Hey everyone!
This is my story entry for the Underwater vs. Outer Space Splatfest event.
I really enjoyed writing this story and I hope that you all enjoy reading it.
Let’s go Team Outer Space!
Lates!
Among the Stars
For as long as Dana can , she had always been interested in the stars.
At the tender age of 4, she would spend hours at night doing nothing but stare at the night sky, decorated in bright stars shining from a grand distance. This would unfortunately cause her to sleep in throughout the day, but she wasn’t too bothered by that. It just meant that she would be able to stay up the following night and stargaze to her heart’s content. She would often cause her ink to glow as an attempt to mimic the twinkling stars. It would also cause her to ponder the possibility of Inklings or Octolings traveling into space.
A few years later, the unbelievable happened; the Octolings had formed a truce with the Inklings, as well as the residences of Inkopolis in order to coexist peacefully. This also included working tly on many projects to promote good faith between the two species, one of them being the development and launch of a space shuttle to explore the reaches of space. Marina Ida had volunteered in overseeing the development of the space shuttle and would be instrumental in the success of the project.
After 2 years, the space shuttle is completed and six astronauts, comprised of three Inkling men and three Octoling men, embark on the momentous flight. After a successful launch and orbiting around the Earth, they return safely as the first Inkopolis natives to go into space. It is confirmed that many more missions into space will be underway and that they are excited to see future astronauts to them aboard the space shuttle. This inspires Dana to want to become an astronaut and to do whatever it took to be among the stars.
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Though a junior in high school, Dana had been preparing herself in order to get a shot at being an astronaut by getting accepted to a great. This meant that she was always busy with school work; there wasn’t a single day that she was not carrying around stacks of paper, large books, and messy notebooks. Her friends and classmates would ask Dana to participate in group activities, school clubs, or Turf Wars, but she always refused, stating that she needed to study and focus on her school work. Though many believed her to be a social lost cause, there was one activity where would find a break from all her work and studying. She would go to the school roof at night to stargaze before going home. She would always volunteer for cleaning duties so she can do so without others knowing.
One day, Ace, the most popular Octoling boy in the school, approached her table, pulled out a chair, sat in it, and casually asked what she was working on, while other students looked on in astonishment and quietly pondered this chance meeting. Dana didn’t care about Ace or his interest in her work; she was trying her best to concentrate on a particularly challenging physics problem. She smugly asked him to leave her alone, as what she was working on wouldn’t interest him anyway. This cause audible gasps to fill the room around them, which followed with Ace complying with her demands. The crowd of onlookers dispersed immediately filling the halls with disgusted comments on Dana’s treatment of their beloved Ace.
Although it appeared to Dana that she was able to continue her work in peace, Ace slyly looks over her shoulder and points out that she is having difficult with that particular problem because she is using the wrong formula. This startles Dana; while she is temporarily stunned, Ace quickly picks up her notebook and mechanical pencil, quickly scribbling something. Dana nervously demanded that Ace return her notebook; before she could finish that request, Ace had finished writing and presented the notebook to her to take back. She looked over what Ace wrote and was completely stunned; he managed to solve a problem that she had been struggling to solve for a couple of hours! When she asked Ace how he knew how to solve these types of problems, he confidently leaned forward and replied that he was also planning on becoming an astronaut. This causes Dana to become immediately flustered; she quickly collects her things, and flees down the hall.
After cleaning duties, Dana waits on the roof for the sun to go down so she can stare at the stars, angrily munching on Pokie-Pokies, her favorite chocolate biscuit stick snack. She is so engrossed in her snacking that she fails to notice Ace appear next to her, out of nowhere, frightening her, and almost causing her to fall. When she regains her balance, she demands to know why Ace is bothering her. Ace then confesses that he didn’t mean her any trouble; he is genuinely interested in becoming an astronaut, but he had never met anyone who was more determined in that ambition as he was, not until he met Dana. This only causes Dana to blush, but she pouts and looks away, munching away at more Pokie-Pokies.
Ace continues on by saying that he can’t really bring up his studies when socializing with his friends and classmates, so he often has trouble staying motivated. He then suggests that Dana and himself study together, as it would benefit them both. After hearing this request, Dana turns her attention to Ace. His eyes were bright and full of hope, eagerly waiting for her to accept. She thanks him for the offer, as well as being sincere with his ambitions, but she refuses. Ace is visibly devastated, but ultimately thanks her for hearing him out. As he is about to leave, Dana stops him and tells him to at least wait for the stars to come out, as they look very pretty from the roof. A faint smile appears on Ace’s face and he agrees. As he settles in, Dana offers him her last Pokie-Pokie, which he humbly accepts.
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From that day on, Dana would occasionally seek out Ace to aid her on certain problems she was having trouble with. Ace agreed, on the condition that she would study with him for 5 minutes for every problem he helped her solve. Dana stubbornly agreed and two ended up spending a lot of time working together, so much so that she would end up spending more time than they had agreed upon. Ace also began volunteering for cleaning duties with Dana to gain access to the roof at night. Ace would enrich Dana’s stargazing by naming constellations and planets that were visible in the night sky.
They spent so much time together that Ace began encouraging Dana to socialize with others and participate in extracurricular activities. Although she was nervous, she would attend school events, gatherings, and even Turf Wars, so long as Ace was with her to calm her down when things became too much for her to handle. Many students began making rumors about all the time that Dana and Ace were spending together, but neither of them paid any attention to that.
Dana would become Valedictorian of her class and got accepted to her preferred college. Ace was not far behind, of course, as they both ed a special curriculum that would prepare them to have a chance to become astronauts. They spent many tiresome days and nights studying; there were many times where Dana had a hard time staying awake, but Ace was there to brighten her spirits with a box of Pokie-Pokies; when Dana fell asleep at her desk after completing her assignments, Ace would make sure that she had a comfortable place to rest her head and get a good night’s sleep. Despite how busy or hectic their college days became, they always found time to stargaze.
After years of hard work, Dana would emerge as Valedictorian of her class once again, and Ace was there to congratulate her. Dana stated that she could not get as far as she did without Ace’s help; Ace simply replied that they were both working together to make their dreams come true, a statement that made Dana’s heart skip a beat.
The two were very fortunate to land a job developing space tools and instruments for future space missions, observed closely by Marina Ida herself. Four years had gone by and Marina approached the two to personally thank them for all the work they put in. She also surprised them with envelopes containing letters of recommendation for the two to apply to become astronaut candidates. The two of them excitedly thanked her and turned in their requests immediately.
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Dana and Ace ed hundreds of hopeful applicants at a chance to be selected as an astronaut candidate. Once selected, they would spend many years training as well as gaining experience to prepare themselves for a future mission into space. Dana was so nervous that she felt like she would melt before she would begin her physical tests and interviews. Ace places his hand on her shoulder and lightly gripped it. This causes Dana to quickly face towards Ace; he simply told her to relax and that she was going to do great. This was the confidence boost that she needed to get a determined look on her face and approach her test proctors with confidence.
Afterwards, a few select Inklings and Octolings, which included Dana and Ace, were called into a small room. The lead test proctor would read aloud the names of the applicants who would move on to become astronaut candidates. The first name to come up was Dana’s, which caused her to immediately jump for joy in ecstasy. She was at this for a few seconds before she came back to her senses and apologized for her outburst. The lead test proctor didn’t seem to be bothered and continued naming the rest of the candidates. Three more candidates were chosen; Ace was not among them.
After the lead test proctor had finished, he thanked those who were not chosen and to remain in the room; the rest of the chosen candidates were congratulated and would receive future instructions at a later date. The lead test proctor then excused himself and left the room. The room was filled with mixed reactions; the chosen candidates were understandably excited and happy to have been chosen, while some that were not chosen were sobbing uncontrollably. Some of the more composed and level-headed applicants were congratulating the selected candidates and wished them the best of luck.
Dana, still shocked at the fact that Ace would not be ing her as an astronaut candidate, despite him working as hard as she did, slowly turned to address Ace with watery eyes. Ace had a blank stare on his face, as if his whole world came crumbling down. Dana softly tried to get Ace to acknowledge her, to no avail. With tears running down her eyes, she bolted out of the room.
She chased after the lead test proctor and called out to them. They quickly glanced at Dana and assumed that she was happy to have been accepted; he began to congratulate her only to be interrupted by Dana begging them to let Ace take her spot. The lead test proctor was confused and asked Dana to explain herself; with tearful eyes, Dana said she would not be where she is now without Ace and if she hadn’t applied, Ace would have definitely become an astronaut candidate. The lead test proctor waited for Dana to calm down so that he could address her properly.
He began by saying that Dana was always their first choice, not their last. Based on her academic achievements, work performance, social interactions, and determination, she was the perfect applicant to be an astronaut candidate. This strangely made Dana feel much better than she had hoped, but still couldn’t shake the fact that Ace had lost his chance to become an astronaut. The lead test proctor continued by reassuring her that it sometimes takes applicants many attempts to be selected as a candidate and that if Ace was still interested, he could simply apply again at a later date. All of this information was being delivered to him by the other test proctors in the room they were in. Dana’s tears had quickly dried up and wanted to confirm that Ace was still not out of the running to become an astronaut. The lead test proctor did and Dana got a smile on her face, thank them profusely, and left to find Ace.
Ace was outside of the testing facility, leaning his back against a railing. Although Dana was happy to see him, she could still tell that he was devastated over not being picked. She quietly stands next to him and tells him that she’s sorry he wasn’t selected, but tries to cheer him up by saying that it wasn’t over. She promised that Ace would become an astronaut, no matter how long it would take. Ace doesn’t seem to budge, which makes Dana lose her happy demeanor. She then laments not being able to be with him on the next part of her journey to become an astronaut, and stars to quietly sob.
This is enough to get Ace’s attention and he slowly begins to make his way towards her. He stands behind her, wraps his arms around her, and rest his chin on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. This is enough to cease Dana’s sobbing and she quickly looks into Ace’s eyes. He tells her that everything will be fine and that he will always be there for her. Ace then takes hold of Dana’s left hand, revealing a wedding band, and gently turns it; as he is doing this, Dana stares at Ace’s left hand, which also sports a wedding band. This brings a smile to her face and she begins to feel better.
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The day finally comes for Dana to achieve her lifelong dream.
The space shuttle is preparing to launch into space with three other fully fledged astronauts, as well as two experienced astronauts. She was very nervous, but still very much excited; as the countdown started, she closed her eyes and ed all her experiences that led her to this moment. She then opened her eyes as the space shuttle lifted off.
The G forces were pressing down on her that she felt like she might be splatted before she would even leave the Earth’s atmospheres. Despite this terrible sensation, she knew she had to endure, as she was on the final hurtle of her journey. She closed her eyes and did her best to keep herself composed.
The G forces slowly left Dana and she slowly opened her eyes. She then saw the emptiness of space, accompanied by more stars than she could ever hope to count. The rest of the astronauts asked if she was okay and she responded that she was ecstatic. She unbuckled her safety harness and slowly floated towards the windshield at the front of the cockpit.
Her ink then began to glow; she was finally among the stars.
Credits
DISCLAIMER: All Splatoon related content belongs to Nintendo. Please the official release.
Cover Image:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_space#/media/File:Hubble_Ultra_Deep_Field_part_d.jpg
Background Image:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronaut#/media/File:Bruce_McCandless_II_during_EVA_in_1984.jpg
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