. While she was busy trying to think of the pros and pros of everything, her crushes friends were all waiting for her answer.

She chuckled and shrugged her shoulders, blushing all the while. "I don't know yet. It's not an easy decision."

 

I am working on their stories a bit. The main stories would be posted in the Cyrus Guild Archives, while silly prompts will be posted here. I'm glad you're liking my ocs and their stories!

 

(Heres another small story segment thats posted out of order because Im not done with the things that came before it. But it was my first day back at school so I thought it was fitting.)

Korami leaned against the boats railing, sighing happily to themselves. The cool sea breeze rushing through their hair, the warm sun above them, and the droning rumble of the ships engine all felt very peaceful. They could probably sit on the deck for hours without a care in the world.

"There you are Kor," Korami opened one of their eyes to look. Mirako (their dubiously related friend/family member) approached them. "You disappeared almost as soon as we set off!"

"Sorry," Korami said Mareepishly, "I just wanted a bit of space, y'know?"

"Yeah, that tracks." Mirako nodded. "Mind if I stay with you?"

Korami scooched over a bit so that Mirako can sit near them. The other trainer leaned on the railing beside them, and they both pointedly ignored how the boat was now tipping over on their side.

"Hard to believe we've been at Blueberry for an entire semester." Korami spoke up.

Mirako looked to the horizon. It was hard to see at this distance, but xe thinks xe can see the slightest glimpse of the academy's underwater terrarium still. "I'm going to miss it a lot..."

"What of it?

"Everything."

Korami snorted and smiled. "You and your tech based obsession,"

"It's genetic," Mirako replied, eyes twinkling with an unspoken inside joke.

The two of them shared a laugh with each other before looking out into the horizon.

"... It's gonna be weird going back to Mezagoza Academy though." Mirako mused. "The schedules are wildly different"

"Yeah... not looking forward to that." Korami quirked a smile. "But I can't wait to see Nemona, Penny, and Arven again!"

"True," Mirako matched their smile. "The video calls were not enough, I'd like to see them in person again too."

"Nemo's gonna be so jealous of how strong our Pokémon got!"

"No, I think she's just going to keep us in battle for the whole day when we arrive."

"Okay yeah, but can you imagine if Penny had joined us?"

"I'm not sure if she'd trap herself in her room or if she'd never go in it..."

"Right? Oh! We should totally have Crispin and Arven have a cook off!"

"You just want to have a big meal."

"Like you wouldn't enjoy that too,"

"I didn't say anything about that."

The two of them spent the entire rest of the journey that way, talking about the inevitable reunion with their friends and classmates, and what else they can expect in the future once they got home.

 

To Lillie,

Hey cousin. It's been a while. How are you doing?

Recently, a mail room has been opened in the academy. When I heard it had been opened, I hurried to be the first one there so I can send a letter to you.

I'd been meaning to write to you for a long time. Mom and dad wouldn't tell me where you'd gone, but I finally figured out where you were. I'm sorry it took so long to reach to you again.

Recently, I've become an exchange student to the Mesagoza Academy of Mesagoza Paldea. Director Cyrano thought I'd be a good fit to represent the academy for the exchange. They placed me in the Uva House to replace one of the students that also went through the exchange. I will be studying here for the semester. The language is a bit hard to grasp but I am doing my best!

I think you would like the Mesagoza Academy. I know you like fantasy stories more than the sci-fi ones I like and this academy fits that! It's made out of an old castle that royalty used to live in, actually royalty! Almost every room is big with an old-timey feel to it, it feels like I'm going on an adventure every time I walk the hallways. I may have gotten lost and late on occasion heh.

But Paldea is great too! I didn't know how much I could miss the color green. Blueberry has a terrarium but I think you were right. It's not the same. I've been meaning to see more of it as a part of our term projects. They said there are 10 great sights in Paldea and I hope to see them all. I'll try to take plenty of pictures for you to see too!

I wish you were here. It's been a year and I still don't know why mom and dad moved me to Blueberry academy, or why they stopped talking about you. I tried to ask but they never say anything. I can kind if guess what happened based on the address I'm sending this to, but I want to hear it from you. What happened?

Either way, I wish that you can see all the sights with me, but for now I'll just have to send you the pictures I take.

I hope this reaches you well.

Stay safe.

Your loving little cousin,
Tomo

 

(another Splat OC thing. But they're different characters this time)

Mackie stood on top of a small, hastily built stage in the middle of the Grizzco Industries lobby. She stood perfectly still, almost statue-like with how little she was moving. So frozen in fact, that from underneath her ink-tinted glasses, she can see that not a single employee entering the room noticed her on stage.

How amateurish. If she had been a threat she'd have splatted all of these fools the moment they stepped in. That was a terrible thing to do when out Salmonid hunting, but also in regular battles. Ah, but now was not the time for terrorizing the new recruits. The room had filled up quite nicely now. It was the time to empower them, while also giving them a bit of a fright.

"Ahem," That one simple sound startled the gathered employees as their heads darted around the room to look for the source. Fine. Let's make this easy for them. Mackie took a step forward, instantly gaining all of their attention.

"Welcome, welcome my fellow coworkers and employees," She greeted them, a wide unnerving smile growing across her face. "Thank you all for coming to our very impromptu and sudden meeting." She couldn't help but smile wider as some of the gathered crowd began to talk nervously converse amongst themselves about her sudden appearance.

"Now" She started, gaining their attention back to her. "While we are very thankful for all the hard work our employees do to get us our Golden Eggs, we've found that there have been a few... issues when it comes to your firepower and survival." Some winced at that notion. What wimps.

"Fortunately, we have heard your concerns and are working hard to remedy this." She grinned. "In fact, we have one of our new solutions right here," She walked up to a stand covering something with a white sheet, which was also just getting noticed by the crowd.

"Though, before we begin, I must tell you that what you're about to witness should NEVER go out of this room." Mackie emphasized. "Doing so will break the contract you signed with Grizzco during your employment and will be the basis for immediate termination. Contract and otherwise. Are we clear on that?" She flashed her unnaturally sharp teeth to the crowd, reveling in the fear it sparked in their eyes.

"Excellent." She clapped. "Now, let me reveal the latest in Grizzco Technology!" The veneer of a cold intimidating spokeswoman seemed to shed off, revealing an almost crazed excitement for what was underneath the sheet.

In a flourish, Mackie unveiled the item underneath. It was a peculiar item. Those who entered Turf Wars a lot could easily pinpoint the basic shape of a Blaster made by the Custom company. But modified in a bizarre way. The iconic fire decal casing that surrounded the nozzle was removed, revealing many dangerous looking wires. Three little pill bottle-shaped things poked out from the top, with a swirling gold liquid inside of it.

"This beauty is the Grizzco Blaster." Mackie took it off the pedestal and held it in her hands, like she was a natural at wielding it. "This baby can shred through enemy Salmonids in a heart beat." She then smiled sardonically. "But I'm not one to make statements without merit so let me show you how it works."

She got off the stage and entered the buildings warm up arena, a place were waiting employees can get a feel for the currently available weapons and for the lesser Salmonid's bulk. She grabbed a Ring Tank from the side and filled it with her signature green oozey ink, before turning to the crowd behind her.

"Though it may look like a regular Blaster, this baby is far more explosive than that!" She slapped its top. "It's range is like the Luna Blaster's, but it fires even faster than the Clash Blaster!"

As she spoke, she went closer to the Salmonid bumpers they used to mimic the actual fishes. She aimed the Blaster at the small group of Smallfry balloons and fired.

BAM!

In an instant, all the bumpers popped. After a few moments they filled up with air again and Mackie responded in kind.

BAM!

Shredded.

"But I'm aware these are the weakest of the Salmonids. As they infladed again, Mackie crushed one balloon under her foot, reveling in the satisfying pop it made. "So let's see how the other bumbers act, shall we." A dangerous, manic grin grew on her face.

For the next minute Mackie displayed the weapons capabilities to its fullest potential. Like she promised, the Blaster was even more insane than a Clash Blaster, with powerful bursts firing out almost every second. The sound of pops and splats echoes in the arena as even the bulkiest Cohock bumpers died to the blasts.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Soon, Mackie was done evicerating the bumpers as she turned back to the stunned and awed audience. As much as she wanted to break them some more, she knew she'd have a chance to do it another time. For now... "And that concludes our meeting." She said, falling back into the almost professional stance she had earlier. "You may find the Grizzco Blaster present in future rotations alongside the normal weapons you all are used to." She lowered her head almost solemnly.

"Remember. This information must only stay within Grizzco's walls. If not," She raised her head again, a frightening glint shining through her glasses and a sinister grin on her face. "Well, you've seen what it can do..."

Then almost abruptly, it disappeared. "Good day everyone." She said, concluding the meeting.

 

Lottie was a person who loved easily. From people to objects to places, she always found a reason to deeply admire and respect the things around her. Whether it be something as grand as the whole concept of life itself, or as insignificant as a pretty looking shape, she found ways to appreciate and adore the things she saw.

Lottie loved the outside world. After 13 years living in the underground caverns of Octarian society, the outside world was something that she couldn't believe she was in. Even after spending the last 5 years on the surface, it still took her breath away every time. The bright blue sky, with calm cooling winds and the warm sunlight on her skin, it was a far cry from the industrial and sometimes stuffy atmosphere of her birth place.Everywhere she looked, there was so much color and life, she felt energized just being in its presence. Both Inkopolis and the Splatsville had their own unique charms to them that she just couldn't get enough of. She'd love to explore the world more to see everything she could, but she also wanted to enjoy every bit of these places before she moved on.

Lottie loved her guitar. She never thought she would be a musical person, even though her King was a musician himself. But ahe couldn't help but be curious with her friend's playing, she he decided to teach her. It was relaxing and emotional. Sometimes it was hard to express what she felt without accidentally overwhelming the people that heard it with jumbled words and phrased, but there was no need for that in a guitar. Under her fingers, the strings themselves can tell a story far better and with more reach than her voice ever could. She didn't mind the growing callouses on her fingers and didn't care much for the debate on which guitar was better, she could lose herself in the music and enter an experience that's truly her own.

Lottie loved the Turf Wars. It was exhilarating, adrenaline pumping alongside her ink as she tried to claim ink and victory. There were no recreational Turf Wars underground, and she was too young then to even participate, but she wished she could have tried this battle sooner! With a Dualie in each hand, she could go one for so many rounds before she was ready to sleep a restful sleep from it. She had no intentions of doing it as a full time job, there were too many other things she'd rather do, but it was fun to step into the arena every once in a while.

Lottie loved food. She had always been a big eater, though she always toned it down so the rest of her big family could eat. Here, where she had her own money and no one to stop her? She can finally indulge. The food of the surface was something unique and exotic in her tastes. She loved to eat it all. But at the same time, nothing could compare to the nostalgic Octarian dishes from her hometown. Fusion cuisines were her favorite, taking her taste buds on an experimental joyride to see what the best foods were. Some didn't end too great but she can't simply choose which one was the best dish!She's made lots of friends this way and has even become a regular in some of the best restaurants. One day, she fears she'd have taste it all, that nothing will be new or exciting to her anymore. But thats a future thats still a ways off, she'll enjoy the rest of these as best as she can.

Lottie loves her friends. She had been terribly lonely as a kid. A middle child in a family of 5 and simply one of thousands of unremarkable Octos, she clung to any and all connections she could find. Her family was fine, but she still wanted something more. And more she did find. Shes made many friends and acquaintances in her life but three are very special to her. Polo, an Octoling who knows what she went through, who stood by her side as they braced the brand new world together and introduced her to her new favorite hobbies. Rae, who helped spark a four-way friendship and the band that came from it, who was a master at making her feel special and pretty and was not afraid to stand up for or to her when necessary. Vance, who seemed so standoffish but also knew and understood where she came from, who had taught her how to turf and opened his heart to her as she did to him. She loved them all equally and treasured them like they were the sun.

Lottie was a person who loved easily. But easily doesn't mean she didn't love deeply. And that, she knew, was one of her best traits.

 

Aegean huffed as the computer began it's slow, unyielding update process. Another thing that has been reported to HQ for months and still hasn't gotten fixed. Another thing that he and the rest of the crew would have to deal with for the length of their journey.

Really. Was it too much to ask to have a slightly faster and better computer? This thing ran the spaceship they were in, you'd think it'd be a top priority on their repairs. For star's sake they were literally in a space hub a few sun rotations ago and they didn't bother to update this?

Terrible. The computer didn't even have the decency to allow it to be left alone while it updated. If it shut down for any reason, the whole update was a bust and it'd have to try again from the top.

Resisting the urge to slam his head into the module, Jackson picked up the book, needles, and yarn he brought with him. It had been a pain not being allowed to tinker on any parts of the ship. Something about accidentally frying the circuitry or something. He was no amateur but 'extra precautions' had to be made while flying in this hunk of junk. Honey, bless her soul, recommended crocheting to him and even allowed him to borrow some supplies she had with her so he can practice. He did not do well with idle hands and learning something was always pretty fun. Maybe he can even create a funny hat to put outside of his space suit with it.

Making up his mind, he sat down next to the console and began the difficult but oddly stimulating task of creating the start of a pattern through the space suit's gloves.

-

"@#&^^@ DAMMIT!!!"

Hunter looked up from his task as a scream of rage echoed throughout the space ship. "Who wants to bet that the console shut down in the middle of updating again?"

"That's a loser's bet Hunt," Sage rapped her clipboard on his head. "Get back to work."

 

(I'm baaaack. Here's a little something from the Cyrus Guild.)

"... It's been a year, huh?"

Arthur sighed a deep and somber sigh. His hands clenched around the mug of Wiki berry tea he was drinking.

"I thought I would be prepared for this... but I guess not."

The old Alakazam had a complicated relationship with anniversaries. They were lovely things, celebrating the passage of time and the progress that has been made then, but karma always had a way of making things less than what they could be. Sometimes, the anniversary of a happy occasion would be interrupted before they could get to the celebration. Other times, anniversaries of dreary occasions would get prolonged for more than what would be appreciated.

Though the situation was usually dour, he at least had someone to be with, to share the burden of the event.

Not this one.

Not when he was the only one who even knew of the anniversary at hand.

Arthur was proud of his photographic memory. It was something he honed over the years and something that saved his and his team's skin more times than they could count.

But it also made remembering a lost loved one more bittersweet.

A year ago, down to the exact hour, Arthur was meditating and preparing himself for the day ahead. Suddenly, a vision occurred to him. He saw his dear friend and guild master, Laslow, deteriorating over the next 3 months. In a flash, he saw his ghostly friend resemble death more and more. He saw the family he had built around himself and his guild collapse alongside his terrible health before he finally passed on to the afterlife.

He cancelled his plans that day. He found Laslow, about to head to the dungeons, dragged him to his office, and laid out everything that he saw in is visions. He should be more careful, the fates of many others lie in his own fate and he should stop so that he could be with his family for longer. After he was done, Laslow had only one thing to say.

'If the great Light sees it that it's my time to go, then so be it. In the meantime, I will continue to do what I do, and that is to help others.'

It inspired and infuriated Arthur to no end. Laslow may have taken some of this advice to heart, but the Dusknoir was a stubborn man. He fought and he fought until he could fight no more. The guild collapsed alongside him and everything was in shambles when he finally passed away.

... oh... his tea was floating.

Arthur centered himself, forcing himself to calm as the tea fell back into the mug he was holding.

Stubborn man as he was, Laslow knew two things that he hadn't forseen.

The power of hope, and the faith in the future.

Though the guild collapsed, his son Xy was able to bring it back to the world kicking and screaming. Though he feared that no one would stay, he did and many others remained to build it up to what it is today.

The guild wasn't as big as it once was but it was big enough to keep it going.

Hm... when was the last time he'd visited his grave? Perhaps it was time to visit his old friend, tell him how they were doing 9 months later.

At the very least, he could have some private time with him before the actual anniversary.

 

(More Splatoon stuff. Yippee!)

Polo panted heavily, tentacles sagging as he tried to catch his breath. "I am not cut out for this..."

"Aw, cheer up Polo! You did great!" Lottie cheered, draping over the much smaller Octoling in a hug.

Polo found himself in a place he never thought he'd get to join in, the Splatsville Battle Lobby. It was a reality he had accepted a long time ago. He had a medical condition that prevented him from switching his ink color, always staying a brilliant golden-yellow color no matter what he tried to do with it. Since most ink-based activities and careers required being able to change ink colors on a whim, he thought he'd never be able to participate in the world's favorite festival.

That was, until today.

"Maybe if you exercised a little, you could do this more," Vance muttered, still loud enough tat he could hear it over the festival music outside.

Rae punched Vance on the shoulder, looking quite cross, before turning to him with a smile. "Don't listen to him, you did great Polo!"

"T'was a joke." Vance grumbled. "But yeah, for your first ever game, that wasn't half bad." He addressed him.

In spite of his exhaustion, Polo couldn't help but smile brilliantly at that. When the current Splatfest was announced (Shiver vs. Frye vs. Big Man), Polo originally felt the same way he did with most splatfests, picking a side but not fighting on it due to his disability. But when Lottie pointed out that Frye's ink color was the same as his own, his friends all pounced on him to join them. Even though none of them originally wanted to be on Team Frye (Rae and Vance wanted to be on Team Shiver while Lottie wanted to be on Team Big Man) they all casted aside their initial picks so that they could join him on his Splatfest incursion.

Since it was his first Splatfest (and really first time playing Turf War) they gave him a very easy job. With an Aerospray RG from Vance's collection, all he had to do was keep out of enemy sights and paint the floor to help everyone else out. Simple on paper, but a lot more complicated and exhausting in practice.

Still, it was fun finally trying something he'd been barred from for so long. And seeing his friends all don his own yellow on their tentacles in spite of what they wanted to pick did something to his heart.

He was so blessed to have them.

"Thanks guys," He said, blinking away the tears before they dropped. He held his loaned weapon and tried to get in a ready pose. "Lets get to the next battle?"

"Not so fast," Rae interrupted. "You were just about to collapse a moment ago. We can take a longer break."

That got a round of approval, even from the eager Lottie and the battle-hungry Vance, and Polo felt flattered again, he felt a little guilty for holding their group up with his own inexperience, but they were offering. "A-alright. We can stop for now."

(In case anyone was wondering, I ret-conned some previous stuff about them for this. Team Sour's yellow was too different from Polo's own yellow and this Splatfest did not exist when I first made that one.)