Chapter Text
Big Man was a master at his craft, and he was the one that would be responsible for what would become Marina’s first release after the breakup of Off the Hook.
“I’m so nervous right now,” Marina admitted to one of her managers as she was about ready to get on stage. This was supposed to be her comeback concert, the concert that would mark her next era in the music business, in her songwriting. And yet, if she fucked up this event, who knew whether or not she could keep these fans? What if she faded into obscurity and ended up just posting demos on music sites for the rest of her life that would never see any relevancy again?
Worse, what if she ended up having to duo with Pearl as Off the Hook again? That would have been the worst timeline.
“Relax, Marina. You’re going to do fine,” Shiver smiled sweetly as she shoved Marina slightly, trying to get her nerves down to the point she could make it out as a solo artist without Off the Hook.
“Yeah, you know?” responded Fyre, playing around with the yellow crystals that she wore on her hair before turning away to go fix it, continuing the conversation as she did so. “We’ve heard your new songs, it's such a dramatic turn but I think your fans are so going to love it.”
“But they’re so used to the electronic beats of Off the Hook. That’s what I always did in Octarian society, it was all about bass and beats and rhythm,” Marina confided in the Deep Cut members.
“So what if that’s the case? You don’t live in Octarian society anymore,” responded Shiver with a snark, using her hands to prop herself up on a box as she pointed with her fan.
“And besides, I think there’s enough electronic bands in the Splatlands here. You know how they like chaotic music. Speaking of which, where the heck is Big Man?” Frye asked, looking around her.
“Hey Marina!” A voice came from behind the octoling, one that she never expected to show up at her comeback concert.
“Callie?! Marie?!” Marina couldn’t contain her love for the two unexpected guests that showed up at her performance, suddenly rushing over to give the two cousins a big old squishy hug. “Oh my carp I didn’t realize you’d be here!”
“Well, someone sent us some of your new work, and we have to say, it’s…” Marie started off before Callie finished her sentence.
“It’s so FRESH!” Callie squealed as she gave two thumbs up, jumping around on the stage before almost tripping over her own feet, getting Marie to help her.
“Big Man, were you responsible for this?” Fyre asked as Big Man came back into the scene, nodding quietly. “It’s okay, we still love you. Besides, Marina is happy now.”
“Do you really think I can do this?” Marina was suddenly extremely excited to get her new concert on. She had been extremely nervous just moments before, her palms sweating with perspiration as she had been pacing around, continuing to recite and go over her lyrics and counting the drums in her mind in the hopes she wouldn’t mess things up.
But if the Squid Sisters, yes The Squid Sisters came up to the former Off the Hook groupmate and told her that they loved her work and that they would support her, then naturally maybe, just maybe, she told herself, she could be confident for them, especially considering how excited Callie was.
“Thank you guys. Thank you so much.” said Marina as her coordinator hold her it was time.
“Stay fresh!”
“Catch ya later!”
Marina paced up to the stage, running out to her set to an absolutely wild crowd who was cheering her name. After the fallout from the end of Off the Hook, Marina had taken a low profile compared to her bandmate, who was out and about meeting new people and dropping new music. She was living her best life, it seemed, and Marina was being left in the dust.
Now was the time to show to everyone, especially fans of Off the Hook, that she hadn’t been sitting on her laurels.
“I wanted to take the time to say that I really appreciate you all coming here to this concert I’m holding right now, especially after I ended up leaving a past…band music duo…” Marina started off the concert with, ending her remarks with a reference that made the crowd go absolutely bananas with cheers and screams, whistles and posters that read heartwarming messages.
“I really do not mean any bad blood between me, Off the Hook, and Pearl, but it's ultimately in the past now,” lied Marina, quietly gulping down her words as she said so, hoping that no one would notice the slight hesitation she made when saying her ex’s name. It was a difficult task all things considered. “But tonight, are you ready to attend a show?!”
You could only imagine how insanely loud and ear ringing the audience was that night. Marina smiled to herself, only imagining how excited Deep Cut and the Squid Sisters must have been as they sang and danced to her new songs. And yet, they had not listened to what Marina considered probably the magnum opus of her new work.
In fact, Marina had almost considered not performing or releasing this new track at all. It was such an emotional, paralyzing song that used to make Marina tear up at how relatable and emotional the lyrics were to her. Marina had never pushed her vocals so far in a song before, and while she had used her voice on other songs with Off the Hook and without, it seemed like this was a true introduction to what Marina could do. She was a musical genius, maybe not as perceptive as Big Man, but definitely on par.
She was ready to sing this new song, as if to give one big middle finger to Marina and say to her one thing. “Fuck you, Pearl.”
“Hate to give the satisfaction asking how you’re doing now,” Marina began, placing her microphone on the stand in front of her as she grounded herself in the moment, thinking less about the conflicting emotions she felt about her ex-lover and locking in to all of her negative aspects, to all of her negative emotions. This was the ultimate purge, and Marina was all for it.
How's the castle built off people you pretend to care about?
Just what you wanted
Look at you, cool girl, you got it
Marina was there to throw her everything into the song, most notably her shade. Shots fired at Pearl as she was probably out dating and hanging around with some other chick.
I see the parties and the diamonds sometimes when I close my eyes
Six months of torture you sold as some forbidden paradise
“Pearl and Marina’s relationship only lasted six months,” said one octoling in attendance, slowly starting to connect the dots as they listened further into the song.
“You’re right! And Pearl is like, rich, rich,” responded his friend standing next to him, joining him in multitasking between enjoying Marina’s new era of songwriting and following the details of Marina’s time away from the cameras and screens.
I loved you truly
You gotta laugh at the stupidity
Marina’s eyes began to tear as her emotions started to get to her even if it was just for show. She could recall the memories still left haunting her mind, all the chaos she had weathered through the relationship. She could still remember all the fights, all the infidelities that ruined their relationship and left them bound to ruin. She laughed at herself all the time, sometimes with genuine humor and other times with self-pity, wondering how she let her first relationship go so wrong.
'Cause I've made some real big mistakes
But you make the worst one look fine
Marina thought Pearl and her were star-crossed lovers, bound by destiny under the mythology of Mount Nantai. But how wrong she was. Pearl was probably the worst mistake she ever made in her life after escaping Octarian society. And she had made a lot of terrible mistakes.
I should've known it was strange
You only come out at night
In hindsight, Marina did find it pretty strange why Pearl only seemed willing to meet her at first under the darkness of Inkopolis and Splatlandian nights. It always was crystal clear with the brilliance of thousands of stars and constellations, and Pearl seemed to somehow know every single one from studying ancient human literature and stories. Marina just thought it was Pearl wanting to hang out away from the spotlight where no fan could see them kiss, but once again, Marina ended up being incorrect about the truth of Pearl’s reckless behavior.
I used to think I was smart
But you made me look so naïve
The way you sold me for parts
As you sunk your teeth into me, oh
Marina really stretched out the last sound of the line, pushing her vocal chords to the highest pitch they could possibly go without damaging them, leaving the crowd to only cheer and whistle in surprise at how incredible this hidden vocal ability could go.
“So that’s what Marina sounds like,” said one inkling, extremely impressed by the performance so far.
Bloodsucker, famefucker
Bleeding me dry like a goddamn vampire
The crowd cheered in a frenzy as everyone jumped out of their seats, feeling the effects of what was Marina’s freshest song yet, even including her songs on Off the Hook. And with the frenzy, whispers hidden to Marina (and Pearl for that matter) began to circulate around the crowd about the origins and truth behind her song.
This has gotta be about Pearl. This is definitely a song for Pearl. This is a breakup song, right?
Meanwhile, Marina herself changed her tone, wiping her tears away from her eyes as she picked up the pace of her performance with the song, explicitly laughing at herself as her expression changed to determination.
And every girl I ever talked to told me you were bad, bad news
You called them crazy, God, I hate the way I called them crazy too
Marina took the initiative, pulling out the microphone from its stand as she ran across the stage, singing to her bandmates and using her feet and arms to create signals around her body, the type of signals that would communicate without words just how much emotion, how much joy or how much pain someone would be in. She used these signals as a way of telling her story, throwing all her memories and hauntings into one energetic song that built up like a calamari inkantation.
You're so convincing
How do you lie without flinching?
(How do you lie? How do you lie? How do you lie?)
Oh, what a mesmerizing, paralyzing, fucked up little thrill
Can't figure out just how you do it and I know I never will
It was definitely a thrill, Marina had to admit. And sometimes, she did miss it, miss everything about living with a Pearl in her life. She never did know how she did it, but right now, she didn’t want to know.
Went for me and not her
'Cause girls your age know better
“Oh shit, shots fired,” said one feisty octoling by himself.
I've made some real big mistakes
But you make the worst one look fine
“I should've known it was strange, you only come out at night,” sang Marina, belting her song, her cry for help and understanding her situation to the best of her vocal abilities, throwing her hands forward and then back to her heart as she continued to tell her side of her relationship with the older inkling. “I used to think I was smart, but you made me look so naive-”
The way you sold me for parts
As you sunk your teeth into me, oh
Bloodsucker, famefucker
Bleeding me dry like a goddamn vampire
I never expected Marina to be this…expressive, I’ve literally never heard her cuss. Do you think it's something she picked up from Pearl?
You said it was true love, but wouldn't that be hard?
You can't love anyone, 'cause that would mean you had a heart
I tried to help you out, now I know that I can't
'Cause how you think's the kind of thing I'll never understand
Damn, Pearl really was a shitty girlfriend. I knew those two were never meant to be. Poor Marina. Pearl needs to be held accountable. Off the Hook really was harboring some dark stuff, didn’t it?
I've made some real big mistakes
But you make the worst one look fine
Pearl was no longer going to hold Marina back from voicing her frustration, her anger, her disappointment in how the relationship ended. Pearl was the worst mistake of her life, by far, and it took Marina months of time to get over her. But when she would be over Pearl, she would be over her for good.
I should’ve known it was strange
You only come out at night
The crowd began to realize that this song wasn’t just a breakup anthem. It wasn’t just the next song in Marina’s career, but rather an acknowledgement of all the rumors, all the accusations that permeated Pearlina’s existence. And they were living for it, singing her songs and not Pearl’s.
I used to think I was smart
But you made me look so naïve
The way you sold me for parts
As you sunk your teeth into me, oh
“Bloodsucker. Famefucker,” sang Marina as she pointed her middle finger to the audience, much in the same way her former lover did. “Bleeding me dry like a goddamn vampire.”
The instruments in the background threw their absolute weight into the ending of the song, Marina looking hopefully into the distance as if to wonder whether or not Pearl had noticed her presence, her return, her song.