━━ splatoon oneshots ✦
can't you see that I need your love?
I need you for it, for it, for it, together for me~
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Did you think back then we'd be here? Guiding others in our shoes?
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NOTES ! . Reader is implied to be an inkling/octoling (3 hearts)
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YOUR FEET beat against the ground as you make a break for the Seashell Stage, narrowly escaping cool EDM chords echoing from the Urchin Stage. You know exactly how you want to start your festival.
Stepping through the stalls, you try your best to shield small fry from the sight of mouthwatering noodles and tacos, but you fear that your stomach rumbling gave it away. Even so, the salmonid doesn't leave your arms, only looking up at you with a curious and sympathetic look. You waltz by Spyke with a nod, and the shady urchin stands to follow you, giving you a grin and a two-finger salute. You don't say anything as you walk together, your anxious steps in sync as you reach the platinum tent. Despite the large opening in the front of the tent, you can feel the humidity radiating from the inside. The greenhouse effect has nothing on 50-some festival-goers giving their all with their moves. The crowd is calm for now, Without A Dop-Doubt humming through the speakers as they wait for the next performance. You and Spyke part ways, the urchin opting to stay back where it's cooler as you push through the crowd of sea creatures to reach the middle.
The heat-soaked concert hall reminds you of summers long gone.
The mob is filled with small lights, cute ravesticks that wade through the colors of the rainbow. Each audience member's glowstick is a different color, no two sticks are in sync, and the disorderly array makes your head swirl with excitement. You try to wrap small fry in your shirt to free your hands, wishing you had bought a lightstick or two to cheer with. Someone knocks into your shoulder, a tall anemone with baby pink curls and nearly 20 lights held captive in her tentacles. Your mouth goes dry at the sight, both out of her fresh style and her lighting arrangement. The anemone glances at you over the top of her shades, her eyes drawn to your empty hands. She grins and pulls two light sticks out of her hair, quickly wrapping your hands around the handles.
"Gotta show your support for the sisters!" She shouts over the buzzing of the crowd, sending you a smile that make your hearts pound. You can only smile back, nodding excitedly. You both turn to face the stage, your attention captured by the hissing of machines. A familiar piano melody starts up, and the crowd comes to life as fog machines blast mist onto the stage. As the fog clears, you feel heat pool in your chest, something hotter than the desert air surrounding you.
"Helloooo Splatlands!"
The Squid Sisters are timeless pop idols of the mid-12,010s, not a day could go by without hearing one of their familiar tunes caroling on the radio, and for good reason. Their debut single, City of Color took Inkopolis by storm, with producers praising the girls' melodious voices and sweet harmony. Their talent was nothing new in the everchanging city, but the charm they presented with it is what captured the public's attention.
Callie and Marie's movements are fluid, in satisfying sync, a far cry from their very first performances you've seen only seen on camera. Their voices are cooler now, they've matured past their blue spring, but those years still rest within their hearts. The guitar riffs and added piano suit the tone now, adding a twist to the song of your youth.
City of Color is a reminder of old Inkopolis, a song that calls your memories to surface from under the waves. The feeling of nostalgia is warm enough to bring you to tears.
It's a reminder of cool summers spent on the battlefield, with hasty rock and chiptunes practically etched into the speakers. Of hours spent at the shabby old arcade console, trading places and watching others reach high scores never seen before. Of sweet splatfest squabbles under the starry night sky, of glorious concerts and crowds that dance without a care. Of—
Callie and Marie flash a smile at each other, something saccharine and swift, like the burst of bubblegum.
Of high tensions melting away to harmony.
The Final Splatfest of Inkopolis Plaza brought underlying public opinion to the spotlight. While most squids participated in Splatfests to fight for the theme, the idea of fighting for your favorite idol remained present. When Callie Vs. Marie rolled around, it asked the question on everyone's minds. Which Squid Sister reigned supreme?
Even after Marie's overwhelming victory, and the promise of "Squid Sisters forever!", the air had changed. Stage and update announcements grew stiff and practiced, losing the luster of their usual friendly competition. And when the girls parted ways to pursue other avenues of entertainment, so did their audience. The entertainment industry is like the tide, in that way, always pulling and pushing performers in different directions, while the audience watches from the shore. You can only wonder what it was like for the two idols on stage, to be driven apart by their own audience.
And yet, 2 years later, they returned. A few songs to grace the public with some surprise appearances at Off The Hook concerts, and the Squid Sisters were back. Despite only returning with a few songs, they captured the media's eye once more with interviews, podcasts, and acting roles. With every new avenue taken, they did it together.
As you watch them spin on stage, though, you can't help but fluster at the thought of their bond growing even stronger after the Final Splatfest. These sea-born idols you've admired so much, emerging from a path of trials... Was this the future they fought for? The present they sing so tenderly for?
You suppose they're Team Past because without their past, they wouldn't be here today. Performing together once more, hand in hand, voices united. And you think that can apply to you as well.
If not for the places you've been, the people you've met, the choices you've made, you wouldn't be you. You wouldn't be here in the way you are now. The person that you once were, a world that belongs to you within your memories. The past is yours to keep.
With one last wave to the crowd, the cousins strike their iconic pose and smile, walking away as fog covers the stage once more.
The crowd cheers die down, a tender smile on everyone's face. People come and go like the tide, looking for a different performance or awaiting the next one. You trudge through the horde and make it out to the other end, the desert wind greeting you like a sweet kiss. You lock eyes with Spyke and he nods, walking along with you back to the main stalls.
"Sweet as yesterday, innit?" He croaks, running a hand under his nose. Seems you're not the only one nostalgia's made a fool of.
"Y'know," He murmurs, waving to his protege in the distance, "Murch's gonna be headin' off to see Off The Hook, y'could tag 'long."
"After all," The urchin glances down at you, granting you a quick grin.
"THE PRESENT WAITS FOR NO ONE."
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NOTES ! . I LOVE THE SQUID SISTERS AGGHGHHH . I hope I have enough juice to write the other 2 after this..... . I should write a Spyke oneshot lol
