captains log:

...bastard. that was my grand reveal.

rule 1: never trust a pirate :3

but now its out, what have i got to lose? i hope you're ready for this.

i am the notorious captain ambie. here: only a whisper. but back in my homeland, i was part of the infamous golden phoenix crew - the very ones to steal the crown jewels!

i fled from my homeland in 2022, arriving in inkopolis after train-hopping and stowing away on cargo ships. not the most exciting journey but i had to lay low with half a damn kingdom turning every rock looking for me.

growing up there, i remember the hatred towards the royalty and their draining tithes - yet nobody dared say a word against them. one shady inkling would, after the taxes had been collected, come to my family and slip us some coin or spare food. he would sit with me and tell stories of sailing the seas, fighting off royal guard and plundering their treasures. it was then i decided i wanted to be a pirate. maybe i just wanted to try to help, maybe i wanted more.

one night he came looking beaten and bruised, he handed me a box without a word. we never saw him again.

"Follow your dreams, kid."

i have so many stories to tell, but i'll save the bulk of them for another time. pretty good bounty though huh? wonder if i could get it higher... do they even do bounties in inkadia?

...alright, funs over, hate to break it to you but we never actually got out with the jewels. if you asked anyone else on the crew they'd say they themselves got out with it - buried it somewhere to avoid the heat. but no, they sank along with the rest of the fleet; if they even left the castle walls.

as much as i'd love to, im not gonna lie and tell you i played a big part in the plan either. my ship was more fodder, a distraction. turning me in would be worth a whole lot more if they thought i was one of the ones behind the plan. but the taste... being so close to infinite riches...

i suspect now that the word's out im gonna have to watch my back a lot more, but let it be known to any wannabe bounty hunters:

i'll be worth a whole lot more soon. try me then :3

hours and hours spent inking turf, taking photos with friends, singing along with the Now or Never Seven, when i feel my phone buzz in my pocket.

"Amber"

"vala? everything ok?"

"I"

im beginning to worry that something happened to her, so it's in this moment i head to the urchin stage and turn my head to look to the dunes. with the golden sun beginning to grace the sand i look up and see not one silhouette, but two. the beast and her angel, lured by the Seven's song.

"i,, don't know what to say. im so happy for you. ill keep my distance, but message if you need me to do anything, anything at all"

"Come up, I think she's asking to see you"

i've put our conversation in lost logs.

well, grandfest is really close. i can't believe its all coming to this. this might be the biggest event of our lifetime.

recently i've only really head back to inkopolis for the fests, and the end of the last catalog. i do miss hanging out with my friends as much as i did back when i first moved to splatsville but turf and anarchy just haven't been on my mind as much as it used to, and thats okay. there's always more time - in the future :3

oh, yeah, the big run! i went back for that too. it was so so crazy, defending the grandfest venue all together working towards a quota gave a sense of community that feels hard to come by these days. the end result was mindblowing - i mean one and a half billion gold eggs? thats a lot of energy to store.

this is only a short catch up for my thoughts before the fest, but i wanted to do something for you guys that read my blog :3

Past, Present, or Future?

if past wins, i'll be honest and share something from my past, that none of you know.

if present wins, i'll do a catch up with all the happenings in the archipelago. the allmother, greentail isle, kaito, etc.

if future wins, i'll tell you my end goal :3

so, what'll it be?

endless past, present, and future span.

it's been a little while, sorry. haven't adventured anywhere new in the time i've been gone - just keeping vala company and trying to help angel.

where are we at now? she's still... flying around wildly. a couple incidents at greentail, no major injuries. a lot of nights of me and vala sitting on the rusted beaches of titan's rest by a campfire, listening and watching out for a glimpse of her among the stars. we do leave food and water and stuff out for her and she has been taking it so, thats good at least.

wisp told me they're working on something that'll potentially lead to some help, but i haven't heard much recently. they're not the easiest person to contact.

in brighter news, the grandfest just got announced! past vs present vs future. all throughtout this mess of recent events ive found solace in keeping my eyes set on the future, finally getting to talk to angel, seeing her and vala together again.

i've been thinking about asking vala and angel to join my crew, once this is all over. merulina might need some renovations, but i'd love to have them with me. if they wanted to, of course. i've still got more sailing to do and well, squids out of the bag already so, i've got a riddle to solve.

a little about that, actually: i've been thinking about it a lot and the poem reads "upon its surface, untold blue, a soul's reflection, a crystal's view." and i mean, its definitely made from crystal, but the reflections are all weird. it looks like its reflecting an ocean (and yes, i looked while i was inside) which i would think is the "untold blue", like an uncharted ocean. only problem is the water looks almost green? unless its more metaphorical.

anyways. expect more posts about the grandfest, its an event i dont wanna miss. i only wish angel could be there to see it too - apparently she's always been a big idol fan.

What she had Become launched a wailing leap at vala, splattering ink on impact with the cockpit's glass. the heat from the sputtering sting ray burned a wing and an arm and she recoiled in pain. upwards she vaulted, gliding with her back to the ground in a graceful, slow somersault. for a moment it was almost.. calm? vala was silent, her mech lowly humming, and i was stood entranced by angel's wings undulating in sequence. the moment passed, and she bolted towards the door we came in through.

out of respect for vala i'm going to leave out a lot of details, but i spent a bit of time in the dome consoling her, explaining what exactly happened and what she looked like etc. i got wisp's message and from what i can gather: they (octothorpe) were giving her some experimental drug to use her as a weapon in part of their "security forces".

after vala had calmed down (and the rest of the place was wrecked) we exited through the door we came - no doubt more octarians were on the way eventually. along the way back to the surface was a trail of blue ink hitting the walls, ceiling, and floor of the tunnels.

so, that's it. we freed her.

saved? im not sure.

"things will be ok, just different." i reassured vala.

hey, at least wait for me??

take a pitstop at titan's rest, service your mech, and we'll go together.

vala, please.

I'm not waiting any longer.

just let me catch up.

I'm going to shred the fuckers. I will burn, crush, and splat every last one of them. You tell me where Angel is.

i'll look for any controls, and Wisp wants me to copy their files while we're at it - maybe we can figure out why they wanted her.

in a maintenance tunnel, right before a door. no doubt it leads to behind the screens that line the walls of the domes - all the ones ive heard of have them at least.

breathe.

three...

two...

one...

the door instantly buckled under the force of the Beast's thrust, a screen sent tumbling down into an open facility. three giant, shielded cylinders sat adorned with pipes near the centre of the dome, surrounded by countless technicians and computers.

a red flash.

"Targets locked"

above the technicians, on one end of the dome, was a raised platform dotted with armed guards and mounted weaponry. before i could even take in the situation fully vala lept down, crumbling the floor under the mech's weight. the scanner on the front blinked like a strobe, soon after her sawblade-grinding arm careened through the crowd covering every visible surface in ink.

one of the guards noticed me still up on the railings, and turned their gun towards us.

"vala!"

a brief pause, gears and servos grinding, a red flash, she raised the other arm and out of it fired a VERY overclocked stingray. the sound was so loud and disorienting, i had to stop and pull myself together for a moment. as soon as i turned to look again there was only puddles - and vala was back to swinging. though her stingray arm was smoking and sputtering ink, clearly in disarray.

i jumped down, hop followed me too. running up to their computers, i picked one at random and plugged my phone in to start sending data back to my server. controls controls controls...... i saw nothing.

"WHERE IS SHE?"

"i... i dont know!"

"FIND HER"

"maybe the vats in the middle??"

spin, scan, swing. they were heavily shielded; she wasn't making a dent. "oh!" at the push of a button, the shields began to raise and alarms began to blare.

vat 1: scan, "Unknown". a mess of strings or... tentacles or something. jerking about occasionally but it was too foggy to see more.

vat 2: scan, "Angel". foggy, again, but i could kinda see a curled up inkfish. didnt matter though, she'd be out soon.

SLAM.

"careful, vala!"

SLAM.

"dont hurt her!"

SMASH. the fog spilled out onto the platform. the Beast stepped back in recoil, regaining its balance.

as the cloud began to dissipate i laid my eyes on her for the first time: she glowed blue, ink swirling like her special was active, slumped over with her head in her hands.

"ANGEL?" but this... this couldn't be *her*.

"ANGEL???" thats. not possible

"IT'S ME, VALA!" she heard that one. her fingers parted to give her vision, her gaze trembled it's way to vala, and...

uncoiling from her back, with strings of ink falling down, rose six great wings.

Thank you, ambie.

vala, where did you go?

you cant be going there already?? we dont even have a plan???

/// Broadcasting Message... ///

Know the following:

For every second you have kept her from me.

For every moment you have caused her pain.

I will not stop until the total annihilation of

Every.

Last.

Bastard, cooped up in your pitiful domes.

Until the earth caves in, burying everything you've ever loved, everything you've ever known,

There will be no mercy.

"...lower splatsville...

75... 76...

vala you close by?"

"Yes."

the sky was black, the streets lit only by streetlamps. one, two, three, four, then a flickering one. in the moments of light - a figure. i stepped forwards.

a hood covered their eyes and they had a tangled mess of puffy black tentacles protruding from their chin. my heart was pounding.

"Show it."

i opened the latches on the treasure's ornate wooden box, and lifted the key by its thread, inside swirled visions of ravenous waves and untold shores. the man smirked with approval, and i put it away.

"the girl?"

"Octothorpe has her. They're a splinter of the octarian army."

"where do we find her?" a red flash scanned the both of us, causing the man to take a defensive stance, "security." i reassured him. he loosened, continuing on to tell me where i can find one of their domes.

"Better run off quick. The longer you take, the worse your chances." (he smiled as he said this, that disgusting-)

i handed him the box and immediately walked out of the lights, down the quiet road.

"vala? is it working?"

"Hold on... Yeah, check the radio page."

look, vala, im sorry. im not sure i should tell anyone about the treeasure, literally nobody knows about it.

Then what about the letter?

i dont know.

What even is it? Why do you think it's more important than Angel's life?

its... a key

Really? A key? You're hesitating to hand over a fucking key?

fine, look, you really wanna know?? hell i havent even whispered this to hop.

it was given to me a long time ago, by someone who isn't important.

And?

im typing it up, hold on.

here:

Sky fallen key,

ebbed, and flowed,

a whisper over the waves,

hidden - a code.

Upon its surface,

untold blue,

a soul's reflection,

a crystal's view.

Follow your dreams, kid.

- Goldsmith Thorne

thats the note thats in the box with it.

Sky fallen? Soul's reflection? What the fuck is this fairytale on about?

its... not exactly wrong.

What the fuck does that mean?

i wish i could show you.

when we find angel i'll show her.

vala?

i'll hand it over.

[SPEECH TO TEXT TRANSLATOR ENABLED]

Hey ambie? It's Vala. Nice encryption you got here, you really should update the backend of the site one of these days.

I'll ask here, because you're clearly ignoring my calls:

What aren't you telling us? What are you keeping a secret from me?

In the letter they mentioned something you have, something you seek. What's the real reason you're sailing the archipelago?

How much more of what I know is a lie? Are you really an anxiety-ridden explorer? Was it a lie that you grew up in inkopolis? Is your name even ambie? Why the fuck even bother making an illegal boat if your goal is to just "map the archipelago"?

Those nights you spent planning and building with me on Titan's Rest, that was the first time I felt close to someone since Angel. Was that a fucking facade too?

it's a treasure, vala. something people shouldn't just know about. there's a reason im keeping it a secret.

[SPEECH TO TEXT TRANSLATOR ENABLED]

Wow, great. A fucking treasure. I don't care whatever the fuck that trinket of yours is, or what you want to do with it. You're taking it to them.

Do it or I'll take it there myself.

i received a pm, telling me to go to a public place in splatsville, and check under a bench. there i found a brown envelope, sealed with red wax:

"I know where she is.

She is not safe, you are less so if you pursue her.

I know of what you have, so called 'Captain'.

I know of what you seek.

77th Ave, Lower Splatsville, Under moonlight.

Bring it."

...

"p-please. we just want to help" i pleaded. the silence was overpowering. the pilot dropped the levers and her head sank into her hands. the whole mech leaned forwards and the cockpit opened, and the inkfish half climbed half fell out, landing in a crawl.

i stood frozen, unsure what to do or say next. after a few moments she just started crying there, and instinct kicked in. i ran over and put my hand on her back in an effort to comfort her.

"they,, took her" she cried, in between sobs.

"took who? who did they take?" i responded.

"they took her, from me... i need to... need to find her." she broke down more, tears falling to the ground. i reached my other arm out and helped her up, and held her until she composed herself enough to continue speaking. "t-they took someone from me. i-i need her back.."

"who took her?" i tried to keep my voice calm.

"t-these... lab guys. or bandits. or something i-" she took a deep breath, "they're octarians, i think,, i-i don't know."

"we'll find her, i promise." i didn't really know what i was promising at this point.

i helped her back into her mech, her hands and tentacles reaching around trying to find her bearings. i asked if she had a camp we could go back to, she nodded in response and flicked a lever on an overhead panel - a few seconds later the cockpit slammed shut and the mech began walking inland. i pulled hop out of the ground (he tried to like,,, bury his head in some of the dirt? idk where he got that from) and followed suit.

her camp is in an old, run down warehouse with wires hanging and mechanical parts and rust everywhere. towards the back there's a fire pit under some missing ceiling panels, with an open view to the sky. a little bit to the side sat a long desk covered in piles of cogs, rods, tools, and opened mechanisms i can't name.

i'll spare the whole novel writing i've been doing for now - i miss the old format where i just give my thoughts on whats going on. her name is vala (the one piloting the silver beast) and the missing one is called angel. i didnt pry too much more, given the situation.

the plan is to find and rescue angel. for now i'll keep merulina listening for any radio chatter, but i dont wanna just,,, sit around and wait for something to maybe get caught. so i'll head back to inkadia and see if i can catch any leads there. not sure what exactly im looking for but.. maybe i can get in contact with someone living in the octarian domes? see if they know anything?

i mean, may as well ask here too: if you got any leads on an octarian bandit/outcast/rogue scientists group, or know someone who *might* be able to help, please please contact me.

i just cant sit here and do nothing. i mean, merulina keeps picking up more and more radio broadcasts from the silver beast and she sounds so... distraught. i haven't really had time to prep for another voyage but i have to at least see if i can help somehow. i gotta get back out there.

and so i sailed. same as last time, heading out early morning, planning to arrive just before midday. i sailed close to greentail, then followed the directions i was given from the tribe; east by south east.

as the sun rose and we got closer, i couldn't really understand what i was looking at (i've never done well with this kinda stuff /x.x\). at first i thought it was a pile of rocks or dirt, or maybe something destroyed? no, i was wrong.

crumbling wrecks of rusted metal and dented, forgotten hulls littered the island - piles and piles of old, unrecognisable scrap. it seemed as if the whole place was just a massive junkyard. notably, there was one GIANT (and i seriously mean giant) dome shape towards the south east shore, all plated metal with a black,, hole? dark patch? in the middle. i couldn't help but think that it looked kinda like an eye.

as we docked at the shore, i stepped off of merulina, bolts and shreds of metal crunching under my boots. only moments had passed when suddenly i got blinded by a bright red flash from afar. i saw what i could assume was the silver beast, lift a few feet off the ground and start barreling towards me at terrifying speeds. i grabbed hop and dived behind a large chunk of metal as fast as i could. a loud SLAM followed by skidding happened steps away from us; i thought it was over, we were no match for whatever she was.

again a red flash, starting from low and sweeping upwards. was it some sort of scan? i was close enough to the beast that through the grinding and metal pumping i could just about make out an automated voice:

"Three metal scrap." another scan, then "One scrap, one boat."

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" the amplified voice i heard on greentail called out, "I'LL GRIND YOU TO FUCKING SHREDS!" accompanied by a slew of mechanical noises, and aggressive whirring. i took a moment to think, the beast turning and scanning frantically, before speaking:

"i want to help. i was there - on that night on greentail!" the metal scrap separating us was torn asunder and for the first time, i laid my eyes upon her.

before me was a distraught mess of wire and rod, a bipedal mech with a glass cockpit and two great arms. one had an amalgam of sawblades and grinders for a hand, the other had a claw with a hole in the centre. below the cockpit, on the front, was an embedded camera - no doubt the source of the red scans. inside sat the silhouette of an inkfish, grasping levers and control panels. one more scan came from the mech:

"One inkling, one smallfry." the automated voice called out.

i woke up in the dead of night, moonlight leaking through the windows. i felt, and heard, a low rumbling begin to shake the hut. it grew louder and louder until-

SLAM!

something must've crashed into the island, but i was frozen in fear. a few of the islanders rushed outside, but i didn't dare move a muscle. the sound of whirring and hydraulics broke the short lived silence, followed by a buzz and a flash of red light. and again, another flash. and again.

an amplified voice screamed "WHERE IS SHE?"

i could just about make out kaito saying "Please, we don't know what happened. Let us help."

the voice let out a terrible scream, choking back tears. next the rumbling returned, accompanied by a warm glow, gradually growing quieter.

after a few more minutes of collecting myself, i very slowly and very quietly walked outside.

they call her the silver beast, the ones that have seen her anyway. she never came to the island before, only the older adults who sail to the mainland have encountered her on their voyage across the sea.

i... couldn't really understand what she is exactly. they say she's a machine, or she has a machine? its obviously something they're unfamiliar with - but i can't imagine what. they told me she lives on an island, and gave me directions but warned me with harrowed emotion - she is dangerous.

i made the decision to head home now, i should be able to make it back to the mainland before sunrise. i walked back into the hut to gather my things. hop slept through the whole ordeal.

i assured kaito and the islanders that i would come visit again, if they would like that (they said they would). i wished them the best, they wished me a grand adventure.

who is "she"? what happened to her?

onwards we went, the sounds of waves crashing into uncharted cliffs, birds i can't name flying overhead, an utterly captivating sense of adventure was filling my soul.

as we started to reach the top of the island, i started to make out voices from amongst the wildlife, a little more uphill and thatch roofs started to peek over the crest; there was a whole tribe of inklings here !!!!!

i peered into the clearing where they made their village. there were a couple dozen bamboo huts on stilts, some larger than others, some with little gardens out front growing different vegetables. i saw a group of inklings sowing seeds, another hanging paper sheets to dry on a rack, a couple carrying buckets of water. all of them had long tentacles, tied up with pins painted different colours.

my head pulsed.

my breath felt shallow.

i half collapsed to the ground, my mind rampaging through thoughts: what happened? am i ill? did i eat something bad? is there some kind of sickness on the island? is there not enough oxygen this high up?

no.

we've been through this.

this is scary. but silence those thoughts. think of the calm.

think of the late nights laying in bed with hop.

think of cuddling with the judds before a battle

think of your friends, of wonder, clove, ronin.

think of the calm ocean waves.

ready?

okay. ready.

hop sat quietly next to me, as i trained him, to give me time to recover. once i was ready, i stood back up. this will not stop my adventure.

a little shaken up, i started to walk into the clearing towards the village centre. hop was following close behind, almost as nervous as i was.

a group of younger girls caught sight of me, one turned their head to a nearby hut and shouted: "Kaito!" seconds later, an older male inkling came running out. the girls pointed towards me and kaito's gaze turned unto us. he looked concerned at first, then noticed hop cowering behind my leg and took a defensive stance.

"Why are you here?"

"h-hi, we're not here to hurt you." i barely managed to get the words out, anxiety was consuming me.

"Why do you bring a salmonid to our tribe?"

"he's just... a friend. i promise - he's not with any other salmonids, we've been friends for months. he got lost from his school or something and hasn't tried to hurt anyone." i frantically tried to reassure him. Kaito took a few steps closer, his eyes locked onto hop. he reached out a hand, to which hop slowly approached and investigated.

"I see." his expression calmed, seemingly accepting our presence. "We don't get visitors often."

i explained further, telling him that i had sailed from the mainland to explore the archipelago, and that i didnt expect anyone to be living here. he invited me to walk and introduced me to a handful of people in the tribe. i met a couple fishermen, some farmers, the young girls that saw me before, and eventually the elders. the elders told me they haven't spoken to anyone from the mainland in a few decades, since their last visit to some distant relatives. i explained that its pretty much illegal to get here because of a fishing corporation (grizzco), the waters are classed as salmonid territory.

i shyly asked if i could ask about their tribe, to which the elders laughed and reassured me. i asked about their history, were they always islanders? or did they break off from somewhere else? when i can get around to it, i'll make a summary page for their history. but essentially, they used to live in calamari county and migrated here a long long time ago, sailing to live on an island in order to be closer to the sea, which they worship. they also told me the name of the island, "Greentail Island", which is named after the "leaf sheep", which i excitedly asked if they were the creatures i encountered earlier on my walk up (they were !!).

i spent a lot of the day talking with the younger islanders about technology from inkadia, i showed them my sea-cucumber phone which was a massive point of interest. i also showed them pictures of me and my friends, with our weapons; they seemed particularly interested in wonders splatana :3

as the sun got low they asked if i wanted to stay the night, to which i said i would love to. they also asked if they could celebrate our visit down by the beach.

with a bonfire lit on the sand, and the sun touching the horizon, the tribe began to play their instruments. and to my surprise, they began to play the chorus of calamari county !! they said its a song they've kept close to their tribe, and chose it hoping i would recognise it too :'3

hop ACTUALLY managed to stay quiet throughout the whole thing, i think he enjoyed it.

back up at the peak, they lead us to a vacant hut to stay the night in. hop took a little bit to settle down, but eventually we both fell asleep...

with merulina docked and tied to some heavy rocks on the beach, we headed inland.

along the beach there were a couple fire pits, one of them still smoking. i was brimming with anticipation to meet whoever lives here, but there was no other signs of them on the coast. i told hop to stay close, and started walking up a trail into the forests.

after about 30 minutes of walking, i noticed how hungry i was (hop too, obviously), so we stopped for lunch. it gave my mind a moment to rest and really take in the lush environment of the island, trees and bushes with the most vibrant greens i could ever imagine, thick moss covering rocks and dirt. we shared a nice salad with some peppers and cucumbers :3

as i got close to finishing my food (hop finished 10 minutes ago), i thought i heard some rustling behind me in the bushes, but i couldn't make out any animals; just more leaves. a few seconds later hop noticed too and started yelling and jumping around - was he seeing something i missed?

i decided (maybe foolishly) to lay out some of my food on the ground and hold hop in my arms to keep him quiet and wait. i stared into the bushes for the longest two minutes of my life until i noticed,,, a bush moving?? like not something moving through the bush. the WHOLE bush.

a few seconds later it pushed its head,, and horns? through the surrounding shrubs, and oh my god it mightve been the cutest thing id ever seen. i mean it could rival JUDD (maybe). it was this GIGANTIC slug with massive horns and fake leaves all over its body and adorable rosy cheeks !! i eventually learned that they're called leaf sheep, and are native here (i'll catch you up to speed in the next entry).

at 4am on the 4th of the 4th month, 2024, me and hop set sail on merulina's maiden voyage!!!

we undocked a little before sunrise, that way it'd be harder to spot us out at sea. hop slept through most of the sailing, only waking up to rummage in my bag for food, silly guy.

to finally be out here, just me and hop, sailing the seas with the ocean breeze - it really is a dream come true.

as the hours passed and we got closer, i noticed a plume of smoke coming from a beach !! are there things living there??? i tried to look through my,, slightly cracked spyglass but the trees were so dense I couldn't tell if there were any buildings.

as the sailing continued, my mind raced with questions: if there's living beings there, are they inkfish? some other species? would they want to hurt me? are they uncontacted? how advanced are they? i was so distracted in thought that i didnt realise we had been sailing for an hour through salmonid waters. not a fish in sight - i thought these were supposed to be super super dangerous?

we were close to the island when i was just struck with amazement. i had my head down for a while because of how bright it was /x.x\ but when i looked up, i had an incredible view.

i'll update you guys next when we're docked :3

good news everyone !!! i finally have all the parts i need to build merulina!! i'll run you through the specifics:

as previously said, the hull was a single piece of scrap from mincemeat metalworks that only needed a little bit of reshaping, just a few hours and a hammer did the trick.

for the sails i commissioned a textile artist local to splatsville, they had it done in a few weeks. took a bit to get the rigging setup but it should hold.

i didnt think i could get a way with taking the infamous wahoo pole so i had to look for a while for a good mast. the crater didn't really have as much as i would've hoped - seems pretty much all looted. i ended up breaking into an old warehouse near one of the train stations in the splatlands and found a really nice post.

i could just about fit a cannon on board (they are VERY heavy). the stand is made from scraps of wood, and the shaft i had to order from a blacksmith (i know ¬_¬ im not the best scavenger, but i got a lot of cash from turfing and anarchy battles to spend). the rainmaker was a funny story. i bought it. from hotlantis. yknow, the locker store?? i dont know how on earth harmony got hold of a working rainmaker but that saves me getting in trouble with the big companies sponsoring the games. it goes on the end of the shaft, and with some piping and rewiring i have a functioning rainmaker cannon. it fires a LOT further and a lot stronger than the normal rainmaker, these things are seriously powerful.

and the helm is,, ah,,, a little rudimentary. the rudder is just a metal sheet and i steer it by moving an attached metal beam. that's it.

and on the 28th february, 2024 (mollusc era), Merulina was born!

i can barely contain my excitement :'3 just a tiny bit more prepping then i can set off on her maiden voyage !!! the satellite images show a fairly large island, the north western most one, i think that'll be the island i head to. i'll make sure to record as much as i can for you guys!!!

big runs are a lot less scary than they used to be, back when the seven rings first descended onto wahoo world i was terrified. just got done defending barnacle and dime a few days ago.

theres something fishy about it all, mr grizz is acting really weird about big runs. i suspect the bastard's luring the salmonids to the city himself - they don't just swim up sewers into a shopping mall.

anyways. earlier today i was shopping (in barnacle and dime) for some fresh clothes. jel la fleur's stock is always so limited so i thought a trip to the mall would be nice. when i got there, some of the workers that were still cleaning up some of the debris from the big run started shouting. i looked over and a tiny smallfry had jumped out from behind a fallen sign and into the water. i was trying to follow where it was going but it must've swam into a pipe somewhere, i thought i should help because i've probably been around the little guys more than any of the other inkfish (or jellyfish) here.

i must've been there for like an hour, listening closely to any drain i could find. everyone there probably thought i was crazy lol. eventually, there was some scurrying and scratching from one of the drains. i don't know what came over me, but instead of waiting to ambush it i popped the grate off, grabbed a piece of my fried veg i was eating for lunch and dangled it into the open pipe. the poor thing nearly swallowed it (and my hand) in one gulp.

when it looked at me with its thoughtless eyes i couldn't help but feel sorry for what i had done to,,, probably millions of its siblings. i mean, salmonid society is about dying and returning to being part of nature, right? maybe i shouldn't feel bad? idk. but the little guy didn't seem scared at me at all, he hopped right into my lap and kept trying to eat more of my food.

i took him to a quieter table outside the mall, and let him devour the rest of my lunch. i didn't mind really, i was sorta getting attached to him at this point. in that moment, a single thought hit my brain: every captain needs a first mate. i was sold. what i was planning (sailing into salmonid territories) was illegal anyway, what harm could one tiny smallfry do? (maybe he'll help me if we get ambushed too!)

i think i'll name him hop :'33

ahoy!!

its been a long time since i kept a diary, so i decided to setup a little fancy website (that you're using now!!) to catalogue all my tales and adventures on!!

the plan to chart the archipelago is going smoothly. ive started gathering little parts of scrap from a few junkyards (mincemeat metalworks had a perfect piece for a hull), kinda hard to move but if you slip a few geso under the desk to one of the folks at ishipit they'll do it for ya.

i came up with a name! im gonna call her "Merulina" after a lovely type of coral :3. as for an insignia, the idea is a pale blue jellyfish on a deep blue background.

shopping list:

• a hull
• mast (maybe worth checking near the crater?)
• sails (probably gonna have to commission a textile company, might be expensive)
• maybe cannons? salmonid territory might be dangerous (old rainmakers if i can get my hands on them and mod them?)
• helm/wheel

sidenote, i guess im a pirate now?? thats super cool and exciting :3 ill be captain ambie !!

nothing happened january 17th.

again, old diary entries. this is the last one before i setup the blogsite though.

its been a while. life is honestly pretty good! me and my friends have been going crazy at grizzco and i know its work but its been fun :'3. earlier today a band from the splatlands called "deep cut" announced their debut splatfest, hosted in splatsville. i've heard a lot of scary rumours from there ¬_¬ - lots of looting. im not gonna pass up the opportunity to attend a real splatfest though, im on the train there as i write this.

yknow, i was talking to flow the other day and she told me to "realize my potential." i sat on it for a bit and looked inward, what do i really want to do? one of the best decisions i've made was moving to inkopolis square, sure nobody has heard my voice yet but it was a massive step that seemed so impossible at the time. the rush of seeing a new place and getting to know the city was an incredible feeling, and that's all about to happen again with splatsville. looking out the window i see so many cool spots in the desert, lots of junkyards and scrap and such. i gotta go explore them.

grizzco has a branch out here too, with new worksites. we had a "meeting" (more like a bunch of inkfish sitting in front of an old monitor with a vhs playing) showing us a map to familiarise ourselves with the area, and also naming a couple of worksites that have been discontinued due to overfishing - the salmonids dont do their runs there anymore. something caught my eye, though. there were a bunch of unlabelled islands way off shore from inkadia, a long way through the salmonid territories. i texted my friends later asking if they knew anything about them and i looked online and i couldn't find anything.

i cant get those islands off my mind, i really want to know what's out there.

i've decided. im going to the islands. i checked multiple libraries, online, asked around in museums, and nobody has any idea what is over there. "its too dangerous" "the records are lost" "theyre unexplored" - so much uncertainty. im gonna get (?) a boat and go explore them myself. uh,, idk how im gonna get a boat.

okay so, i cant just buy a boat. its too expensive, and they gotta be tracked and its illegal to sail through salmonid territory so thats a no go. i can just,, build one i suppose?? i'd need to gather a lot of scrap materials which i suppose won't be too hard... lots of it in the desert. i'd also need to learn how to make a boat. thats,, probably an important step.

this post is adapted from an old diary again.

i was sitting in my apartment a few days ago looking online, and i found an invite to a group chat advertising a little community splatfest. it'd be without the lights and concert and such, but maybe i could make part of my dream come true! so i joined, texted for a little, and today is the fest. they told me i could pick up a replica tee + wristband (like the ones from OTH fests!!) later at the deca tower which is exciting.

agh,, im sitting out for a bit. i dont really feel comfortable around some of these people. im way too anxious to actually speak any words so i've just been using the group chat for now. i offered my space to a couple of inkfish waiting for a spot.

it wasn't really all that i had hoped it would be in the end. but its not all bad!!!!! i spoke with the others i offered my spot to and they're really lovely :'3 and it turns out we work at the same place (its a big place,,,) so we're gonna try get a couple shifts together and hang out some more !!!

they're okay with me not talking because of my anxiety. which is really nice.

this post is adapted from an old diary.

im fed up of this all. im fed up of not being able to do anything, to meet anyone - today it changes. about a week ago i found a cheap apartment near inkopolis square. its close, but not too close. quiet, lots of nice trees.

im scared of the change, and the square i guess. there'll be a lot of people, and so much could go wrong but. lets not think about that. not today.

i went with ishipit to move all my stuff, i probably could've done a few trips but its too far it'd take multiple days - too much sentimental stuff i dont wanna throw out :'3. they're almost done unloading now.

after i've settled in and rested i want to see the square and maybe try a turf war. it'll probably have to be tomorrow.

ok. first turf war time. i got some gear from ammo knights in the square, i got to see off the hook too which was crazy btw but its almost turf time. i got an ink tank, it fits ok, i wish it wasn't so hard though. digs into my back a lot. i also picked up some splat dualies. i've never really used any ink weapons before but they have a little testing range. the dodge roll is gonna take a bit to get used to, it rushes me with adrenaline (and blood to my head probably).

phew. that... was fun.. feel like i could sleep for a week now though TwT

was at a place called goby arena, didnt really talk to anyone there obviously. maybe one day.