#octo order and control characters

[tunabunk]

Baby Race!

Just wanted to doodle human bab San 💚

[asktheoctoorderandcontrolgang]

This is a triple question for the Grizz family!!

To Sorbet: growl-growl-growl, rawr? (Have you ever had any issues at school or when going outside for the way you look? Are people intimidated by you?)

To Grizz: During winter, do you feel yourself become much more lethargic, or have any kind of urges to hibernate and rest for extended amounts of time? Does Sorbet suffer from it too?

To Marianna: Did Sorbet ever accidentally hurt you when she was little? Must have been hard to take care of a baby that not only has fangs sharper than an inkfish, but claws and strength to match them as well…

Marianna: “… S-So- yea… I-I’m glad my little Sorbet DOESN’T have to nurse from me anymore (afterall, she IS 15, thank Cod-)

Pearl: *Side eyeing Sorbet…* “Uhhh Sorby’? I think you might as well be MORE than “friends” with Prinz…”

Sorbet *Growl* (“What do you mean, Pearlie?”)

[justyouraveragealternanfuzzball]

What's this? 1000 people have read Welcome to Octopia!🥳

This is such a monumental occasion, as this is literally the first piece of fanfiction I have ever written, and to see that it's become this successful makes me unbelievably happy.

Writing the chapters, coming up with all the lore and worldbuilding, drawing the characters... it all brings me so much joy, and I know that this really is just the beginning - I have so many plans for the future of this fic and even beyond that!

So thank you all so much for giving this story a chance to thrive. The support I've gotten so far is indispensable and greatly appreciated - @nipotazzi especially, you've been with me since the start and you've made the story so much better, from your fabulous editing skills to your inventive ideas. From the bottom of my heart - thank you!

I'll also tag @tunaflippingbunkers, another awesome artist who is such an inspiration for me, both art-wise and worldbuilding-wise. Their Splatoon AU, Octo Order and Control, is seriously worth checking out! (And once again, thanks for the cameo in this ask blog post! It means a lot <3)

There's a couple of other people who have read my story and reached out to tell me how much they like it, but frankly I'm too scared to tag them all 😅 so just know that I appreciate everyone who has sent in an ask, or left a nice comment or anything like that! You guys know who you are 😉

I can't wait to continue this journey with you all!

[dr-spectre]

Rambling about Marina and Relatability...

I've said in the past that i relate heavily to Marie, but as i think about it further.... I think i relate more to Marina... I just read through this incredible twitter thread by @ _CSenpai_ which i shall leave at the end, but it got me to really think... "huh... Marina is kinda me fr." (Also I'm gonna get pretty personal in this post so keep that in mind too.)

Marina has very serious special interests and clearly spends a lot of time researching and engaging in these interests. She gets VERY excited when someone mentions anything remotely about her interests and takes them seriously. Which is something i do as if someone even remotely mentions Splatoon out of the blue, my chest will go "BZZZTTTT" and i get the tingles and i wanna run around my room.

She's very into machinery, video games, music and manga/comic books. Marina stays up and overworks herself when it comes to music and her interests, which is shown in the dev diaries and chat logs in Side Order and Octo Expansion. This is something i tend to do as well as I consume my special interests way into the night and i can't go to bed because I'm so damn energized. Sometimes i become so focused that i don't even notice that time has passed by for so long and before i even realise it... It's 2pm and now i want lunch.

She corrects Pearl on wizards which reminds me of the kind of stuff i say during my rambles about Callie and her arc in Splatoon 2... I get VERY picky when it comes to people using ahem.... certain words when describing the events that took place.

In the Hero vs. Villain Splatfest, she is the only one who is taking it very seriously while everyone else is smiling or expressing anger.

She's using a god damn GAMECUBE CONTROLLER AND A HEADSET! She's literally me oh my god. When i go over for parties and celebrations and someone brings out a Switch and we play Smash Bros or Mario Kart? I take that shit seriously and i can't tone back my skill level and just have fun.

Also Marina is known to have sensitivity to certain food textures including mayo and pulp in orange juice. Now i LOVE mayo personally but i HATEEEE stuff in my drinks. I am a massive texture eater and i will avoid stuff in food that ruins the texture. When i get pumpkin soup for example, if i see vegetable bits in that shit i will actually feel sick and flick the bits off of my spoon.

Marina is also seen stimming and pacing back and forth when excited. When i tend to get overly excited by myself, i will literally violently shake for a brief moment and then squeal. I'm not joking.

Marina also tends to bottle up her emotions and often lashes out onto others when it's too much for her. Which is something i tend to do... I don't often say how i feel when someone asks how am i and i often wanna scream and break something when the anger is just too much for me to contain. I end up yelling by myself and cuss like no tomorrow. I can find solace in a character who does a similar thing i do, minus the cussing lmao.

I think one of the bigger reasons on why i relate to Marina is gonna be a weird one but... She is almost always seen with her headphones. No matter what situation she is in, she always wears her headphones.

Even when she's Marina Agitando and Overlorder has taken over her body, the Controller VM acts like headphones as it covers her ears!

Now this detail about her wearing her headphones almost often might seem minor, but to me it makes me love Marina even more. I always constantly wear headphones and it's due to various different reasons. First is because i love listening to music and enjoying background noise, second, it dampens the sounds around me as i can be pretty sensitive to certain sounds. And third... well... let's just say that i live with a uh.... loud parent who... gets pretty angry, NOT AT ME! THANKFULLY! BUT... when they scream... and swear... i put on my headphones and wait for the noise to go by. It's a comfort thing for me and helps get through those... rough periods... Marina wearing those headphones often and not being judged for it, makes me feel, happy...

...uh... yeah.

ANYWAYS! Another big thing i relate with Marina on is her want for order and balance in her life. She doesn't like massive changes in her routine and wants to maintain the balance in her life.

i do not like it when my routine suddenly changes and i get upset and angry. I have a strict routine and when it gets fucked over oh MAN OH MANNNN!!!!!!!!!!!

And that last point about feeling safe and secure, as i mentioned earlier with the third point about wearing headphones... I wanna feel safe and secure... I want to feel calm... I don't want someone to suddenly shout or get upset or for my routine to change and i can't do anything about it...

The only thing i don't relate with Marina on is well... Looks. Listen, i ain't no tall black octopus woman with a noticeable figure and a pretty face HAHAHAHA! I find it kind of funny that I'm able to relate SO MUCH to someone like her when I'm some 20 year old dude who looks nowhere NEAR like her. Except for maybe height i don't know.

However, i will say, i actually don't act this excited in person, i tend to be very shy and reserved in person compared to my online behaviour. I say words in a dry manner and i don't have the best social skills. So i guess that's where the relatability for Marie comes in as well. I'm a heavy introvert and despite my need for wanting to connect to others, i would rather stay indoors than go out and meet new people to start friendships or potentially a romantic relationship... like that's ever gonna happen anyways...................

I got two brain cells. It's them.

So anyways, that was all i wanted to say! I love Marina and she's my second favourite Idol, you can probably guess who's number 1 but i ain't talking about... her... well not today anyways.

Thanks for reading!!!

The thread that inspired this blog post: https://x.com/_CSenpai_/status/1367219374948376579

[animalsalvationassociation]

The Spectator . . .

The Spectator as he was dutifully named, is an illustrious character amongst the community. Not only does he appear to have his claws in every syndicate, main stream gang, and every Black Market trade in the world, but he also seems to know a little too much about how things function within the A.S.A.'s inner workings.

Now the people, or civilians, don't know this. The UN and the A.S.A. have worked very hard to make sure that his name doesn't mingle within the main stream media. For good measure too as that would expose him as an international threat, and that's the opposite of what anyone wants.

He is the main villain of this story.

What do we know?

He hides in plain sight, whoever this man is, he's very good at blending in. Getting in and out of government facilities without anyone noticing. Traveling all across the world without a single blinking an eye, that is until it's too late and his work has already been finished.

Although, his work in the real world isn't as prominent as his work in the virtual world. Whether he himself is a tech genius or someone in his control, they know the ins and out of any system that's ever existed within modern technology. You know the expression, "I know this like the back of my hand?" well you could say he lives by that saying.

Now no one has ever actually seen his face, but they have heard his voice. A very enhanced and frankly hard to decode version that is. The Spectator has shown on more than one occasion that he's easily capable of taking hold of whatever situation comes his way. And even more capable of making it harder for everyone else to do their jobs. Especially the Octonauts.

Why do I bring them up? Well more recently, although we know he loves to toy with the other branches of the A.S.A. (cough cough, Safari Solutions, cough cough), the Octonauts have far advanced their efforts in helping the environment than the others.

They've created massive machines fit to do the simplest of tasks in the shortest amount of time. Not only have they created these machines, these "gups", but they have also advanced to building an entire artificial reef that, if we're being honest, could rival a city.

Adding to that they have now created their own program (The Octo-Agents), connecting people all around the world to help in the event of natural disasters, injured/sick Wilds, or any claimed "emergency" that deems itself worthy of their attention.

[ Wilds - Creatures who are "less evolved" than the modern image, or have chosen to live outside of the bounds of modern societies. ]

Now that might be a problem for a man who's seems so keen on keeping up a certain image, preferring the upper hand. A man who likes his figurines to be arranged in a certain order on his shelf. A man who doesn't care for people who undo what he's already sought out to create . . .

A man who . . . doesn't mind getting his hands dirty.

Affiliations:

We know he has his claws in the pool, but we don't know how far they reach. His influence has only been affecting the world for over a decade while others only recently have begun to show signs of loyalty.

The most prominent organizations would be . . .

The Black Ice Clan, run and directed by a man named Black Tack. A ever looming organization that's taken hold of the Northern Hemisphere, specifically within the Atlantic Ocean. Their methods are chilling to say the least. No one knows exactly how they've kept control for so long, but that's not to say anyone is eager to dethrone them either. [ Danger Level: 10 ]

The Jersey Gang, a rather up and coming group that has more recently taken hold of the lower swells of Zootopia, although their origins lie in Latin America and Japan. Not as prominent or notable as others who had their time in the sun, but they've proven useful in recent events. They are directed by a man by the name of Capone Redsurge. [ Danger Level: 8 ]

That just leaves. . .

The Order of the Light . . .

Somehow this organization is even more illusive than its competitors. No one is sure what it is or who runs it. But one thing is for sure, it may very well be the most dangerous group in the world.

[ Danger Level: 11 ]

Others:

It's not always clear which allies the Spectator chooses, and it's even harder to know if they even know him at all. In the past there have been claims, some gangs even worship his name although they've never actually come into contact with him. But there are some notable names that the A.S.A. likes to keep an eye on . . .

Professor Julias Copper . . . Investor & Chairman of the A.S.A.

Status: Supervised

Old Colleague of Professor Kelp, Known to be less reliable on the A.S.A.'s behalf.

[ Danger Level: 5 ]

Mr. King . . . Organizer, Promoter, & the Main Investor of the Rimba Grand Prix (RGP)

Status: Supervised

Currently under supervision by the IBD or International Bureau of Defense — Being Investigated for the death of Mr. Riq Harimau

[ Danger Level: 5 ]

Roxy Raider . . . International Thief

Status: Missing

Currently under the charge of Larceny, Embezzlement, Extortion, and a slew of other fraudulent activities.

(Previous) Partnership with the Crimson Paw — Status: No longer speaking . . .

Enemy of C.L.A.D.E.

[ Danger Level: 8 ]

The Crimson Paw . . . International Thief

Status: Reformed

(No longer in league with The Spectator)

Legal Name: Diane Foxington — Govenor of Los Angeles, California

Affiliated with the up and coming, " Bad Guys " — Relationship Unclear

[ Danger Level: 8 ]

Dr. Octavius Brine . . . Geneticist, Experimental Scientist, International Menace

Status: In Hiding

Legal Name: David the Octopus (Dave)

Enemies with North Wind

[ Danger Level: 9 ]

Dawn Bellwether . . . Former Mayor of Zootopia & Cause of the Nightcrawler Outbreak

Status: Imprisoned

"Prey" Activist . . . Being Charged for Attempted Murder and the Transportation/Mistreatment of Nightcrawler Toxins

[ Danger Le͉͎̱̗͖͙̼͍ͪͪ̽̑͊́͢v̷̩̣̗̩͇̦̠͈̥̻̗̣͚̺̎͂̀́̏̀̕e̒ͦ̇̈҉͙͓̳ͩ̃͛̊̒̄͞҉̖͚̪͙l̤̯̞͖ͦ̈ͬ̀: ̹̗͉̹̣̦̤̤̦͗̾̀̐5̙͙̙̘͕͉̹ͩ͂̽ͧͨ ]

⋘ 𝙎𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 ⋙

⋘ 𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒂 ⋙

⚠ 𝑬𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓 ⚠

⋘ ↻ 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉 ↻ ⋙

⋘ 𝙎𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 ⋙

⋘ 𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒂 ⋙

Jasper & Garnétte . . . Heads of the Opaline Emporium & Parlor

Status: Unknown

Two brothers with a deep understanding of the higher markets.

Heirs to the Johar Family, a cabal rooted heavily in both São Paulo, Brazil & Mumbai, India.

Wanted for First Degree Murder, Arson, and Larceny — Known to deal in Black Market Trades in high end gemstones.

No Further Information Available

[ Danger Level: 10 ]

p0nd_5k473r . . . Master Hacker & Dark Web Specialist

Status: Unknown

Tech Specialist — Cause Unknown

Legal Name: Stacy Rana Phrynee

[ Danger Level: 8 ]

Smokes . . . Leader of the Backyard Bruisers

Status: Unknown

High Ranking Gangster

No Further Information Available

Legal Name: Mateo Crudele

[ Danger Level: 9 ]

The Mad Hatter Trio . . . Master Thieves, Hackers,

Status: Unknown

Legal Names: Sean McCauley, Casey Hackney, Mallory Hughes

Sean (Hatter) — Methods Unclear, Currently identified as the leader of the group.

Casey (March Hare) — Loose Cannon, Dangerous to work with, Unpredictable, Weapons

Mallory (Dormouse) — Careful & Precise, Calculated Assailant, Hacker

No Further Information Available

[ Danger Lev̷̩̣̗̩͇̦̠͈̥̻̗̣͚̺̎͂̀́̏̀̕e̒ͦ̇̈҉͙͓̳ͩ̃͛̊̒̄͞҉̖͚̪͙l̤̯̞͖ͦ̈ͬ̀: ̏̄ͧ͂��̱̘̦͘͞1͕͇̱̙͈̂̾̿̈͒ͅ0̧̢̱̯̺͓̜̳̗̗ͨ͐̔͆]

⋘ 𝙎𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 ⋙

⋘ 𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒂 ⋙

. . .

Hello.

Y.N.

:)

⋘ 𝙎𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 ⋙ ⚠ 𝑬𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓 ⚠ ⋘ 𝑺𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑳𝒐𝒔𝒕 ⋙

[ See " The Villains of the A.S.A. " for Reference ]

[ Official Crossover List ]

(Redesigns Coming Soon)

[auranova26]

Splatoon: Octo Cuentos Lore Bits

As I type this, I am being lulled into a trance by this beautiful remix.

With it, I feel compelled to share some bits of lore I have regarding my AU. Uh, no particular order or thematic, just whatever comes to mind. I am in fact drunk. 🥴

There are effectively five dialects that exist in the world of Splatoon: OC. I guess the term 'languages' could work as well. They are Inkadian, Splatlandian, Octarian, Salmonarian, and Ursine/Alternan. Inkadian is the primary language among those in Inkadia, with Splatlandian being that for The Splatlands people. Octarian is for the Octarians and Octolings of the Octo Domes. Salmonarian is the language of the Salmonids. Ursine is interestingly the human language, as it was Mr. Grizz who would speak this language and 'teach' it to those he had in Alterna. Even named it after his species, the entitled prick. The language would eventually go under a new name and evolution to Alternan after Grizz's death and the liberation of the victims in Alterna from his control.

Among these 5, Salmonarian and Alternan would be the most radically different from the other three. Salmonids, due to the way they are, just created their own language amongst themselves and thus share very little with the others in roots of terms and such. Alternan, as stated, is the human language taken by Grizz and then eventually by the Mammalian Inkfish of Alterna. While it would adapt its own borrowed/influenced terms from the other dialects, it still overall is very different from the others. As for what human language... whatever you want it to be.

Interestingly, Octarian shares roots with interestingly both Inkadian and Splatlandian, despite the divide between both lands.

Inkadian and Splatlandian share enough similarities, but also enough differences to be distinct from one another.

DJ Octavio is more painted as a leader who is trying to do good for his people. Give them hope and uphold his promises of prosperity from the tightrope dance over the abyss of collapse. But, his grudges of the past, with the surface and especially Cuttlefish, do unfortunately cloud some aspects of his decision making. I just don't like this idea of him being portrayed as a villain. Yes, dude can be prideful and such. Yes, he effectively created a militaristic culture for his people that spanned for what can only be about a century. But he isn't some batshit crazy dictator like we have seen in our history who is only in it for himself. The whole aspect of this military culture, in his eyes, was a way to keep a sense of unity and community for everyone. All doing their part to help the Octarians as a whole inch ever closer to that bright future. Even with his rather serious and sometimes intimidating facade, he does what he can for everyone. He doesn't live in opulence; he partakes in rations for food and mandatory blackouts to conserve energy.

The No 9 Gang actually play a role in the story as major supporting characters. Their leader, Inochi, is sympathetic to Octarians and actually has an alliance with DJ Octavio. He and his gang do what they can to provide some form of aid via anything they can provide, information being the greatest asset. In fact, thanks to them, they were instrumental in assuring that the theft of the Great Zapfish went as smoothly as it did thanks to them being able to provide valuable info and aid those who went to get the Great Zapfish.

As far as the water weakness is concerned, I just go with this video done by rassicas:

A lot of what they go over I just agree with and like. Especially this whole thing regarding osmotic pressure.

While I don't have any designs, I do like the thought that Inklings and Octolings from the Splatlands look very different from those in Inkadia. The thing that comes to mind is more... feral? Tougher considering the climate of the Splatlands compared to Inkadia? If you are aware of the artist opal-owl-flight, I want to look to the general shape ideas they go for the way they draw Inkfish.

Speaking of artists coming up with cool concepts:

Would consider this as a concept existing in Splatoon: OC.

Once again with more artist concepts that I agree with and or want to implement for how I will design Inkfish characters in Splatoon: OC:

Salmonids don't have any sense of malice towards the denizens of Inkadia and the Splatlands. Hecc, they don't even hate Grizzco. For the employees of Grizzco, while they acknowledge them as invaders of their turf, they also recognize them as warriors. Sure, they don't like their Golden Eggs being taken, but it serves as another incentive for them to give their all in battle against these 'invading warriors'.

I go with the idea a lot of bird species survived into the new age of the Inkfish. Ancestors of the dinosaurs outliving the dumb mammals.

It wasn't just Octarians that were mutated by Fuzzy Ooze. Grizz basically carefully chose he saw that society wouldn't care about as a whole if they went missing. Vagabonds, homeless and the like. He considers these 'Mammalian Inkfish' to be lucky to be gifted with this new evolution to them.

Mammalian Inkfish, once fully mutated, possess a skeletal structure. With this, they lose their ability to shift forms like they could before. However, with their thicker skin, they no longer need to worry about water killing due to osmotic pressure and stuff. However, they can drown. But due to the mutagenetic properties gifted by the Fuzzy Oozes strange ingredients, they can hold their breaths for quite some time and can quickly learn how to swim in water.

Mammalian Inkfish are still capable of producing Ink, but not at the same rate as they could before. As a remnant of the osmotic pressure aspect, should they have enough ink stored in them and are in enough of a heightened state, they can use a range of Specials. These can be a Killer Wail Roar, a Splashdown, and even a transformation.

This transformation special of the Mammalian Inkfish equates to them bulking out their bodies into a more feral, monstrous state where they are significantly more resilient to damage and can deal much more pain. But like any transformation, it can only last for so long before their ink supply runs out and their 'osmotic pressure' cools down.

There is the idea about whether Mr. Grizz is even the same bear that awoke those several years ago from the Ark of Polaris. Due to the many experiments he performed with the Fuzzy Ooze and its creation, it vastly screwed with his biology. Was it really he who came up with his plan to ensure a lasting legacy of his kind, or the ooze gaining sentience and using what was once Grizz to spread itself about. The answer is never stated, but I like to think of the horrifying implications considering the fact he can like... melt into ink and reform despite having a skeleton.

Mammalian Inkfish mutate in such a way to resemble bearlike creatures. But not just brown bears, but a variety of those in the gene pool of bears.

NO, Octavio didn't brainwash anyone, especially not Callie. In fact, I'll lay down what I have thought about regarding what would spark the Splatoon 2 arc of Splatoon: OC. Callie fled from Inkopolis due to a number factors that left her angry, sad, and hurt. Just to get away from everything, she would eventually head beyond the peak of Mount Nantai. She didn't have a place in mind, just wanted to get as far away. Likely as there might be soldiers performing reconnaissance, they would have spotted her before she reached Octo Canyon. Being informed of her presence, Octavio would decide to personally go see her, along with some Elite soldiers just in case. And while she might initially have been shocked to see DJ Octavio freed, she wouldn't care much about that. If anything, she might have been ready for a fight as she wanted to be left alone considering her messy state of mind. While yes, Octavio certainly had some grievances with her being part of the reasons his plans failed, his anger was more directed at Cuttlefish than her. Plus, he did recognize how the Calamari Inkantation was still in the minds of many Octarians, including his own with it being such a funky tune he can respect begrudgingly. Instead, he sees an opportunity. By allowing her a place to get away from the stress of Inkopolis and her life, he could then show her the life that was for the people that her grandfather labeled as her enemies. As she stayed in in the Octo Domes, she was treated quite well there. Beyond Octavio's orders for her to be treated well, many just were surprised and excited to see her. Really seeing the conditions that these people lived in, she was utterly taken a back how much many who she met did what they could for her. Even the smallest gesture touched her heart. In return, she did what she could to bring that small bit of spark of joy to those she met. Sure, she did encounter those that she did realize were not a fan of her presence, but she didn't push back at all. Her time here not only was helping her chill out but giving her this sense of support that she desperately wanted and needed. She completely lost track of time and even any connection with the surface. She just liked being here, practically seeing the Octarians as friends and family.

With Callie having forged this bond with the Octarians as a whole, as plans were being prepared to get the Great Zapfish of Inkopolis Square, Octavio would decide to test the waters. With her basically experiencing what life was for he and his people, he eventually finds a way to bring up how it isn't fair how the lives of the Octarians have to be the way it is. They were just like the people of the surface yet were forced to basically live in these barely functioning ecosystems all because of something that happened long ago. If anything, the surface was greedy. One Great Zapfish would certainly be enough to fuel the megalopolis, certainly another wouldn't be an issue to lose. And even then, they had access to a multitude of resources that they could use to make up for any inconveniences, to which Callie would genuinely agree on. She basically turned a blind eye to the fact that he and the Octarians pulled off another heist to steal another Great Zapfish. The ultimate test would come when reconnaissance would spot Marie, with a seemingly new Inkling on her side invading the Octo Canyon. When Callie was made aware of this, she stopped to think for a little before coming to the conclusion that she was likely here cause of the Great Zapfish heist. In fact, to Octavio's delight, Callie seemed angry at the mention of Marie's name. Granted, she wasn't made aware of the news regarding her disappearance, but Octavio was careful about what Callie was made aware of. With her basically sympathetic to the Octarians, Callie would willingly aid them from the shadows to stop Marie and this 'Agent 4' from causing any more suffering for the Octarians. While she had no desire to kill, originally trying to menacingly send anonymous radio calls to tell them to back off from what they were doing if they had any sense of empathy, their continued success would cause her to get angrier and frustrated. Not only what could happen to these people that overall helped her in her time of need, but her resentment towards Marie and her family as whole. This boiling rage that would eventually culminate in the final battle.

So yeah, Octavio basically emotionally manipulates Callie. Not only giving her what she wanted but turning her own anger against those that she considered family. I mean think about it, dude is a leader. They need to be able to say the right words to get people to do things. No need for any dumb brainwash crap.

With that said, Callie did help with designing the new outfits for the Octarian Army, even designing her own outfit to fit in more with them. While she had no rank, she basically was treated like an Elite Soldier due to her own skills being formidable. Even with this unofficial rank, Callie never tried to abuse any privileges this would entail.

One of the driving factors that made Grizz initiate his plans was the fear of death. Unlike Judd and Lil Judd, he was not biologically immortal. And with the heightened intelligence 'gifted' to him via the experiments of the humans, he had the existential dread of not only death, but of having no way to pass on a legacy. With no other bears alive, he couldn't continue a lineage as was natural for all creatures to pass on their genetic material. In a sense, this idea of a new age of mammals/bears, the mutations of the Inkfish was his way to leave a lasting legacy on the world. Though however much of that initial spark is left is unknown considering how much the ooze mutated his own biology.

Salmonids have a folk story about 'The beast that came from the night sky ocean.' Basically, it is a recounting of their kind's first encounter with Mr. Grizz when he had just walked out of the wreckage of the Ark of Polaris. Yeah, his first encounter with life on Earth was the Salmonids. Not the best first impression. Even with the tech of the Octarians, many were slaughtered and feasted on by the brown beast.

Yeah... that is about it. I am super tired and trying to sober up before sleep. I hope you enjoyed this Lore Bit. I'd be happy to elaborate on some stuff. :)

[fishsprout]

SPLATOON 3 NINTENDO DIRECT SIDE ORDER ITS HAPPENING ITS HAPPENING OH MY GOD

okay. analysis time

MY GIRL AAHHH SHES BACK!! okay SO. inkopolis square. but dead. its a bleached coral forest basically. there seems to be this sorta of,, electricity thing going on throughout the trailer that we can see on the lobby tower. overall looks dope as hell

WE HAVE THE FULL FIT!! FOR BOTH GENDERS!! okay first of all what are those ink tanks? sorta looks like those IV bags. same with the outfit,, the shoes sorta look like casts and the clothes look like some sort of sensory deprivation tank suit. a lot of medical vibes going on from the white color and everything. i love it

PEARL BOT! no questions about it, marina definitely made this for her (the wives :D) its interesting that pearl isn't actually there (marina isn't either, ill talk more about my theory later) but she can still talk to us through this robot. also love how marina added the sliding eyebrows to make it more expressive LMAO

i love how we can ride pearl bot as well. i think this will be an important feature, wonder if we can control her when this happens :O

okay what are these? i think the first one on the left is a mem cake, not really sure what the others are though

okay im seeing a theme of electricity and we can see in the background it sort of glitching, so i think side order might a simulation or something. the huge orb in the middle is definitely some fucked up zapfish (where you end the level im assuming), but its glitching and then a ton of the skeleton creatures come out of it

it looks like a ton of dead fish (dedf1sh...?),, we havent seen any octolings that you need to fight yet so these seem like the new enemies replacing them for side order. though i do wonder if we'll ever encounter an evil octoling (or inkling or salmonid, who knows) also are these an entire new species? or just some simulation creature

i also love how instead of ink, its the same electricity we've been seeing used to summon the weapons. this whole realms creation definitely has something to do with marina since its side order and its super technologically advanced

okay WOA numbers. definitely something marina would implement. i don't have much to say about this but yea, im loving the tech-y themes going on. it also seems like pearlbot is helping you fight these guys since she is shooting lasers at them. if she's sorta like small fry, i wonder if we will ever get to use her as a bomb, or if she is automatic

also its confirmed that the octoling is indeed agent 8! i was like 90% sure but im glad its definite

okay the biggest thing about this trailer, DEDF1SH!!!!!!!!!

"just another bystander who got sucked in." what sucked them in? my theory is that marina somehow trapped them in a simulation she made of a world thats orderly- maybe she made it after the final fest?or is this an already existing place? maybe some whirlpool was created after octo expansion and this place exists under inkopolis square?

SHE HAS A NAME!!! ACHT!!!! also i am so glad all of the fan theories were correct and she isn't evil, just still partially sanitized. i wonder if that will be a factor in the story? more dedf1sh lore?

her glasses are different! since she doesn't have the hypno shades anymore she prolly has much more awareness now since she isnt being brainwashed, though she is still sanitized- but i think the music is counteracting the effects of that since shes a dj and shes always wearing headphones

also why is her arm bandaged? what happened to her? also all this time i thought she was wearing a tshirt LMAO

i am a huge dedf1sh fan and i have quite a few theories about her, so i hope she is an important character in the story of side order and we get some backstory

ESPECIALLY ABOUT HER HISTORY WITH MARINA!! they are both djs so that probably is important, but i am really excited to learn more about them. i think marina mightve gone missing and we are looking for her too?

the color chips seem to be like, stat boosts? and also 8 started to gain color once you add them! its sorta like deep cut's colored fingers. wonder if this will be a new feature after the dlc! i loveee customization options

this seems to be the respawn animation which !?!?!? IS SO COOL!?!?!

i have no idea what this is but. oh my god. i am so excited for this. its happening.

[bigblueoctoling]

I Hate Octavio With All Of My Heart

I'm genuinely so pissed about Octavio being at the grand fest at all. Like it's genuinely a serious hampering on what is otherwise a really nice event. It's even worse that cuttlefish is there. This genuinely severely lowers my opinion of the Splatoon writers.

So like. On its face, I despise the general angle of going easy on Octavio. It's not headcanon that he's objectively a pretty terrible person for a lot of reasons- like, it feels very intentional that one is meant to read it like Octavio is an old war vet who's artificially keeping the "us vs them" mentality of the great turf war. It feels intentional that one is meant to read him as a very vain and controlling person who actively spreads propaganda (see Splatoon 1). It feels intentional that, at the *VERY* least, what Octavio did to Callie in Splatoon 2 was Bad, if not Morally Reprehensible. It feels like, with the way Octarian society is described in Octo Expansion and Side Order, we're textually meant to read the hyper-militarization of their society as a bad thing.

I feel like, if Splatoon was ultimately intending to present Octavio as a morally grey antihero type of character, they have completely and utterly failed to do so. Merely having him be the leader of Octarians doesn't implicitly make him a good guy just because Octarians are oppressed- Octavio is obviously, on some level, a figure with political power in Octarian society. Octo Expansion largely served to show that the surface world has progressed past the conflict of the Great War- so if Octarians are still facing oppression, that only really falls into the hands of the Octarian elite. If the intent was EVER to imply that that doesn't define Octavio, they made literally no effort to show it.

All of this being said, you could still argue that Octavio's help in Splatoon 3's ending is meant to represent him turning a new leaf- It's an argument that I'd still fervently disagree with, but you could hypothetically make that argument.

Except Splatoon also doesn't make that argument. Literally one line Marie says in the post-game has her posit that Octavio might have turned a new leaf- A line I've always hated, but it feels as though the game has just sort of ignored the busywork of actually showing that any change has been made to the primary antagonist of the franchise and has just leapt to the conclusion because Octavio has done one vaguely morally good action ever- an action done to save the planet, which obviously is also in his own personal best interest.

Isn't Octavio, like, a threat? Like, he literally has a criminal record and is a military leader, why is he allowed at this venue?

Moreover, why are Octavio and Cuttlefish suddenly chummy?

The fact that Octavio is sat with Cuttlefish makes this feel like a cheap, hollow gesture to appeal to the fandom- like, yeah, people like to ship cuttlefish and octavio, but that's not, like... basis to decide what the canon is? Like, you need to actually establish their relationship in the canon first, you need to show them interacting together LITERALLY A SINGLE TIME BEFORE JUST ACTING LIKE THEY'RE BEST FRIENDS WHEN EVERY SINGLE PREVIOUS INTERACTION BETWEEN THEM WAS DIRECTLY ANTAGONISTIC.

And, just to reiterate: I DESPISE the idea of shipping the two of them. Not for any moral reasons, I just personally find both characters wretched people. But like, if you wanted to do this, you should actually do it? Instead of just plopping a literal war criminal in the middle of a venue as if it's totally fine. Like I genuinely despise that he's here. It's so fucking lame.

I think if you actually give a shit about Octavio's character, you should be pissed too. Like... They're just acting like they've totally redeemed Octavio and he's gone through a whole redemption arc when he's done literally ONE GOOD THING EVER, and it was still something exclusively for his personal gain (the planet not being destroyed). This is pretty major character development they're just not actually bothering to do or explain they're just sort of shoving him and cuttlefish together as if that instantly makes them best friends. It's so fucking lame and pandering, it feels like the end of a cheap kids movie where they have a funny dance party and the main antagonist is also there for no reason.

Like, I genuinely gotta wonder, is it my fault? Am I the one who doesn't see the textual evidence of Octavio being a good guy, somehow? Have I somehow missed something? Because it genuinely feels like a complete rejection of how they've characterized him up to this point, to just suddenly act like Octavio has been redeemed and there's totally nothing wrong with being his best friend. Like I feel like I've been playing a different Splatoon Franchise than anyone who'd think that's normal.

[intermet179]

Theory: Splatoon's story modes are inherently inspired by Metal Gear

WALL OF TEXT WARNING:

Point 1: Agent 3 is the equivalent of Solid Snake. -Protagonist of first game, important to the next ones -Hired by some people -Fight and destroy Weapons of Destruction (Octoweapons/Metal Gears) -Fight Final Mecha that big baddie is controlling (Metal Gear REX, Octobot King; Liquid Snake, Octavio) -Said Big Baddie is of the same bloodline (Liquid Snake, also a clone of Big Boss like Solid Snake)/Animal Group (Octavio, a cephalopod) Octavio is hence the equivalent of Liquid Snake, the Octobot King being Metal Gear REX.

Point 2: Captain Cuttlefish is the equivalent of Big Boss/Nαked Snake. -First Captain/First Snake -Presumed deαd by end of ROTM/Metal Gear saga, but: -Cuttlefish is found dehydrated/"dead" but then is revived by Captain 3's tears -Snake goes to Big Boss' grave at the end of MGS4, but then sees the alive Big Boss beside him -Cuttlefish "hires" and trains Agent 3, Big Boss trains Solid Snake in CQC combat -Cuttlefish is same species as 3, Solid Snake is clone of Big Boss

Point 3: Agent 8 is the equivalent of Raiden/Jack the Ripper -Main Game Plot involves Agent 3/Solid Snake -Born a child soldier (Jack)/Octarian Soldier (8), and finding freedom at some point in time. -Captured by someone at some point in time (Commander Tartar/Solidus Snake) who they kill at the end of their game -Had an old name (Jack, 8's pre-amnesia name is unknown), given new one by mentor character (Raiden is named so by Snake, Cuttlefish assigns Agent 8 with that title) -Fight Big Thing With Laser near/by the end of their game (NILS Statue, has Ink Laser, Metal Gear RAY [MGS2], has Hydraulic Cutter) -Will most likely not hesitate to KΙLL Tartar is hence the equivalent of Solidus Snake aka George Sears, the NILS Statue being MGS2's Metal Gear RAY.

Point 4: Return of the Mammalians is the equivalent of Metal Gear Solid 4. -Final game story-wise with their respective character groups -Characters from all around the series -ROTM would have featured Agents 4 and 8, and does feature Callie, Marie, Cuttlefish, and Octavio as major parts of the story… -…just as MGS4 involves many characters from the other Metal Gear Solid games, such as Revolver Ocelot & Liquid Snake (As Liquid Ocelot), Raiden, and Big Boss -With new characters as well (Deep Cut, MGS4's side characters) -Pilot old enemy thing to defeat big enemy -Solid Snake (with Otacon) pilots the Metal Gear REX to defeat Liquid Ocelot's Metal Gear RAY -New Agent 3 (with Octavio) pilots the Octobot King L3.Gs to defeat Mr. Grizz, the final big bad

Therefore, we can assume (as it's not out yet) that Side Order will be the equivalent of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance -Involves major character(s) from past game, those being Off the Hook, and MGRR being Raiden's post-MGS4 spinoff story -Protagonist is presumably Agent 8, who we've established is the equivalent of Raiden. -Protagonist Octoling (8) is wearing a new outfit, as in MGR after the prologue Raiden has a new cyborg body -Will more than likely touch on some darker themes as Octo Expansion did (while all of Metal Gear is pretty dark) -What's presumed to be a new Octoshot in trailer art, like how Raiden has a new High Frequency Blade with his new cyborg body -Even though Raiden's always wielded an HF Blade, it's just a new version, like how Agent 8 has always had an Octo Shot, this is presumably a new version -Might also have to do with the Octoling themselves as there are flashback-like images in the trailer, and MGR also has Raiden question his own philosophies

[masquayla-the-splendid]

How Splatoon makes a controversial Fnaf theory work better in their universe, and other parallels. (Really.)

[Side Order spoilers]

I beat Side Order in 3 hours on my 3rd try at 3am. No I am not joking. I used a slosher. I currently have 9 lockers yet to open, so if anything important comes up, I will update.

I couldn't help but notice the parallels right at the beginning, freeing Marina from Order's control. I went neuron activation, VANESSA.

But then they started talking more about Octo Expansion lore, which made me get all giddy, because 14 y/o me had the biggest fascination with the Sanitized Octolings, and how Commander Tartar built up his scheme to the point we encounter him.

They referred something or other about the color chips/pallettes as "souls" which caught my attention. They're like broken soul pieces? Alright. We already know a comically large kitchen utensil blends octopuses into life goop. What exactly happens to the ones that look like this?

Why are you green?

Marina's logs read:

So okay. I, personally, despise Molten MCI. I think it takes away of a ton of character's individuality, and makes more things confusing, all to explain some old man's rambling in a non-canon ending.

It works for Splatoon's case, because we already had no information about any of the octolings before Sanitization. (Aside from Acht.) We didn’t have time to make that up for ourselves, because we never knew about any of this beforehand, like how we filled in the gaps with underwritten characters for fnaf.

However I'll keep reading and see what else can line up here.

This is leaning into TFC territory. So for less Splatoon knowledgeable readers, Marina is trying to take, essentially what is the Freddy amalgam in TFC, and trying to deconstruct it with each animatronic having everything from their respective endoskeletons. That's best way I can explain it. (For a reader more knowledgeable with Steven Universe, she's trying to fix the forced fusions like Yellow.)

Except the difference here is that the products of Kamabo are, well, orderly, and not animalistic.

The logs that sold it for me:

So in fnaf speak: From a Molten MCI perspective, (blech,) melting down the infused metal, transferring it into data, and putting that data gloop into playable avatars in an arcade game where they can choose the bits of remnant that belong to them, putting themselves back together.

However, with my neuron activation Order=Mimic, that would mean Mimic MCI, but WAIT COME BACK. IT DOESNT HAVE TO BE.

I have yet to get the rest of the lore bits, but as far as I know, Order, (I'm not calling him Smollusk,) is an AI with the generalized ideals Kamabo has programming into the Sanitized Octolings. (I swear he's just leftovers of Tartar. I know it in my heart.) Mimic copies everything it sees, and learns incredibly fast. It learned the tragedies and rumors of Fazbear Ent, and according to Tiger Rock, he's running most of the Pizza Plex, which makes profits of said tragedies he's learned. Did Mimic orchestrate everything? No. He probably has no understanding of anything he's doing, he just does it because that's all he knows. The company started it.

Basically,

Kamabo Co.= Sleazy NewGen Fazbear Ent.

Order=Mimic.

How ever this ends, I'm using as evidence for how I predict the SteelWool plot to resolve/hj

Conc1usion: Marina and Henry should meet up. Well maybe not, if Marina wants permanent results.

I find it telling that with a plot so similar to a Fnaf theory that I hate, I actually really like this idea. And I think it's because it's not Fnaf. It's almost the exact same concept, but it makes much more sense and flows better in Splatoon's world. Probably because it was intentionally written that way, and is supposed to be shamelessly absurd and scifi. I like that I'm able to enjoy a concept I hate.

Analogy: Chocolate is good. I like when a pre existing food item I enjoy has an added chocolate exterior. Like strawberries. Sometimes, there are instances where that is not the case, like bacon. It exsists, and you either love it or hate it. I like both base consumables, and I like the additive, but it works better for one than the other.

Literal speak: I like the scifi horror concept of brainwashing with the actual person person being trapped or lost in a specific state, while their body is just another puppet for the main antagonist, and it takes some Cyber Chase shenanigans to free everyone. That's a rad concept. I just like it better when it's applied to a world that is planned for that kind of take, rather than to a world I already enjoyed, but scrambled to cut itself to fit that shape because it almost fit. It works better for a wacky scifi dystopia, not a campy paranormal horror.

Conclu2ion: Some things are best left for other stories.

Oh and both franchises have a known history of bangin soundtrack.

[thisbelongsto-nohbodys]

Just finished a few runs of the new Splatoon 3 DLC: Side Order and it’s pretty fun so far.

I love the dialogue between the characters (Can Pearl and Marina be anymore in love? Geez, get a room u two) and the challenges have been Octo-Expansion level of fun yet difficult at times.

I do hope that the Turbine thing becomes a new ranked mode. I could see it like a combo of Tower Control and Rainmaker. TC in the pathways but which becomes slower just before checkpoints so it’s not a steamroll and escorting a pillar object and RM in that after a team gets it to a checkpoint, it could explode out that teams ink to splat any enemies near it. Having to constantly keep ur team’s ink levels up in order to keep it moving and have enough to defend against the opponents sounds like fun.

Hopefully I can beat it this weekend but imma take my time and try and unlock all of the hacks if possible (like I did with Hades)

[tunabunk]

MORE LORE BITS:

1. Lil’ Judd and Baby Pearl (partners in crime)

2. Frye is pregnant again! Hoping to get to that story line in the Ask Blog eventually!

3. Marina and her siblings :3

Bonus: Me to the toxic side of the Splatoon fandom

(But the chill side? I fw yalls, we cool 😎)

[asktheoctoorderandcontrolgang]

Hey Pearl, what do you do for fun? have any hobbies? interests of any kind?

Pearl: “… Infact, I’ve learned that humans are very much similar to us inkfish people… Starting wars, and what for? All for land? All for the pettiest of reasons…? Wars are stupid fights…”

“Stupid, stupid, stupid…”

[averageartistamber]

So, my thoughts on Side Order

Okay, so Side Order’s been out for a few days, so I may as well give out my thoughts on it. Obviously, this post is going to contain spoilers below as I go into more detail about my opinions and observations.

I’ve completed four runs so far (almost got five but failed near the end).

Overall, Side Order’s pretty good. It’s a lot of fun, a little rough in some areas, but worth the wait.

 First, let’s talk about mechanics.

Splatoon’s gameplay works well with a rogue-lite gameplay loop, and it’ll easily keep you occupied for at least a couple of hours (Some folks have 100% completed it on release day, but for the average player I’d reckon maybe 15-20 hours?). The permanent upgrade system allows a degree of control over the difficulty (even if it can be a grind to unlock things).

The chip system is cool, especially later on when you’ve made some really goofy yet strong builds. The Pearl Drone is some of the most fun stuff we’ve seen in the series so far. Letting her be almost as overpowered in the gameplay as she is in the lore is just really funny.

One thing that I feel does bring it down though, is the lack of variety. After a few hours you do start to notice that there’s only about five different floor objectives, and there’s not that much in terms of enemy variety either (although later floors add a mechanic where Battering Lentos can carry other Jelletons around on their backs…Which is a thing. Definitely would have preferred a few new guys instead.)  

As for the Jelletons…they’re…eh. They don’t really have the charm of the Octarians or Salmonids, but the devs seem to have intentionally singled out some of the worst aspects of those enemy rosters to design these dudes. With such a small bestiary, about half of them are annoying “screw those guys” (the flying sprinkler assholes and the Stinger But Even Worse dudes come to mind)…Which I’m not sure if that’s bad game design or really good game design honestly. They do their job as obstacles and video game enemies, and the designs are solid.

At least it’s not reskinned Octarians again.

There only really being five different bosses, with three in “rotation” (and one you only fight once), which honestly feels like a huge wasted opportunity. Would have been cool to have maybe a handful more options. Maybe even have an exclusive boss for each palette on Floor 20 where Eight has to fight a screwed-up version of whoever the palette represents. In this case Parallel Canon would be exclusive to Agent 4, and Marina would have a slightly buffed version of her fight, maybe with a different barrier mechanic to differentiate her from Overlorder.

And as always, the soundtrack absolutely slaps.

Not sure if I’m personally going to bother with 100% completion, since apparently the reward is a few secret lore files that I’ll probably find and read from the wiki or something.

Story, Lore and Characters

The story is serviceable, it’s pretty much what you’d expect from Splatoon’s storytelling at this point. There’s interesting stuff there which either isn’t explored in detail or is relegated to background lore files you can unlock and read. That being said, the lore we got is cool. Like, we all guessed that the Spire of Order was some kind of VR thing Marina made, and finding out she made it in order to heal victims of KamaboCo and restore the sanitised is both in-character and a very nice tying of ends from Octo Expansion.

I will say that if you haven’t played or are otherwise aware of the plot of Octo Expansion, some things might not make the most sense (ie. you’ll probably scratching your head over who the hell Acht is and why they’re neon green.) so it’s best experienced after reading or watching a video on the previous DLC to have the full context.

Thank Cod they didn’t make Marina the villain or have her be locked away for most of the game waiting to be rescued. Although she did get put under mind control, which I kinda expected…Seems to be at least one the Story Writer’s favourite trope at this point. Or just an odd choice of running gag. This story feels more character-focused than events and plot-focused, so not much really “happens”, but we get some substantial character interactions that make up for it.

The limited cast of characters works very well in the story’s favour. Adds to the weird lonely and isolated vibe of the Memverse. Pearl and Marina are great as usual, and there’s a surprising amount of scenes and dialogue for Pearlina shippers to lose their minds over. Acht/Dedf1sh is an effective straight man to all this, providing a foil to the other characters. The vibe of “Can we please talk about literally anything else” after the aggressive Pearlina banter is entertaining. It’s just really cool that the background musician characters are starting to get more relevance.

Cipher doesn’t do very much, but might have one of the best character designs in the franchise so far. It’s alright (I think the character uses It/It’s pronouns).

On the other hand, I personally think Order/Smollusk might be the weakest of the Splatoon big bads. They don’t really have the charisma and backstory intrigue of Octavio, the presence and build-up of Mr.Grizz (who to be fair had two a whole game prior to his stint as a villain) or the menace/“creep factor” of Commander Tartar.

In fact, Order kinda feels like a toned-down or Bowdlerised Tartar, as in which Order’s goal is similar and similarly horrifying, but they haven’t been getting away with it for god knows how long and you don’t ever see the result of their plans, (No ghastly Bad Ending cutscene of everyone getting their minds destroyed by the Memverse or anything), unless you count the thing they turned Marina into. I guess the whole Virtual Reality setting makes them feel like less of a threat? Maybe it’s just me.

And I dunno if this is just localisation weirdness, but did they HAVE to make his weakened form converse in Uwu-speak?

Although this seemingly isn’t what happens, I do quite enjoy the idea of Order/Smollusk slowly getting rehabilitated and redeemed as the gang hangs out with him (and kicks his ass) several times. Unfortunately, dude seems to be really clinging hard to the “Evil Overlord” shtick, which ultimately turns the character into a one-note laugh when we could’ve had a fun little arc.

One more thing about characters….

WHERE IN THE FRESHLY FRIED AND FILLETED FLIPPER-FLOPPER IS AGENT FOUR!?

The fact that they have a sort-of presence (being the Splattershot is explicitly called Agent Four’s Palette and not, like, Squidbeak Splatoon Palette, as well as the Parallel Canon boss) really seemed to be hinting at Agent Four making a physical appearance. Maybe it’s cut content? Maybe they’ll find their way into the Memverse in an update (like with Callie in 2’s Hero Mode)?

Them being the only Agent not to appear in Splatoon 3 just kinda sucks. Like, even Nintendo themselves seem to in on the joke with them being the un-favourite (see the “supposed to be a [BIG SHOT]” line from Pearl). But I really hope that one day Agent Four gets to be something that’s a bit more than a joke, y’know?

…So this ended up being way longer than I thought it would be. Might come back and maybe discuss some of the new lore a bit more, but that’s my thoughts about Side Order. I ended up really enjoying it, and I’m pretty excited to see if this leads to more experimental stuff with Splatoon going forwards. I’d give it a 7/10.

[dr-spectre]

I heard about how in Bancala Walker there was a short story about Marina and Acht and their time in the domes. And I'm gonna be 100% honest with you. It kinda makes me mad, and it really highlights a massive problem with Splatoon as a whole, and that's how it treats its stories.

(Yep I'm rambling about Splatoon's storytelling for the 500th time, welcome to my blog.)

Since Splatoon 2, the series has had a weird relationship with its storytelling, the main stories of each campaign are very simplistic and are very video game like plots. "Go get the Great Zapfish back and save Captain Cuttlefish. Go get the Great Zapfish again and find Callie. Find the thangs and get out. GO GET THE ZAPFISH AGAIN AND SAVE CAPTAIN CUTTLEFISH AGAIN!!! Climb up the tower." Splatoon 1 got away with this because it's clearly the most "tutorial" mode out of any of the single player campaigns and it doesn't really try to say any deeper messages or express a character arc.

Now, obviously video game stories must have goals for the player to work towards, I'm not complaining about that, you gotta have that stuff in games to motivate the player, however, what really drives me up a wall is when they decide to add depth and interesting things relating to the characters and world, yet they intentionally throw away that same depth and chuck it to the side. Hell they sometimes retcon the optional hard to find lore or make it more confusing just because!! If you're gonna add depth and something else to these stories, you HAVE to actually explore it and expand upon it WITHIN THE STORY! You cannot add it as "extra lore" when it's stuff that should have been in the main storyline to begin with. It's like not adding seasoning to chicken and that you boiled the fucking chicken and wrapped it in lettuce and mayonnaise.

I could obviously talk about the elephant in the room... you know... this little goober right here. This freak.

And I'm going to.

From the concept art we were given, we know that Callie was originally gonna have more exploration into her troubling mental health issues as seen by her being in the shadows and being comforted by Octarians. It's a significantly different tone compared to the final product.

However in the final game, they tossed MOST of this shit away and say in the game as well as in official media, "naw she was kidnapped and brainwashed forcefully because she's a dumb clutz lmao." They tried to backtrack with an obscure relationship chart, the sunken scrolls and Squid Sisters web prequel series, but then they backtracked AGAIN with the Splatoon 3 artbook that states that she was "brainwashed." It's an incredibly simplified and frankly insulting version of events that are TECHNICALLY canon but Nintendo and others don't treat it as such and i don't know why. I dont know why they treat Callie like this. Is it because she's silly?

Wouldn't it be more interesting and more powerful as a story if they made Callie had more control and awareness of her actions? That she was truly acting upon her mental illness and isolation? Putting DJ Octavio, the fucking funny octopus guy on the same level as Talon from Overwatch and Hydra from Marvel, the literal nazis who damaged Bucky Barnes' brain and removed all of his memories, making him into the Winter Solider, is fucking psychotic and actually insane of Nintendo to do.

There is also Acht and how they were shown between Octo Expansion and Side Order.

Some of the most powerful stories in media have strong character arcs and characters overcoming their struggles and pain. It is inspirating and incredibly real to see a loved one reach out to a person that they care about who have lost their way, either from mental illness or drugs. Trying to bring them back and help them go through their pain together. When someone is under distress and mental health troubles, they can act like a completely different person and the fact that Nintendo half assed serious topics like this and made shit WAY WORSE boils my blood to no end.

In Octo Expansion, we were told that they went under Sanitization willingly in order to remove doubts in their mind and put their all into music. Now due to the unknowns of Sanitization at the time, this made for a really interesting character and brought up a lot of interesting questions as to why they would do this and who they are.

However, in Side Order when they explained Sanitization further and told us that Acht lost all of their free will and were FORCED to make music for Tartar, it kinda damaged their story a little bit. Like sure, Acht still probably wanted to go under Sanitization to clear their doubts and remove emotion, but the added information kinda goes against the interesting story they were trying to tell with Acht. Acht doesn't even mention why they went under Sanitization in Side Order and their reasoning is only found IN A SOCIAL MEDIA POST BACK IN 2018!!! THEY DON'T RESTATE IT AT ALL WHEN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPORTANT TO DO SO! They kinda tell us via their letters, but guess when you get those, IN THE POST GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This leads me to another big talking point, most of the lore is hidden and hard to find. You have to go out of your way to find most of the shit Splatoon has to offer. Sunken Scrolls are hidden collectables and most people don't wanna go through the effort of finding them all in the stages, the chat logs in Octo Expansion are completely optional due to entries being tied to specific stations and you can choose to easily skip them, the dev diaries are locked behind lockers and some people may complete Side Order in a manner where they can get to the final boss and be done with the main campaign before seeing most of the entries. Now I'm not saying that there cannot be extra lore tidbits for players to find, hell no, i love extra stuff like that, i think Splatoon 1 and 3's hero modes did a really job of that. BUT WHEN YOU HIDE AWAY IMPORTANT DETAILS LIKE CALLIE'S MOTIVATION IN SPLATOON 2 AND MARINA'S AND PEARL'S BACKSTORIES!?!? YEAH I GOT A FUCKING PROBLEM RIGHT THERE!

In other games, these would be cutscenes or a bunch of mandatory dialogue, BUT NOPE! THEY ARE IN HARD TO FIND SPOTS!

Some of the other lore details are found on social media posts and some of them are YEARS old or on Splatoon's dead Tumblr account. Most people would rather go to Inkipedia and even they can sometimes make vital mistakes or have wording that gives people the wrong idea on what happened in particular events, which heavily impacts the community and discussion. When i talk about my perspective on what happened to Callie in Splatoon 2, I've seen people say to me "wait really? Huh?! I didn't know that." The amount of research you gotta do to go into these characters is an absolute nightmare, AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE SPLATBANDS!!! Their lore is literally locked behind Japanese exclusive expensive artbooks!!! WHY?!?!

I really do wanna stress again, is it cool to get cool lore outside of the games and as collectables?! ABSOLUTELY! You know how awesome it was to read the Alterna logs for the first time? The smile on my face seeing Pearl and Marina back in the Final Fest in Side Order. But when the main stories suffer because of important information being tossed to the side and not applied to the main games... I dont know man, it just becomes incredibly frustrating to me personally. Especially with all the misconceptions and other things that occur within the community, the fandom has an information problem and honestly, it's Nintendo's fault. Imagine if Side Order had flashbacks to a younger Marina and Acht, it would have helped with the middle chunk of the story being so... nothing.

[summerf0x]

splatoon for the ask thing

Favorite male character

This one’s a bit hard considering how most of the leads are female, but probably Iso Padre. He has a nice design and the fact that he washed out of the Deepsea Metro’s testing system but has been riding the train for so long he’s forgotten his own name is a really quick and effective way to make the player weary of the place. I like that he gets to make to the surface eventually as well. Hope he’s enjoying his coffee :)

2. Favorite female character

Who else but Agent Four? Maybe I’m a bit biased because I played Hero Mode a ton when I first got Splatoon 2 due to the lack of online (seriously scummy Nintendo) and really got into the deepest recesses of Octo Canyon and therefore her character, but there’s a ton of cool stuff about her that no one else aside from the other Fourheads seem to care about. Parallel Canon leaves me with so many questions I wish the game would answer. Just you wait, she’ll come back in Splatoon 4 and they’ll throw her a grand parade! You’ll see! You’ll all see!

3. Least favorite character

This one’s also hard, but I think I’d have to go with Smolusk. All of the other villains have something that makes them interesting, from Octavio’s mix of both a leader put in a hard position to protect their people and DJ jargon to Mr Grizz’s corporate persona eventually morphing into the giant bear trying to cling onto the past. Smolusk has that too, being a literal manifestation of Marina’s fears of chaos and what it does blown out of control. They’re fine, I guess. I just don’t really find baby characters that entertaining.

4. Favorite ship

I don’t really have one of these for Splatoon, but Pearlina is one of the main ships for a reason. An ex-weapons engineer escaping to the surface and meeting a headstrong, freshly kicked out of her band inkling who wants to form her own band with her practically writes itself, and Side Order is filled with stuff with them to the point where their final song is called SPECTRUM Obligato and they bring back the greyscaled world with rainbows. Octo Expansion is my personal favorite with them as well.

5. Favorite friendship

Four and Eight. I saw the official art of them being roommates and something just clicked in me. I could talk more, but I wrote an in-progress fic about them as well.

6. Favorite quote

“Right on time, kid. I got work for you.”

Salmon Run is my favorite game mode hands down, so almost all of Mr Grizz’s voicelines are carved into my mind.

7. Worst character death

Splatoon’s lore has many deaths, but I’ll only count the ones we see on screen. Captain Cuttlefish’s fake out death was just kind of unnecessary. I knew he wasn’t really going to die, so it just felt awkward as the giant rocket literally right in front of us started to take off.

8. “This made me so happy you have no idea” moment

Parallel Canon’s reveal. It was a short lived happiness, but a happiness nonetheless. I was literally that one wojack pointing image, and was so ready to see what would happen next with Four. (So much for that)

9. Saddest moment

Going through Kamabo Co and realizing what happened to all of the other test subjects that succeeded. Going through hellish trials all in hopes that you’ll one day make it to the surface only to have it ripped out from under you as you get sliced to death and your remains will be used to essentially zombifiy people.

10. Favorite location

The Ruins of Arc Polaris. It’s a cobbled together station welded together with human signs spread around the place with GRIND RAILS and a GIANT ROCKET IN THE BACKGROUND. I was pretty saddened when it didn’t return in Splatoon 3.