Hey guys, it's me, walkietalk. I've decided to start a new project that I feel more confident doing, since I find it easier to do with school stuff going on, Fresh Beginnings is currently on hiatus for the time being. I apologise for the inconvenience and I hope you enjoy these stories. I hope to update them weekly.
A new city meant a new meta for the competitive battle scene, and with a fresh new coat of paint, Anarchy Battles returned centre stage, now even more fast-paced, chaotic and action-packed than their predecessors. Battle-ready inklings all swarm to the Lobby daily, each vying for a shot at top squid, spurred on by adrenaline and the tantalising chance for success.
Team uhhhh... Splashbacks? No, too corny. Starburst? Sounds like some kind of candy. Arctic Moon? Way too generic. Banks groaned as he pressed delete again and again on his keyboard. Why was coming up with a name so hard? The foundling step, a team name eluded him. What good would a competitive team be without any kind of catchy moniker? Reclining back on his chair and scanning his room for inspiration Banks furrowed his brow, thinking about what names would possibly work well. Instinctively running his hand through his hair, Banks looked forlornly outside his window, the sun had already begun to rise, for he had spent frost of the night brainstorming names, and its trademark orange glow drenched his room with golden light. Staring at the setting sun, sleep-deprived and exhausted Banks was struck by a bolt of inspiration.
Squids of the Rising Sun! A little long for sure, but catchy and fun, surely a good hook for potential team members. With a spring in his step Banks quickly flicked to his word processor and begun typing up a quick ad for his team.
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"Squids of the Rising Sun" is now looking for new recruits! Right now the team just consists of me, Banks but we're hoping to expand! Meet me at the Square at around noon tomorrow to discuss! (DM)"
Esther scanned over the advertisement on her Squidboards, excited at the prospect of a team she could join. Esther was an octoling, who unlike most of the Octarian diaspora in Splatsville had zero military background and hailed from a tropical region in the south, famed for their tepid weather and eternal summers. An amateur ink sportsman she had played in many of her town's minor league games with decent success, and came to Splatsville in search of fresher, larger scale things to be a part of, spurred on by her scrappy size and relatively short height compared to other inklings, Esther was ready to prove herself to as many people as possible. Eyeing the ad one last time Esther clicked on the poster's profile and sent him a quick message.
"hey im interested. see you at the square tomorrow"
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Zack was an inkling of many talents. Tall, dark and relatively attractive he was your everyman, reliable and trustworthy and always willing to lend a hand. He had a background in baseball, and thus had a good physique and was physically strong. When ink sports experienced a massive surge in popularity as of 2015, Zack was completely ensnared by it's tactical nature, fast-paced and exciting battles and the allure of real fighting, so when browsing his Squidboards late at night his hearts jumped when he saw an inconspicuous ad for an aspiring competitive team on one of the larger threads. Checking the profile of the poster, he send a quick PM to him. Bit of a strange name, Banks, but he looked trustworthy and genuine.
"yo, wassup, see you at the square tomorrow"
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12:00 pm, Splatsville
Sitting on a small wall in the Square, Banks absentmindedly picked at a crack in the stone, staring blankly into space. His zoning out was quickly interrupted by a voice calling out to him. "Yo dude! It's me, Zack, you're Banks right?" Banks nodded in affirmation as he responded "Awright, thanks for showing up! He smiled and motioned for Zack to come sit next to him. Vaulting over the wall Zack plonked himself next to Banks as the inkling pulled out a small chart. "So.. what kind of weapons do you play?" Using a pen Zack circled the weapons he used the most, the Splattershot, Splat Dualies and .52 Gal.
Smiling slightly Banks nodded and spoke, decently happy at how things were going. "Good weapon selections, all of them are good picks. I play Squelchers and the Reeflux, so we got good synergy already." Their discussion went on for a few more minutes, fleshing out the relationships between their respective weapons, good strategies when Banks spotted an octoling with purple tentacles running towards them. "Hey you're Banks right?", the girl shouted as she approached them. Banks gave her a thumbs up and invited her to join them on the wall. Zack gave the newcomer a quick greeting and introduction, and they continued their discussion.
"Esther, I feel like Sloshing Machine would be a better pick for this kinda comp wouldn't it? It's got better kill power and sub than the original Slosher wouldn't you say?" Zack advised as he pointed to a diagram of MakoMart. Esther slapped her forehead as she realised her mistake, but Banks interjected. "I feel the original bucket can output more paint, especially with Triple Inkstrike, and on a map that isn't as open as others being able to exert control on three different areas at once is quite effective especially when it comes to pushes, right?" "Eh, I dunno it's probably best if Esther chooses herself" Zack conceded.
"Why not both? We could change it up depending on what kind of map it is?" Esther suggested, and the rest of the team broke out into peals of laughter, realising their common oversight as they squabbled over needless technicalities.
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Tsukuru was an inkling of little words, not much of a talker from a young age he tended to be withdrawn and rarely spoke at all, even to his closest family. Born and raised in area far from Splatsville, an archipelago somewhere in the far East Tsukuru was as exotic as a pineapple in Europe, to say the least and attracted a few stares from the sun-tanned natives of the Splatlands with his thin frame and paler skin. Everyone in his life was surprised when the young Tsukuru became spontaneously obsessed with inksports. Not much of a sportsman Tsukuru tended to spend his days inside, so looks of befuddlement were unsurprisingly evident when he announced his plan to fly to Splatsville, the hottest epicentre of inksports in the entire world. Leaning some basic Inklish Tsukuru had hopped hopped on a jet and found himself slap-bang in Splatsville, eager to start his inksports career with a bang.
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Banks, Zack and Esther groaned as they experienced loss after loss in the Lobby, consistently getting KO'd by other teams every single match. To their credit, they were all coordinated and playing their best, but leaving a crucial spot on the team for a random to fill wasn't exactly the best tactic. "We need a damn backline!" Banks growled as he threw one Squelcher to the floor. "How hard is it to use something with range instead of the goddamn Aerospray!" Zack echoed his sentiment with equal amounts of vitriol, whilst Esther looked unhappily at the ground. "Well, that wasn't the worst, we still won a few matches. Honestly I'm pretty tuckered out, anyone wanna grab a bite?" Banks asked the rest of his team. Zack and Esther nodded eagerly, ravenous after an entire day of brutal Opens matches. On Esther's recommendation the gang started toward a hole-in-the-wall Inkeanian restaurant, known for its seaweed-wrapped rice rolls stuffed with fish. Sushi, it was called. Sitting down in one of the booths, plush with leather seating and decent decor the team relaxed a little and began discussing their plans on a potential fourth member. Banks suggested that they should put out another ad, and while they were talking an inkling in the nearest booth next to them's interest was piqued.
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Tsukuru glanced over at the group of three next to them. They were clearly amateur players trying to organise a backline to play with them. Luckily, Tsukuru liked support live weapons and was pretty fit for the job. Pulling down his face mask he turned to the group and spoke. "Hello. My name is Tsukuru, and I couldn't help but overhear your plight. If you're looking for a backline then I could be of help." The lanky inkling with glasses spoke up. "Sure, lemme get your Squidboards ID so I can contact ya." Tsukuru raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I don't understand what that is. I have a phone number if you need it." The inkling shrugged and nodded. "Good enough." and extended his hand out for Tsukuru to shake. After pleasantries were exchanged the broad-shouldered dark-skinned inkling invited Tsukuru to sit at their table, and the small, purple-haired gave him a quick smile.
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"Watch out, Flingza's on their breakfast!" Banks shouted over to Zack before promptly being splatted by the aforementioned Flingza. Rushing in Zack readied his Splattershot, swiftly dispatching the enemy roller whilst avoiding the far-reaching enemy Killer Wail, it's six lasers all pointed at him. A shout from Esther signaled that the opposing .52 was flanking, and Zack turned around to see the Gal player fire two shots into his face, sending him back to the respawn machine. "Not good! We are two down. Esther, play defensively!" Tsukuru signaled, chucking a Splat Bomb before aiming his Charger at an unwitting Splash-o-Matic. In Esther's corner of the map she was engaging with the opposing Machine and thankfully managed to outwit it, squid rolling deftly off a wall and landing a clean direct shot onto him. Rushing the Zone the Flingza and .52 activated their specials again, this time intercepted by Zack and Banks, catching them off-guard with a strategic flank begun after Tsu had dispatched the Splash. Painting the Zone with their ink Esther watched nervously as their counter dipped downward. 51, 50, 49; We've Taken the Lead! The team silently rejoiced as the message rang out in their earpieces. Quickly checking his map Banks saw what looked to be the Splash painting in the Zone a and rushed to splat him, unwittingly meeting a massive metal crab, the Splash-o-Matic laughing with delight as he sprayed shot after shot at Banks, who barely managed to make it out alive. In their own based Tsu was holding the line well, his precise aim managing to save Zack's life at the hands of a flank-prone .52, while Esther was pushing deeper into enemy territory along with Banks, the combination of the Machine's great kill power and the Squelchers' superior skirmishing and mobility proved quite strong, and held the opposing team at their spawn for quite a while. Finally, the bell rang and the team gave a sigh of relief, winning the match by a decent margin of 22:78 counts, celebrating with a few drinks from the concession store.
Banks, Esther, Zack and Tsukuru all laughed and joked about the various quirky people they met during their matches, an insanely skilled E-Liter, a newbie with great luck and a creepy dude who tried to pick up Esther. They talked about entering Low Ink, a tournament for amateur teams that helped propel many of the best pro teams to greatness at the beginning of their careers, and potentially entering Leagues Under the Ink as well, a division-based competition founded by unofficial members of the community.
And so, in their corner of Splatsville, the Squids of the Rising Sun began their journey to greatness, who knows what they'll get up to, nestled deep in the heart of the city, turfing it up and fighting hard against the fierce competition of equally strong players, battling to see who swims and who sinks.
Author's note: The issue with writing one-shots is that you get so attached to the characters in the end haha, but don't worry, that's not the last you'll see of them (hopefully). Again any feedback will be greatly appreciated. See you around!
-walkietalk.
