#SIDE NOTE: i JUST realized right after posting this that shiver and frye's masks are a shark and eel respectively

[mariecuttlefish]

Deep thoughts on Deep Cut...

Oh boy, it's been a while since I've gotten out my thinking cap for Splatoon.

From what we can tell in the new Direct, Deep Cut are definitely going to be involved in Hero Mode in some way. For one thing, they were first introduced wearing the same masks that everyone was puzzling over from the Hero Mode promo art:

...and, while I missed it the first time because I was too excited about their reveal, it seems very obvious from the background of this shot that they're in the same place (or, at least, the same environment) where we first encounter Captain Three and the Squid Sisters. It seems likely that this reveal footage was lifted directly from a Hero Mode cutscene.

Also... the cephalopods' names are Shiver and Frye. So far, we've seen two major areas relevant to Hero Mode: a scorching desert presumably close to Splatsville, and the frozen arctic world of Alterna (which seems to be where Deep Cut first come into play). I wonder if that hot-and-cold aesthetic is indicative of the roles they'll play in the story...?

An interesting side note to that: a promotional tweet shared on SplatoonNA after the Direct casually refers to Shiver as a "shark tamer" (her name is even Mako in the German version!) and to Frye as "eel master". It was easy to miss, but the brief Hero Mode segment included a shot of what looks like a swarm of flying eels:

...so I wonder how literal those titles are, and how relevant they'll be to the game's story?

Which leads into my biggest question:

We know that Deep Cut will be involved in Hero Mode, but how?

Callie and Marie were involved with Splat 1's Hero Mode via secretly being part of the New Squidbeak Splatoon and seeking to fight Octavio. They're part of Hero Mode because... well, Hero Mode revolves around them. Pearl and Marina, meanwhile, got involved through sheer coincidence; they basically stumbled across Agent 8 and the Cap'n and decided to help out to be nice.

Deep Cut seem like they're here on purpose. They're playing an active role, not just helping from the sidelines, and they don't seem confused about what's going on. So what is their involvement? Are they secretly part of a different vigilante group fighting the mysterious fuzz? I doubt they'll be antagonists (it just doesn't seem like the sort of thing the Splatoon devs would go for), but I'm so curious about what's going to bring them into this.

Anyway, that's all I've got for right now. In conclusion: Big Man