My friends, If I may let myself be a little self aggrandizing, I am so happy to release the first chapter of my mega-fic project: Breakpoints. I've been cooking this AU for over a year, and I have some hefty outlines, character arcs and worldbuilding working in the background to bring this story to life.
Life is full of pivotal moments where one single thing can change everything that follows.
Quinn is just a normal kid who finally got himself out of a bad place. When a strange old man keeps staring him down from a sewer grate, he decides to investigate a little further.
Callie and Marie are pop idols at the peak of their careers when they learn their grandfather has been kidnapped.
Ahato is just a simple technician, trying to get through each grueling day of her life underground.
Marina, the Head Engineer, is a symbol to all, a goal everyone in the domes should aspire to be like. The pressure to be perfect is killing her.
Arai is just a foot soldier being slowly driven to her breaking point by the increasingly harsh conditions of dome life.
All of their lives are moments from changing, casting them into futures they couldn't even dream of.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Individual Chapter Links under the cut:
The Introduction Arc (Chapters 1-11)
Chapter 1: The Squid Sister's Tour
Callie and Marie are at the literal peak of their careers. The largest concert venue in the world, packed to the gills with their fans. In the silence after the show, the two receive a phone call from someone they don't know with some dire news.
Chapter 2: A Day In the Plaza
Meet Quinn Tidesplay, rookie apartment owner and part-time battle novice. Sharp kid, first time out on his own, left home with nothing but the clothes he wore and pouch of coins.
Chapter 3: More Days in the Plaza
Well, as odd as things were yesterday, life goes on. Back to the daily grind, where nothing abnormal should happen again.
Chapter 4: Squidbeak pt. 1
What was he thinking? Following a strange old man through a sewer grate???
Chapter 5: Squidbrak pt. 2
Armed with gear worth more than his life, and guided by the spirited old man from the grate, Quinn ventures into the Octavian domes for the first time.
Chapter 6: Routine
Now having officially initiated his new Agent, Craig waits for said agent to show up in the Plaza again the next day.
Chapter 7: Life as a Disabled Military Outcast
Ahato Mizuta is just a simple systems tech, despite her own wills. Nothing much interesting happens in her life, it's all just visit a system or Install this temporary system. Really, all she wants to do is make music, but it's better to not have the military mad at you.
Chapter 8: Rise and Fall
Head Engineer Marina Ida: brightest mind of her generation, role model to all soldiers, known for revolutionizing life in the domes twice over.Today, she performs the first test of the first Great Octoweapon, designed as an unmatched, unbeatable autonomous combatant.Assuming the test is successful, the growing menace of Agent Three shall end, and the first blows of a new war shall be dealt.
Chapter 9: Preparations
The defeat of the Octostomp marks a turning point for the afflicted parties, though none realize just how pivotal of a moment it was.The Head Engineer struggles with her failure and if the little she gained from the encounter was worth all she lost.Quinn prepares to return to the domes yet again, scouting for more zapfish to reclaim.And Arai, well, she's forced to deal with the mess the other two have made (against her own will, might she add).
Chapter 10: Squids in a Barrel
Just another routine scouting mission. What could go wrong?
Chapter 11: Contact
After making it to the surface, Quinn has a new mission. Reach out to Agents One and Two for help.
The Distrust Arc (Chapters 12-21)
Chapter 12: Finally Back Home (And Everything's Different)
Finally coming off the end of a hellish, unending tour, Callie and Marie try to relax for a few moments before dealing with the emotions they had to shove to the side to perform on stage, and the Agent that brought them about.
Chapter 13: Unstoppable Force
Callie and Marie sprint into the domes after months of being away. There's no time to waste, Agent 3 could be in serious trouble!
Chapter 14: Immovable Objects
At last, the fated confrontation between Agent Three and the Squid Sisters.
Chapter 15: Captive Conversation
Marina's about at her limit at this point. Everything is pushing her closer and closer, but none so much as the old bastard locked in her lab with her.
Chapter 16: Message Received
Agent Three messed up. He messed up big time. THAT was his first meeting with the other agents? That was how everything started? It's ok, he can still salvage this. This can still work, he just needs to do everything right.
Chapter 17: Welcome Home
Coming at things with a fresh start and a new perspective, Quinn, sits with Agents One and Two to try and start over.
Chapter 18: Life as a Mildly Popular Underground DJ
Since running away from everything on the surface, Ahato's life had been... better. Things were honestly starting to look up for her. She was meeting people, making friends, and sharing her passions with people who genuinely cared.
If only Marina could say the same...
Chapter 19: And Rise Again
Faced with the consequences of her worst mistake, and potentially on the verge of another, Marina tries to confront Ahato about the Octostomp incident.
Chapter 20: Soldier's Provisions
Agent 3 has been essentially one unending headache for everyone inside the domes. Thankfully, Arai's on her break shift, so it's not her problem for the next several hours.
Chapter 21: Burgers vs. Pizza
Splatfests: 24 hours of crazy fun for everybody. Unless you're the Squid Sisters, at least. The day-long show be exhausting, but at least they've got Quinn around to keep them company now.
The Show Stopper Arc (Chapters 22-30)
Chapter 22 - Prelude pt. 1
Arai has a meeting with her boss
Marie receives an intimidating message
Ahato chats with a friend
Callie discusses the plan
Chapter 23 - Prelude pt. 2
Marina makes a choice
Craig meets an old friend
...Quinn prepares for a fight
We've come so far, it's genuinely astonishing how quickly the time has gone. From that first trailer, entirely out of the blue, which gave me the best surprise of my life (right after an exam lol), all the way to getting a full direct and multiple trailers. Now I'm more than ready to experience Raiders as the next step in the legendary Splatoon series.
This is genuinely the most hyped I've been for pretty much anything. Splatoon as a whole is a huge and incredibly important piece of my life, from the games, characters and world building to the community and my own art and writing. I don't need to ramble on about that here as I'm sure you've heard it all before, from me and all the other Splatoon fanatics, but I just want to draw attention to the fact that Raiders is just the beginning of the future of this amazing franchise. Who knows where we'll go from here? I know for definite that there'll be more brilliant stories, characters and ink-slinging fun to experience maybe just a few short years from now.
Yet that's not the focus - Raiders itself is gonna be such a blast! Deep Cut, my favourite characters (ever!!!), will finally get the spotlight, and I can't wait to see them again. More lore! More banter between them!! And hopefully even more love from the community than ever before!!!
But there's also more to my excitement than just getting a Deep Cut centred game. The environment is cool and quite unique for what we've seen so far in Splatoon, the Mechanic has all the charm of the previous protagonists yet feels distinct and fresh, and getting to see more Salmonid culture is fantastic. Plus it just looks really fun!!! This countdown has honestly made me appreciate every aspect of this game so much more.
I, for one, can't wait to see the community grow and evolve through Raiders. And more than anything I can't wait to finally play the game that has been a guiding light in my life for over a year. I really hope that everyone loves it just as much as I do!!
(By the way, the final piece is the release day post, not this one! So tune in tomorrow to make sure you don't miss the best thing I've ever drawn 😆 ALSO I'm gonna be a lot less active for the next few days, maybe weeks, to avoid spoilers!)
Check out #splatoon raiders countdown for all of my previous posts!
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