This is a Splatoon oc ask/rp blog about your local schoolteacher, 'Oro sensei.' IC posts will alternate between art and text-only. Be sure to check the rules before sending a message! Any in-game spoilers will be tagged!
Hey Jojo, whats up with your's and Oro's issue with Mr Grizz?? Did he not pay you for a job or something?
"you ever heard of capitalism, kid? terrible thing. how we used to live, letting nature take its course 'n' whatever, that was fine. that was before grizz started his business making money off of exploiting us. you've seen him on the news a while back, right? with his whole rocket ship using golden eggs and everything. yeah, it must be hard being the only, uh... grizz left, but i'm not about to let what happened to him happen to us, y'know? plus, i hear he's got some not-so-nice things to say about us."
jojo takes one more drag of his cigarette before putting it out on the balcony railing.
"i guess, i'm just tired of seeing kids like you grow up too fast. you deserve some time to be a kid, bein' raised by your parents, before being tossed to the wilds, heh. but that's what your uncle jojo's here for now, so don't you worry your little head about it."
ah. the janitor. oro still didn't know their name, and they didn't have a name tag, either.
"here," the janitor says, extending a clean tissue towards oro with an expectant look, "i've just refilled the hand sanitizer dispensers too, if you need it."
"oh, thank you..." oro takes the tissue after clearing his throat, though he remains hesitant about even touching his mask with someone else present. luckily, it seems the janitor has something to keep them busy as they roll a mop bucket into the faculty room.
"allergy season's already getting to you, huh," they go on while oro hastily slips the tissue under his mask to cough into instead. "probably best to sleep off the rest of that cold at home. kids are more likely to catch something, considering how messy they can be already." the janitor is right, of course, even though oro would prefer to save sick days for big runs. he already relies on sunbeam to substitute for him too much as it is. speaking of having guest teachers...
"ah, before i forget, how would you like to speak about hygiene and chemical safety for my class sometime?" oro proposes, and the janitor appears caught off guard.
"isn't that something you already cover, 'oro sensei'? besides, i don't have much teaching experience." they lift their gaze from their mop to meet oro's. he doesn't remember introducing himself to the janitor before.
"that's... true, but i think having a new face in class might make for a more memorable learning experience," oro explains before he can think about it too much, "and since cleaning is your area of expertise, the students might be more compelled to ask about things. i'll be there to help answer any questions, as well."
"hmm... i'll think about it," the janitor muses with a little smile.
"thank you, um...?" oro trails off in an attempt to ask for the janitor's name, but just then, the p.a. system crackles to life from the speakers above them, paging for a janitor to report to the boys' bathroom.
"gotta dash, it seems. i'll see you around," the janitor darts a glance in oro's direction, though this time it feels much more piercing, as if looking for something that oro has, but the feeling is gone almost as soon as it arrives.
"r-right." oro tries not to look nervous as the janitor starts rolling their mop bucket back out into the hallway.
the janitor is a little strange. oro has heard rumours about sanitization, but he doesn't want to let that cloud his judgement. the janitor seems friendly, after all.
"i mean," jojo rambles on, "doesn't it get suffocating, wearing that mask all the time? you can let loose around me, y'know. i ain't gonna tell on you or anything."
"hmm," oro turns their attention back to the frying pan. "i'm just used to it, i guess. besides, i doubt my workplace would be as... lenient as yours if they knew what i am. i'm lucky enough to get away with being just a 'fishling' with very good credentials."
"yeah, well, isn't it your wish for us to be able to live peacefully with everyone else? they'd have to find out eventually," jojo tosses the remote to the side before twisting over to look over the back of the couch at oro. "at least let yourself breathe a bit. maybe then it'd be less painful for you to change forms."
It must be tough making new friends at work,, you should totally invite the janitor and Sunbeam out for dinner, Oro-Sensei! :D
"i'd just like to get to know the janitor a little, nothing fancy. besides, i'm not comfortable eating in front of most people," oro says, crossing their arms.
"but oro," sunbeam deflates, "you're still on the market, aren't you? i just don't want you to be lonely."
"yeah, yeah, but that doesn't mean i'm just throwing myself at people. and don't i already have you and jojo to keep me company?"
another long day. there had been minimal incidents, although today's class had been mostly theory and lectures. the kids were nodding off, oro was certain. they thought they might as well end class a little early, for everyone's sake.
there was a new janitor. had there even been one before? at least oro knows where the recent pay cut went, and besides, hygiene is extremely important. the difference is noticeable, too; the janitor was everywhere recently. the hallways and bathrooms are sparkly clean.
they seem friendly enough. cheerful too, despite the manual labour. oro considers asking them to come to class to talk about hygiene sometime.
Was it hard for the salmonkids to learn how to shift into a more bipedal form?? Inklings look like they take forever to go between swim-walk forms!
"i'd say these guys are around 5-6 years old, though they've got the basics of it. still got their fins and fish scales, but they'll get better over time," oro muses before putting the smallfry kid down so they could join the others with sunbeam. "the... short answer is that salmonids can learn fast due to their lifestyle."
oro sighs and crosses their arms.
"in other words, they have to adapt quickly because they don't tend to live for very long."