diademnet | (no subject)

if ur supposed to be an octopus what do u turn into

I have a human-like form and an octopus form, both of them are equally me. It's just that I think changing between the two freaks people out for some reason.

thats cool. bipedal to eight-legged cephalic. genuinely cool. i mean no judgement were all freaks here if were lookin at it statistically

but hey unrelated question. does the word octopussy mean anything to you

Thanks, but it's not that freaky is it? Every Octoling can do it. I just happen to be the only one. As far as I know.

...I think there's a human artifact by that name in a museum somewhere? A black box with some magnetic tape in it? I remember some squids giggling about it a long time ago, but I'm not online a lot so I think I missed why.

a little. humans're all about ppl looking the same, so to them? yeah ur freaky. but to you? nah. sounds normal. lots of aliens all out there. besides, we're kind of like hairless, elongated monkeys to u anyway right

OMG, no shit! you nailed it!! shit ur the coolest octopus I know

I guess that makes sense. I remember felt odd when I relocated to a city that was mostly squids.

Not really. We knew there was an old world of humans that was destroyed when the planet was flooded and I don't actually look that different from a human when I'm not in octopus form so I'm kind of familiar with them. The strange part for me is that I'm seeing an extinct species walking around. I've seen human fossils in museums. I'm not sure how to feel about it.

how is it no asshole i've met from the future ever mentioned us going extinct to be replaced by squid dudes

coolest apocalyptic scenario possible considering most of them are just metaphors about unchecked capitalism

and octopussy survived it. goddamn

~~[If Eight had knowledge of the fourth wall he would have some very very bad news re: cephalopods and being a metaphor for unchecked capitalism.]~~

Well...if they were all humans, they probably died out before it happened. I'm glad you think it's cool though.

Now that you say that, and I'm not 100% on this, but I think just being here means I know more about humanity than any other Octoling in the world.

It didn't freak me out, it just startled me. I think a lot of us who haven't been here too long are seeing things we've never seen before.

Which is why it's probably a good idea to make a PSA like this.

Honestly, it didn't even occur to me that it was anything out of the ordinary. I think I'm just a little out of my depth with humans.

I would like to see you turn into an octopus.

Next time we meet I'll show you.

Do you prefer a form?

They both feel like me I guess, but I guess the Octoling form has a lot more utility. Arms and legs work so much better than tentacles on dry land and I can't swim in anything else but ink.

Oh, and fingers are better than suckers for almost every task.

Were you born as one in particular?

We start as octopus and slowly become more human like as we grow up. I think I was about 12 when I could fully switch back and forth.

That's fascinating! I wish I could shapeshift. Technically all of my kind have separate forms made of pure light, but I've never seen mine if I have one.

Pure light?

Is that for blinding your enemies? Or moving very fast or something? I can't really think of much else being light would be good for...

[But maybe his imagination has still not accounted for every weird thing about Jack.]

Edited 2025-06-28 03:32 (UTC)

so if you bite someone do they turn into an octopus as well or
???

[The text of Eight's reply can't cover the minute or two he sat blinking bewildered at this comment.]

I've never tried it.

But I'm going to go ahead and guess no.

you should probably figure that out dude
pretty sure that's important information to know

Why? It's not like I go around biting people for no reason.
Are you...volunteering or something?

nah
just a curious passerby

can you do it at will or do you need specific circumstances?

At will. I just rearrange my organs and break down and reform my skin. It's kind of like flexing a muscle more than anything.

ok but like
and stop me if i'm being rude
where do all the legs go???
i'm assuming you don't always have 8

No, I do. Half become my arms and legs, and the other four tentacles get rearranged on my head. Like how humans have hair.

some humans
some humans have hair

[ Some aren't quite as fortunate as Eddie here who is basically about 50% hair. ]

still
metal as hell dude
keep me updated on that biting thing though if you ever figure it out, k?

You mean they don't have any or they can move their hair to their face? When we do that with tentacles we call it a "mustache."

...If I ever have cause to bite someone, you'll be the first to know.

[ Fern has seen werewolves, were-ravens, and other forms of shifters in her time, on top of being friendly with a druid who can wild-shape into all sorts of things. But this is still an interesting bit of information to be shared on the forum without preamble.

Replying means typing, though. Eugh. At least it's good practice. ]

When you are not an octopus what do you look like

A human

[ Where are the question marks she doesn't know— ]

[If he can decipher Cuttlefish's old man typing he can figure out Fern's.]

Human like I guess. I have tentacles where humans have hair, a mask around my eyes, a beak for teeth, and pointy ears, but other than that I don't think I look too different.

[ Well then. That description doesn't quite match any race that Fern knows of, though a water genasi might be the closest. The "beak for teeth" is truly throwing her off, but she isn't going to pester him with questions. ]

I see
And turning into an octopus is a normal thing where you are from

Octopus or squid, depending on what kind of inkfish we're talking about. It's how we hide and swim in our ink trails.

[That would be a shame, he'll answer whatever questions she has.]

Edited 2025-06-22 20:40 (UTC)

[ So it's only those two? That's a far cry from the shifters that Fern is familiar with, but it just goes to show that the worlds they come from can differ wildly.

While also having some odd similarities. ]

Ink trails
Sorry i cannot picture what that is
Where are you swimming
The ocean

Oh no, I can't go in the water at all. Being able to transform means my skin is so thin the water will pull out the fluids in my body and I'll disintegrate.
My body creates ink, which I can lay down on surfaces and swim through. It's how inkfish do most of our fighting. And our games. And climb walls when we don't have a ladder.

[ An octopus that can't go in the water, and with such a disturbing reason for why, at that. Fern is utterly confused now, but also doing her best to follow along. If nothing else, this is teaching her about people of all types can end up here.

Maybe it will make more sense if she ever sees it in person. This "Agent 8" should stand out, if nothing else. ]

That seems like a valuable skill then
Many ways to use it
Are you a fighter

Yes, but nobody else fights with ink here, and going against people who don't explode when you spray them with enough ink is hard to adjust to.

Are you a fighter? Do your skills carry over?

[Oh he's just out here sharing all this information. So brave. It honestly was making An Zhe feel very silly.]

Hello Eight. You are a cute octopus.

Can you ONLY turn into an octopus? Can you turn into a SHARK??

Just an octopus. I know there's a tribe across the desert that tames sharks, but I'm not part of it.