#i get that there was once a war between inklings and octolings and octavio is getting revenge for losing

[delightfuldevin]

I've been meaning to ask for a while now about your Splatoon self insert!! I love the Splatoon lore/world building and would LOVE to hear your takes on it and your S/Is roles in it??

Oh! Haha, well I don’t actually have much of a role in Splatoon’s main story. In fact, it’s quite the opposite!

I first got into Splatoon a little over half way through Splat 2’s lifetime. I didn’t have the game yet, and I didn’t really know much about the lore either aside from the absolute basics. I watched someone’s playthrough of Splatoon 1’s story mode (but not 2 since I did want to get it). And I watched the idols’ live performances on YouTube! I finally did get Splat 2 a couple months after the Final Fest (and I will never get over not being able to be a part of that, truly a one of a kind experience that I will never have ;^;).

So for my self insert, he first appears in the world in his late teens (like 17-ish) and he arrives in a very small town out in the middle of nowhere. The inhabitants of the town aren’t Inklings and don’t know much about Inkling culture so he has no one to teach him about what he is. Not that long after he settles in there, he gets a radio, which can tune in all the way to Inkopolis. From that radio, he learns about the culture of Inkopolis. He becomes invested in the story about the disappearance and return of the Great Zapfish, and even Callie. He listens to songs by the Squid Sisters and Off the Hook every day.

One day, there’s an announcement on the radio that the Squid Sisters and Off the Hook will be having a concert soon and he is determined to see it. So, he goes on the long journey to Inkopolis. He arrives the day of the concert and is so overwhelmed by everything, but still very excited. He has a chance encounter with Callie and she immediately takes a liking to him after he makes an absolute fool of himself in front of her gfhhfgfhgghv. After the concert, he gets to meet all the idols backstage. He bonds with Callie the easiest since he met her first, but he gets closer to the others over time as well. Marina actually made a custom Splat Roller for him so he could finally participate in Turf Wars!

…Aaaand that’s where my story stops, at least for now! I have yet to properly tie myself into Splat 3. I was thinking I’d like to somehow tie myself into Frye’s clan for kin reasons hdncjsbdcsj but I’m not sure how yet. For the most part though, my sona is quite mundane in the world of Splatoon. He isn’t part of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, so he doesn’t play any role in the actual story.

I have an Octoling version of myself as well who actually does play a major role on Octavio’s side, but he’s more of a secondary sona who I don’t normally present with. He’s sorta my “angsty” sona, however angsty my happy go lucky self can be lol

He’s basically a high ranking soldier in Octavio’s army who (accidentally) aided in kidnapping Callie. His story has two different endings. One: Agent 4 saves Callie as usual and Octo!Dorian defects from Octavio and joins Callie on the surface. Two: Callie is never found and Octo!Dorian overthrows Octavio, taking over the Octarian Army and ruling it with Callie by his side. He doesn’t free her because he’s afraid she’ll hate him for what he’s done so he lives a happy lie with her hypnotized by the hypnoshades instead of facing the heartbreaking reality. Yeaahhh, it’s clear why I call him my angsty sona hcnjdbkchshjcs

So yeah! Thank you for your interest!! I don’t have much thoughts on the world of Splatoon, so I’m more content just living my mundane yet ink-covered life with my faves!

[lisa-russell]

SPLATOON 3 -SIDE ORDER AND A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY: (SPOILERS WARNING)

How the events of Splatoon 2 and Octo Expansion connect with Side Order.

Now before we dive into the new DLC from Splatoon 3, ya gotta rewind the clock alittle bit.

This is a consistent and as close to cannon Timeline of the Splatverse, including what little details are known about Side Order. I suggest you give this a look if you have not played splatoon 2,1 and it's DLC or if you have no previous knowledge of the game series LORE.

Now here is a very brief summary of Splatoon 2 Hero Mode introducing Agent 4 a.k.a the maybe hinted at shadowed foe taking center place amongst the other red-eyed shadows found on the recent poster art for SO.

Agent 4:

Agent 4 is described as a silent squid who goes with the flow even in raging waters, and values freedom and flexibility. They also "blast through any situation with ease." Agent 4 did not initially know who the Squid Sisters were, but later came to respect them. Agent 4, as seen in promo pictures and art, has a diligent work ethic and a lot of confidence. Unlike Agent 3, they are more cheerful and upbeat in their mannerisms, and almost always smile.

Not much is known about Agent 4's background, except that they came from a town about 40 minutes from Inkopolis by train.

Agent 4 initially went to Inkopolis for an unknown reason but got swept up in Marie's quest to save the Great Zapfish and her cousin Callie. In Octo Canyon, Agent 4 completes various missions to retrieve stolen Zapfish, defeating many Octarians along the way. Eventually, Agent 4 confronts DJ Octavio and a brainwashed Callie, rescuing the Great Zapfish, freeing Callie, and finally restoring Inkopolis' power supply once again.

Overall, the Splatoon 2 and Octo Expansion storylines focus on the conflict between the Inklings and Octolings, exploring themes of identity, friendship, and the consequences of war in a lively and quirky world. - Inkipedia

Now than let's introduce AGENT 8!

Oddly enough Agent 8 has one of more detailed info about themselves, meaning they have more CANNON and in-game lore...

Despite being mute throughout the game, Agent 8 shows aspects of their personality through subtle means. Agent 8 has a fondness for poetry and writes one for every mem cake collected. Throughout these poems, Agent 8 demonstrates a yearning for life on the surface, participating in Turf Wars, finding a part-time job, and dressing up in fresh clothes. This resolve is shown most strongly in the final area of the Octo Expansion, where failing repeatedly activates a Skip Charge, showing Agent 8 with glowing eyes as they charge through the stage with the Calamari Inkantation motivating them. Their poems also show that they are considerably more compassionate and sympathetic than most other Octolings, wondering if Inklings should be considered foes and wishing that they could all get along, and feeling heartbroken at the fact that their superiors were kidnapping the Zapfish and having to refrain from saving it themself. Agent 8 also wishes to apologize to DJ Octavio for unceremoniously deserting the Octarians in pursuit of Inkopolis, as well as recollecting their old Octarian friends, specifically an Octoling warrior whom Agent 8 remembers fondly, hoping that they do not think badly of their decision.

As a result of listening to the Calamari Inkantation, Agent 8 is a big fan of the Squid Sisters, anxiously planning their greeting to the pair upon reaching the surface every night. Agent 8 seems to have known about Marina's escape to the surface and was glad to hear that she had made it safely, though she never knew her personally before the events of the Octo Expansion. Agent 8 comes to greatly admire Marina, to the point of expressing the notion of wanting to be just like her. Agent 8 was also seen to be somewhat confused by Cap'n Cuttlefish's actions and personality, as seen from near the end when they awkwardly glanced at Cuttlefish when he was rapping with Pearl and when he happily accepted being the "hype man" in the battle against Commander Tartar. The official Splatoon 2 relationship chart reveals that Agent 8 has respect for Cap'n Cuttlefish, as they think the elderly should be treated as such. It is also revealed that they think Agent 3 is cool and that Li'l Judd is adorable.

Agent 8, being an Octoling, is apparently disgusted and quite offended at how many squid-themed objects there are in Inkopolis, such as Squid Bumpers, and asks people to consider how Octolings see the world. They love the sea breeze and will go to the shore to feel it even though they cannot swim.

Agent 8 has shown a fondness for both Flow and Craymond. Interestingly, they are also said to enjoy listening to Sheldon rambling, in contrast to various other characters, possibly due to Octarian culture centering around technology and weaponry. They are also stated (in their description for the Chaos vs. Order Splatfest (in which they were on Team Order)) to be obsessed with cleaning, not being able to sleep before every nearby weapon is clean. Sheldon is therefore said to have considered hiring them.

Early Life:

Agent 8 was a trainee in the Octarian army and had a change of heart when they heard the Calamari Inkantation while observing the final battle of Splatoon, etching it into their soul. According to Marina, Octolings that hear the song become discontent with Octarian society and choose to strike out on their own.

Alright here's the juice: SPLATOON 2 OCTO EXPANSION...

In Octo Valley, Agent 8 encountered Cap'n Cuttlefish and Agent 3, where Cuttlefish told Agent 3 to attack Agent 8. The two battled until all three of them were attacked by someone and were knocked into the Deepsea Metro. Agent 8 then lost their memories from injuries suffered during the fall through the ceiling, and after teaming up with Cuttlefish and escaping the Abandoned Station, became a test subject of the metro.

Agent 8's role is to complete various missions in the Deepsea Metro with the premise of reaching the promised land by finding and collecting the four thangs. The missions take place in an area that is supposedly a testing lab, with a multitude of objectives varying from mission to mission.

Eventually, after collecting all four thangs, the telephone combines the thangs into, supposedly, a door to the promised land. As Agent 8 and Cuttlefish enter the contraption and it closes behind them, it is revealed to be a trap. 

Pearl and Marina realize the combined thangs are actually a blender, which the telephone plans to use to smoothie both Agent 8 and Cap'n Cuttlefish, with Marina only able to activate a distress signal from Agent 8's CQ-80. Smashing through the glass ceiling, Agent 3 comes to rescue and destroys the blender. They are knocked out after, leaving Cap'n Cuttlefish to stay with Agent 3 while Agent 8 is able to go on towards escaping the Kamabo Co. facilities with the blueprints provided by Agent 3's employee-model CQ-80. Close to the exit, Agent 8 is forced to defeat a partially sanitized Agent 3, whose mind had been hijacked by the telephone while Agent 8 was escaping.

Once on the surface, Pearl and Marina airlift Cap'n Cuttlefish, Agent 3, and Agent 8 to safety. Agent 8 is the first to notice the rising of the above-ground section of the facility, revealing the NILS Statue with the telephone inside, who re-introduces itself as Commander Tartar as well as its plan to destroy and recreate life on Earth. To stop the statue from charging its weapon, Agent 8 has three minutes to cover it in ink by detonating Marina's prototype Hyperbombs while the Princess Cannon, powered by Pearl's loud voice, destroys the weapon for good. This makes this battle Agent 8's first Turf War.

With the world saved, Agent 8 is finally free.

Now Side Order mention...

Between the time of Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3, Agent 8 has presumably stayed in contact with Off the Hook. In an unexpected turn of events they find themself transported to the Spire of Order, located in what looks like Inkopolis Square, but without color or signs of life. Agent 8 and Pearl, now in a drone form, head into the Spire of Order and meet Acht.

Can't forget Off the Hook, their Final Fest and Dedf1sh a.k.a Acht...

Off the Hook is a pop idol duo based in Inkopolis Square consisting of Pearl and Marina. In Splatoon 2, they take over the Squid Sisters' duties from the first game as the hosts of Inkopolis News and Splatfest events. They also play a major role in the Octo Expansion DLC. They return in Splatoon 3 in the band Damp Socks feat. Off the Hook, as well as having a major role in the Side Order DLC.

Due to being on a world tour, Off the Hook does not make a physical appearance in the base game of Splatoon 3. They collaborate with the band Damp Socks, creating Damp Socks feat. Off the Hook. They perform the songs Candy-Coated Rocks and Tentacle to the Metal. Which would explain their current absence in Splatoon 3 so far.

Pearl:

Here's a comprehensive description of her!

Marina:

Li'l summary of Octo Expansion stuff...

When the game starts up the first time after Version 3.1.0, Pearl starts an Inkopolis Fashion Focus about a trend of "squidkids with weird hairstyles", which are actually Octolings. As the broadcast ends, Pearl says that the fashion focus was the 'only best thing' so she will probably never do it again.

Off the Hook makes an appearance throughout the Octo Expansion, helping Agent 8 and Cap'n Cuttlefish by giving advice and commentary on Agent 8's tests. They meet the duo after Agent 8 passes Fake Plastic Station through Cap'n Cuttlefish's walkie-talkie, as they were on Mount Nantai where the signal was the strongest. Pearl and Marina call themselves by their usernames, MC.Princess and DJ_Hyperfresh, respectively. If Agent 8 loses all of their lives in a test at least twice, Marina will offer to use Agent 8's test data and hack the Kamabo Corporation's database to trick the test into thinking Agent 8 passed. If Agent 8 has less than 2000 CQ Points to do so, Pearl will take money from her father's wallet to be transferred into CQ Points, after which Cap'n Cuttlefish can be talked to, to pay the points back.

After Agent 8 collects all four thangs, Marina discovers they make a blender and the Telephone that had them find the thangs intends on blending Agent 8 and Cap'n Cuttlefish. Before it can do so, however, Marina activates Agent 8's CQ-80's distress signal, summoning Agent 3 and breaking the blender and phone in the nick of time. Marina then tells Agent 8 that they can escape through the hole Agent 3 made. As Agent 8 escapes the facility, Off the Hook shows up with a fleet of helicopters to pick them up along with Cap'n Cuttlefish and Agent 3.

As Pearl raps with Cap'n Cuttlefish, the platform Agent 8 was on rises up and turns out to be a huge statue of a human, with the Telephone, now known as Commander Tartar, intending on destroying all Inklings and Octolings with his blast of primordial ooze. Marina analyzes the statue and discovers that the statue is charging up by sunlight. Therefore, if they can cover it with ink, with the help of her Hyperbombs that Agent 8 has to manually detonate, then the statue will stop charging and Pearl can finish it off with a "Hypersonic Battlecry" to destroy it. After Agent 8 detonates all the Hyperbombs, the statue attempts to fire anyway, prompting Pearl to activate the Princess Cannon. As the statue fires, Pearl lets out a giant Booyah and battles with the statue's blast before pushing it back and destroying the statue with pink ink. As the statue collapses into the sea, Pearl and Marina celebrate and watch the credits with their allies.

HERE'S ALL THE DETAILS YAH COULD WANT ABOUT S2'S FINAL FEST...THE VERY ONE THAT WOULD DECIDE THE FATE OF SPLATOON 3'S STORY AND ALL AROUND GAMEPLAY.

And now it's the tragic and mysterious Acht...LINK below is all the information and lore yah need tah catch up on them.

SIDE ORDER

What is known so far about the Story of Side Order:

The mode takes place in "what has become of" Inkopolis Square, the main hub of Splatoon 2, in "what would've happened" if Team Order had beaten Team Chaos.

Agent 8 has been unexpectedly transported to the Order Sector, a mysterious world that is built out of its own unique rules. Agent 8 wakes up to find what appears to be Inkopolis Square, suddenly drained of color and uninhabited. They are challenged to ascend the Spire of Order, a tower that changes floor structure each time it's entered, which has mysteriously replaced Deca Tower. Pearl, having been transformed into a drone called the Pearl Drone, accompanies Agent 8 and assists them in combat.

Acht, also known as Dedf1sh, has "wandered into" the Order Sector, and appears to travel between Floors alongside Agent 8 inside an elevator within the Spire of Order.

-Inkipedia

Here are the current Trailers for Side Order!

Here's some youtubers theories and discoveries from the current and past trailers..

And the wicked fresh looking poster!

The little files the gave out on Twitter a while ago...

AND THATS ALL FOLKS!

Make sure to share and reblog with your fellow Inkfish so this information can be spread to those who are confused about Side Order, etc!

[idontlikepans]

Tell the world more about Rei I and II

I love them and I wanna hear more.

AAAAA THANKS FOR THE ASK

𝐑𝐞𝐢 𝐈

Octavios older sister, she 'left' (was banished) the palace around age 15. She was never queen because nobody went out for her. (And yknow she literally wasn't allowed back) She made a life for herself though, she met the love of her life and they were able to provide for themselves.

Then Octavios wedding rolls around, (she had visited him multiple times dw) and she's like oh squit I gotta be there (not gonna spoil too much cuz of the fic) and then she has to leave again. Doesn't visit much as life starts getting hectic at the palace with everything going on.

One year later she gets asked to fight in the war and she's like 'wtf what war?' And everyones like 'the war lmao' anyway she agrees and finds out the whole situation. Octavio is pretty cold to her because she hadn't been visiting and ofc the whole war thing yknow. (The rest of her story contains spoilers but yeah this is good enough)

Fun facts abt her!:

She mains slosher

She's 1ft taller than Octavio (3 meters I think)

Short bob hairstyle.

Women in the Takowasa family are looked down upon due to them having birth defects, and they are very rare to come about. (It's ironic cuz the Octarian army is mainly female) so she already had a bad chance. If she would've been less rebellious she would've been queen.

Her lovers name is Nova, an inkling.

She likes crocheting.

She's lesbian!!

Although she is a great warrior she is very weak due to mutations.

𝐑𝐞𝐢 𝐈𝐈

Octavio's daughter, she's an accidental cutling. Growing up underground definitely isn't the easiest thing but she made her way through. She'd constantly be meeting new soldiers and telling them that they were friends now. Eventually she made an actual friend who she could hang out with. He was unfortunately enrolled in the military program but that didn't stop the two from finding ways to hang out. She's very into peace, and she wants peace with the Inklings quite a lot. First time Octavio gets his bass beat she just believes her point more. She's also very saddened because she loses her best friend and by that I mean he just goes to the surface after hearing the calamari inkantation. Her relationship with Octavio is also very rocky they both have different beliefs, like Rei who wants peace between the octolings and the inklings. While Octavio is still sour about what happened all those years ago. Second time Octavio gets his bass beat Rei is much angrier especially because she talked to Callie And believed Callie would help. Now she does eventually make peace between Inklings and octolings but I'm not gonna get too into detail of that because spoilers again.

Fun facts!:

She is 1ft shorter than Octavio.

Long hair and extra tentacles due to mutation.

She's omnisexual and polyamorous!

Her lovers names are: Luna, Charlie, Haruki. ( They each have separate stories so you should definitely ask about them too)

She doesn't like music too much and fun fact her least favorite song is the calamari inkantation not because it sounds bad or because she's different than everybody else it's just because it reminds her of how many times she lost. It's also ironic because she has a pretty good singing voice but she doesn't like music.

She barely has any knowledge of her aunt (Rei I)

Things they have in common:

Both very friendly.

Both are very protective of the people they love.

That's pretty much it.

Once again thanks for the ask!!!!!!

[enderbot-magic]

I made a Splatoon AU. I don’t have a name for it yet.

Warnings: Spoilers for Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion DLC.

Tartar is an AI made by a human to pass on humanity’s knowledge to the next species. To ensure a great capacity of data, he gives Tartar DNA through the creation of primordial ooze. This creation is essentially Tartar, but needs technology to function.

Then the Salmonoids attacked, destroying humanity.

Thousands of years later, the Inklings and Octolings appeared and Tartar watched.

Octavio finds Tartar just before/early in the war. This saved Tartar from turning corrupted by loneliness, and they believed that they owe Octavio their life. Tartar passed human knowledge on to Octavio, acted as the Octarian’s Shellendorf, created weapons, armies, battlegrounds and even became his general.

The metro becomes an octarian battleground/base because of Tartar’s control of the facility, therefore giving octarians an advantage.

The Octarians still lost.

The metro got shut down since there was no longer a war, but Tartar maintained it.

Tartar helped Octavio develop mind control devices, even more drastic measures, although Octavio never used them.

They also knew how to clone cannon fodder since the professor that made Judd made Tartar.

The Octo Expansion plot also changes a bit, but it still generally follows the general story of “you are going through a facility and a series of tests to go to inkopolis.”

The Deep Sea Metro is the main exit to Inkopolis. Tartar still is in charge of Kamabo Co and by extension the Metro; so runaway Octolings are their responsibility.

They don’t want to instantly obliterate any Octoling who wants to leave, so they try to deter escapees with many tests. Tartar promises if they make it through that they have proven their worth and can leave for The Promised Land.

When Agent 8 arrives...

Tartar acts as weapons dealer for 8, like Sheldon. They will explain how weapons work and their specifics if asked.

They will also will elaborate on mem cakes, the tests, how much currency a test offers depending on the weapon, and The Promised Land.

Instead of sanitized troopers 8 fights sanitized clones of troopers.

Their dialogue gets more and more agitated throughout the game, but in post-game they are nicer. (Will explain that later*)

You can also ask about how they feel about Cuttlefish and Marina.

For Deep Sea Metro lore involving Tartar:

No longer 10,007 kill counts, but several Octolings did die to tests.

Sanitization is more of Tartar hacking someone’s brain with the primordial ooze, controlling the software (the brain) that’s already there.

Tartar stops controlling someone if they’re knocked out, if Tartar wants to, or the ooze dries off.

Instead of being blended, they are sanitized, controlled, and sent back to Octo Valley. (A few repeat offenders being blended if they are fed up.)

At the end it is revealed that Tartar was growing a festering hate of Inkopolis, and didn’t want to leap on destroying it since it embraced the last remains of human culture. 8’s success, escape, and Off The Hook helping 8 made Tartar snap and decide to destroy the main problem. In fact, Octavio will rule Inkopolis if everyone is Sanitized!

*When Tartar is defeated, Marina hacks the incapacitated AI to delete their hate of inklings, their culture, and the plot about sanitizing Inkopolis. This resets Tartar to a friendlier state. They recognize that 8 got through the tests fair and square, and lets them go.

If 8 returns they mention that Kamabo Co. is still running, and the facilities are still up if 8 wants to go through them again. There’s also a few more conversation options before and between tests where you get their opinion or input.

Extra:

Tartar mentions that Octavio has been gone for a while to do a collab. Insert “dad left to get milk” joke here.

They listen to the Squid Sisters but never heard the Inkantation. Tide Goes Out is their favorite song.

Contemporary Speech Mode is optional. You can turn it on and off throughout the game by going to Tartar.

C.Q. Cumber is a clone Tartar made to help around the Metro and be the mascot.

They constantly call Off the Hook Off the Heasy instead. Pearl hates it.

There’s chat rooms between them and Octavio.

“I’m older than all of you combined”, quickly followed by Pearl making a slew of “you’re so old” yo mama style jokes and sadly most are accurate. “You’re so outdated you listened to human music”, “you’re so old you saw Salmonoids appear more than once”, “you’re so old that your human friends are extinct!” “you’re so old- are you crying?”

[inktank-thinktank]

Splatocalypse profiles 4

Author Math:

I apologize for the delay in this post. Yesterday was fairly busy for me. However, this works out in our favor, since we should be getting the last profile tomorrow, assuming Nintendo posts it today, meaning we’ll be able to post a full set.

Agent 8:

NoA translation:

Agent 8: Team Order Even Octolings who’ve been freed by the Calamari Inkantation don’t lose their disciplined personalities. Agent 8 can’t sleep at night until every nearby weapon has been methodically cleaned and checked. In fact, I hear Sheldon might be looking to hire Eight to work at Ammo Knights.

Fan translation (credit foolishignis):

—What side are you on? No. 8: Order— Even after having her world turned upside down since she first heard Calamari Inkantation, she keeps the Octarians’ distinctively serious personality. Speaking of which, we hear she is so earnest about her daily weapon maintenance routine, she may or may not have been scouted by Sheldon’s shop...?

Original Ink Tank prediction:

Agent 8 is Team Order being an Octarian, and thus a part of their regimented society.

Comments:

Generally as we predicted. Agent 8, being an Octarian, has a regimented and serious personality.

DJ Octavio & Li’l Judd:

NoA translation:

DJ Octavio & Li'l Judd: Team Chaos “Don’t furget about us!” One has tasted bitter defeat in battle. The other is literally a copycat. These two may be nothing alike, but their desire to step out of the shadows and into the light burns with all the chaos of a firestorm. Actually…they’re pretty similar when you think about it.

Fan translation (credit foolishignis):

—What side are you on? DJ Octavio & Lil’ Judd: Chaos— “It’s not really something you can just forget, is it?” Some are claimed by war, others are left to be dismissed as nothing but fake imitations. Their stories may be different, but both hold a swirling whirlpool that yearns, ceaseless and overwhelming, for the light. That aside, they actually do look like they’d get along…?

Original Ink Tank prediction:

Li’l Judd is Team Chaos because as we know, he has an inferiority complex and resentment for Judd, being his clone, and generally is more of a tricksterish character. Also, being a kitten, Li’l Judd would likely be more playful, again ‘chaos’ as in ‘freedom’. 

...

And, I saved this one for last, because it’s somewhat surprising… Despite the Octarians being Team Order, Octavio is Team Chaos. This could be due to a thinking that he must win at any cost, and a willingness to use manipulation tactics to move his people towards supporting his war on Inkopolis. It could also be due to a mental slippage from so many repeated losses.

Comments:

This one is...on some lines about what we thought, but on some lines other. Li’l Judd we mostly got right, it’s tied to his inferiority complex and resentment. However, they don’t seem to have leaned in on much past that.

With Octavio, it’s roughly what we expected, that he’s been driven to a much more chaotic and erratic end by his feeling that his people deserve light and freedom.

The part that we did not pick up on, as we did not expect them to make profiles like these, is the commonality between the two. Both driven to the brink by a belief of inferiority or loss, they apparently are kindred spirits. Here’s hoping that we get to see the two of them together in Splatoon 3. That’d be cute.

Telephone & C.Q. Cumber:

NoA translation:

Telephone & C.Q. Cumber: Team Order “These failed prototypes, endlessly warring for turf…” If we assume that chaos already reigns and that order needs to be restored, who decides what “order” actually looks like? These two likely have their own opinions on that subject, and they probably don’t include the words “free” or “will.”

Fan translation (credit foolishignis):

—What side are you on? Commander Tartar & C. Q. Cumber: Order— “Nothing but failures, waging war on each other time and time again like the fools they are…” Kamabo Corporation: an organization that keeps alive what was left of a once strong will to restore the true order of the world. But a strong will must be followed by a sound mind; and the order these two preach may be a mindless one.

Original Ink Tank prediction:

TARTAR is Team Order for obvious reasons. It desires ‘order’ in the sense of purging the capricious, impulsive Inklings and petty, warlike Octarians, instead replacing them with a new ‘superior’ race of beings, created from its successful test subjects. 

...

C.Q. Cumber is Team Order because, as Nintendo has stated, he really wasn’t concerned with what TARTAR was up to, he was just doing his job. Order at its finest.

Comments:

This one is VERY different from our expectation. TARTAR we generally had nailed down, it desires to establish ‘order’ through oppression and eugenics. However, this is a hard reversal on the narrative we’ve gotten for C.Q. Cumber. Until now, C.Q. Cumber was painted as ‘just someone doing their job’. This profile does a full 180 on that, and implicates him as being not just privy but complicit in TARTAR’s true intentions.

Additionally, it is worth noting that TARTAR’s motivation is quite paradoxical, as everything it complains about with Inklings and Octolings ("You wage war over minor genetic deviations, you obsess over trivial fashion choices", plus the quote from the profile) are flaws also shared by its oh-so-venerated humanity. TARTAR believes humanity to have been perfect, but it is beset with the same flaws that it seeks to eliminate, and those flaws indeed were what led to its extinction.

It is curious that it uses the word “failure”, and in NoA’s translation, “prototype”. In Japanese, TARTAR uses the word ‘失敗作‘ (shippaisaku), which means ‘failure’ but involves the suffix ‘saku’, meaning a work of art. Accordingly, the full translation of this word is ‘a failed creative work’. This implies that Inklings and Octolings were created, a theory that I’ve so far been resistant to due to other statements by Nintendo. This needs more research...

The last three profiles, and thus the final post, are nearly upon us! Thank you for your patience, and please continue standing by! Thanks, and hang in there!

[small-leviathan]

The themes of the Splatoon series

(Heads up, this essay analysing Splatoon is literally 2300 words long. You’re gonna be for a while if you decide to stick around.)

In case you've missed it until now, Splatoon has taken the world by storm. Nintendo's cephalopod-based multiplayer shooter series has sold almost 12 million copies across two games in just about three years, and as a result of this still young franchise has cemented itself as one of the legendary Japanese game developer's new hallmark series. Nintendo seems inclined to agree, as Splatoon's central Inkling characters have been featured prominently in the marketing for their latest game in the prestigious crossover series, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, with the Inkling girl even earning a prominent spot on the game's cover art alongside titans like Mario, Donkey Kong and Link.

So perhaps some of you would scoff at the idea that Splatoon has a deeper message behind it than it first appears. Nintendo isn't really known for baking thought-provoking stuff into their games, and this seems like it'd be doubly true for a game that is first-and-foremost a competitive multiplayer shooter. I don't know if I'll be able to convince you otherwise, honestly, but I do sincerely believe that Splatoon has something to say and in this essay, I will explain why I believe that to be the case, and just what that thing is.

Let's start by describing the most important elements of Splatoon's narrative, and just as a heads up, I think it goes without saying that I will be spoiling pretty much every major reveal across all of Splatoon 1, Splatoon 2, and its DLC, Octo Expansion. Splatoon is set twelve thousand years after global warming and environmental pollution has wiped out mankind as well as most mammals. Having taken our place is a large assortment of evolved sea critters, including crabs, jellyfish and most prominently, cephalopods. Squids and octopi alike have evolved the ability to shift into humanoid forms, becoming known as inklings and octarians, respectively. Unfortunately, our squishy successors didn't get along very well, as rising sea levels forced them into a violent conflict known as the Great Turf Wars. This conflict was eventually won by the Inklings, letting them claim the surface while the octarians were forced into hiding in great underground cities.

Splatoon proper takes place a hundred years later, and the Octarians have been reduced to just a distant memory in the mind of Inkling society. Trouble is brewing under the surface, however, as the leader of the Octarians, DJ Octavio, is planning an attack on the hub city of Inklingkind, Inkopolis. The player takes control of a customizable inkling who is recruited by the military veteran Cap'n Cuttlefish to help take down the Octarian menace before they can start their campaign. Along the way the player, now dubbed as "Agent 3", is helped not only by Cap'n Cuttlefish, but by his granddaughters Agent 1 and Agent 2, who are eventually revealed to be the two members of the pop idol duo The Squid Sisters, Callie and Marie (to no one's surprise, the game does not try very hard to conceal their identities). Long story short, Agent 3 defeats the Octarians, ending in a grand battle against DJ Octavio. The Octarian threat is defeated and DJ Octavio is captured, with inkling society none the wiser.

Splatoon 2 unfolds two years after the events of the first game, and a lot has changed. Callie and Marie have drifted apart, following a popularity contest ending in Marie's favour, and taking their place as the number one musical act is a new duo known as Off the Hook, consisting of the rapper Pearl and the DJ Marina (who looks suspiciously like an Octarian, but more on that later). Marie discovers that DJ Octavio has escaped his containment, and now alone due to Cap'n Cuttlefish and Agent 3 having gone on a new mission and Callie suddenly disappearing in the midst of a trip, she is forced to follow her grandfather's footsteps and recruit a new Agent, this one being our new playable character, Agent 4. Not much is different from that point onward, except for the eventual reveal that DJ Octavio is responsible for Callie's disappearance, having kidnapped her after he escaped and is now brainwashing her with a pair of hypnotic sunglasses. Nonetheless, Callie is saved and DJ Octavio is defeated once again.

You might be wondering why I bothered to explain all of the plot of Splatoon's singleplayer content, and the reason for that is that I believe that understanding all of this is necessary to explain the first and most important of Splatoon's themes: The positive power of pop culture and self-expression.

Splatoon heavily encourages that the player uses its system to express themselves. Aside from having character creation, there is an emphasis on fashion, both in the culture of the inklings themselves and in the gameplay proper, with the player having access to a wide variety of clothes, headwear and shoes with which to accessorize their characters. It might be easy, perhaps even tempting, to read this in a cynical manner and characterize inklings as a bunch of shallow trend-chasers, slaves to consumerist fads built to wring as much cash out of them as possible. And this interpretation is, in all honesty, valid, but it's certainly not a philosophical standpoint that Splatoon itself agrees with. The game encourages mixing and experimenting with its fashions, but all of that fashion is bought with a currency that you earn by playing the multiplayer game, which in-universe is explained to be a kind of competitive shooting sport, not unlike paintball, that seems to be the hyperfixation of every single inkling teen like the player character. It's a bit hard to read the game's take on fashion as cynical when you literally earn money by doing something you were not only going to do anyway but were also actively seeking out and enjoying. The multiplayer mode itself is also encouraging self-expression, in a way, due to there being a wide variety of weapons available, all of which feel distinct and unique, allowing the player find the ones they like the most and use only those. This isn't "do tireless work to keep spending money", it's "do the things you like to get the things you like." And I feel like that is a very clear subversion of consumerist culture, unless you feel like pointing out that Splatoon itself is something you have to spend money on to play and therefore it is inherently a part of consumerist culture, in which case, alright then, Holden Caulfield, don't you have anything better to do?

Moving on, there is also a massive focus on music in the setting, with a lot of different fictional bands, all of which sound completely unlike each other. Crucially, the "pop music" in Splatoon is not as heavily standardized as our own pop music is, in Inkopolis everything from the Bottom Feeders' Celtic rock to Chirpy Chips' chiptune to Diss-Pair's... whatever they are, can find mainstream success and popularity. Perhaps the most telling sign that Splatoon thinks music is important is that all of the most important characters are artists, from Callie and Marie to Pearl and Marina and even the antagonist himself, DJ Octavio.

That said, there is a very important distinction to be made here. In an interview with Famitsu from 2015, series art director Seita Inoue stated that the music that plays during the singleplayer levels is composed by DJ Octavio and his subordinates, and that "it’s like the Octo side broadcasts their music in order to control the many Octarians.” When this is combined with the fact that DJ Octavio uses a pair of sunglasses to brainwash Callie, I think it's clear that the true face of his villainy is shown. DJ Octavio isn't just the antagonist because he's the final boss, but because he takes music and fashion, which the game has established as ways in which to express personal freedom, and repurposes them as tools of control and oppression. DJ Octavio is literally the antithesis of Inkling society and Inkling values.

There is one final point I want to make, but it requires delving into Octo Expansion a bit to explore, so we'll start that now. Octo Expansion is the paid singleplayer DLC for Splatoon 2, adding a pretty sizable new story campaign. In this new story, the player takes the role of an Octoling (the Octarian equivalent of an Inkling, though I will be using two terms rather interchangeably in the rest of the essay) who wakes up in an underground subway with no memories. Here, they meet Cap'n Cuttlefish, who explains that they had been in a fight with him and Agent 3 before all three of them got swept away to the locale they are now in. As Agent 3 has gone missing, Cap'n Cuttlefish teams up with our amnesiac player character to find a way out of the subway, giving them the nickname Agent 8 in the process. Along the way, the two of them end up coming into contact with Pearl and Marina, the previously mentioned music duo, who resolve to help Agent 8 and Cap'n Cuttlefish escape. A lot of things happen between the start and beginning of the story, but I want to focus on the most important revelation: Marina is revealed to have been a high-ranking member of the Octarian military who deserted after the final battle between Agent 3 and DJ Octavio in Splatoon 1, and was inspired to become an artist after hearing the Squid Sisters perform their iconic hit song Calamari Inkantation, the very same song that was stated to have inspired Agent 8's desertion as well. Calamari Inkantation was always played up as being a very special song, as said by Marina herself: "Once our souls have been freed, there's no way we can continue to live under the oppression of Octarian society."

So at this point, it's not even subtextual but literally textual, Splatoon sincerely believes that music has liberating properties, able to make people realize that they're being held back by societal structures and also gain the willpower to break free of those shackles. The lines are very clearly drawn here: In Inkopolis music and fashion are ways in which people express themselves and therefore it is an idyllic and diverse place, but Octarian society is an oppressive dystopia where these things are used to control the populace. To really hammer the point home, in the final battle of Octo Expansion, in which the very fate of the world hangs in the balance, the day is saved by Pearl and Marina (and Agent 8) working together and combining their talents and technology to destroy the giant superweapon threatening their home. The world is literally saved by a pair of musicians. It doesn't get more explicit than that.

There are two more themes I think Splatoon play with, but to a much lesser extent than the one previously mentioned. The first of these is the importance of moving on and not being stuck in the past. This is an explicit character trait in both of the central antagonists. DJ Octavio, who was the leader of the Octarians in the Great Turf Wars a hundred years ago, has been holding a grudge against the inklings for all this time when he could have been focusing on trying to improve his people’s living conditions, or even broker peace with the Inklings, who clearly don't have an issue with a bunch of Octolings running around following the events of Octo Expansion. The second case study is the antagonist from Octo Expansion, Commander Tartar. An ancient AI built by a human scientist before their extinction to pass on their knowledge to whatever species inherited the world to come, Commander Tartar fails this mission because it holds humans on such a high pedestal that it sees the flaws of the Inklings and Octarians as proof they aren't worthy to pass the torch to, and resolves to wipe them both out and create its own "perfect species" instead. Additionally, I think it's worth mentioning that the weapon it plans do this is with is a repurposed statue resembling a Greek marble bust, a relic of the past that becomes a literal metaphor for how Commander Tartar's mindset is destructive.

The second of these themes is the recurring motif that despite all of their differences and their conflicts Inklings and Octarians become complete when working together. The first sign of this is their opposite traits as species, Inklings are energetic, flighty and have a short attention span while Octarians are more serious, work-focused and obedient. It's pretty clear that both could stand to learn from each other's positive traits, and a bit of dialogue from Marina in Octo Expansion implies that she hopes as much. Off the Hook themselves are also an example of this theme in action, Pearl had trouble finding herself as an artist and was not doing very well before meeting Marina, and it's through Pearl that Marina gains the chance to follow her dream, and their cooperation makes them so successful that they become Inkopolis' number one artists. This theme is also a part of the final battle of Octo Expansion, as mentioned earlier, as it is the cooperation of Inklings and Octarians that saves the day.

If there's anything to take away from this overly wordy essay, it's this: Splatoon wants you to know that there is no shame in enjoying "shallow" pop culture, that there is meaning even in things not deemed "high culture". Splatoon wants you to know that the value of something lies not in the value of its production, but in what it expresses and the joy it brings to the people observing it, and the people making it.

Because to Splatoon, these simple things have the power to unite, to free us, and ultimately to save the world.

And personally? I think that's a pretty worthwhile message.

[takoruler]

  There was never anything he could say when he visited this place. How empty and decayed it appeared and how it would continue to do so for years and years. This castle was once his home and now it was roped off and put on display for the Inklings to see. Like they created it, like it was their trophy. Something they could take their disinterested children to see on field trips for them to learn inaccurate history they didn’t care about. Like him, the castle remained detached to time. Trapped in a period of peace that seemed it would no longer return.

  Of course they didn’t bother to keep the rest of the city intact like this. From where he stood he could recall children running down cobble streets, or simple merchants passing through. He recalled walking down these streets to festivals. He recalled his mothers commanding presence watching over their town, never being too far to protect her home from strangers. He burned these memories into his mind, for without them there would be no way to tell they even existed.

  His own being was bitter and wary. Any tourists knew instantly he wasn’t someone to be talked too. He adjusted his scarf to better conceal his face with his dark shaded glasses. Whatever was thought of him by anyone didn’t matter to him.

  He marched onward, never breaking his stare at the palace. He halted when he reached the railing that discouraged visitors from disrupting the ancient structure. Below him, a plaque described the past of the castle. That was something new they added, he noted as he eyes fell upon it. What piece of history would they get wrong today?

  But it isn’t its history. It’s its war story.

                                      “ The Squidbeak Splatoon,                             led by Second Lieutenant Cuttlefish,                          visited grievous losses upon the forces of the enemy                           during the bitter siege of Arowana Castle."

  His stomach began to tie into knots as he gazed upon the picture that accompanied it. His eyes locked on to the Second Lieutenant, determined and desperate to win the battle. He felt worse as he looked upon the young Octarian he was trying to kill. It was him. It was him being beaten by someone he once considered his closest companion. No one would know the personal history between the Inkling and the Octoling, only that Craig had lead their side to victory. 

  Not that Octavio had walked away from that battle with a broken spirit having to announce their surrender to the Inklings. Not the days he spent on end in their grasp until they could work out some place to put them. Not when he nearly strangled their leader to death when he announced that they had no more place on top and would have to leave or be punished. He shook the memories from his mind. If he thought about them too long, he’d just go back to stealing the Great Zapfish and reclaiming what was his. He had made so much progress. He couldn’t ruin the chance to wipe away the past because he couldn’t accept that times were changing. 

  He didn’t bother to check if anyone was watching him as he stepped over the rails to go home. He doesn’t acknowledge the voices bringing attention to him as he got closer and closer. That’s all he wanted to do. He just wanted to go home. He forced himself inward through the ruin doors and made sure they shut tight before anyone would try to rip him out of there. Who were they to tell him that he couldn’t be here? They were the trespassers, not him.

  Light did its best to seep into the dark halls. It does well to illuminate the condition that Arowana Castle was in. It was shattering for him to recalled how bright and regal it was, only know to be dull and murky with every inch of it falling apart. He could seem himself entertaining friends as a young adult and him racing down the halls as a child. A melancholy smile formed on his lips. He wouldn’t have time to see it all.

  The floorboards creaked at his every step, almost as if it were welcoming back the young shogun. He could see old broken weapons remaining from the siege scattered on the ground mixed with stains in the carpet. Walls that were destroyed remained that way even now and rubble threatened him about every second. What was the point of preserving a place if you weren’t going to take care of it? To relish in sick amusement over what they took from the Octarians? Its almost as if the second Octavio left, they made plans to ensure that this would forever haunt him. As if he didn’t have enough on his plate already.

  He froze when he encountered the complexion of a woman. Crisp and tattered the painting was but it remained unmistakable of who it was meant to be. A lump in his throat took hold and threatened to turn into a mess of hot tears. No matter how hard he tried to suppress them, a few managed to trickle down his face. It had been so long since he’d seen her face like this. It was a portrait of the former shogunate, it was his mother. He was glad he was alone, for he was sure someone would scold him for being so emotional at an old age. His head dipped in respect as he dropped before her, kneeling to give respect to someone who was no longer there to receive it. His heart ached to say something to her. 

  ��� I miss you, ” Was what emerged quietly, almost echoing around him. He could have a whole conversation with her if he wanted, but would she truly be proud of who he had become?

  Minutes passed until he finally stood back up. He wiped the dust from his clothing and turned to search the halls again. His journey lead him to the one knew the best.

  His room was exactly as he left it. Books in piles on the floor, messy bedding that he swore he would make along with drafts of songs he attempted to write. Out of all the unrecognizable places, this was the one thing that remained the same. There was a sigh of relief from General Takowasa, as if something had been lifted from him. This was his bedroom and they at least had the decency to read stuff alone. Delicately he picked up on of the papers. If he moved it any wrong way it was certain it might fall apart. He read over the notes and laughed at how different his style was now than a hundred years ago. He turned to journals that he had written, filled to the brim with notes and memories of his days during peace. He gathered all the things he didn’t have time to take with him into a small pile with a grin. At long last they were returned to him.

  Something in his mind told him it was time to go. As if his time here today were up. Sure enough, the sound of security attempted to make their way through without breaking anything filled up air. He wanted so badly to tell them to go away and leave him be. He couldn’t. If he fought back, he’d set a bad name for himself with Inklings again. Same thing if he were caught. This wasn’t his place anymore, he had almost forgotten that.

  He took one last look at the room that used to be his with his items in hand. He finally had the chance to tell his home good bye properly. He knew this place better than any Inkling ever could and he knew there we passages he could take to make it as if he was never there at all. He muttered his parting words in Octarian, before running off into the shadows.

   Stupid inklings.

[mrnerdteacher]

The Way Splatoon Addresses “Othering” is Noteworthy and Inspiring

WARNING: This post contains spoilers for the Octo Expansion

Right from the outset, Splatoon was a series that was destined to be considered “fringe.” It was on a console very few people played. It was an online multiplayer game with no in-game chat. It lacked blood, or even bullets. It was a new IP, in a style no one had ever seen before. And despite its devoted following and growing popularity, my little brother, a Call of Duty lifer, refuses to touch it.

It should come as no surprise then, that a colorful (some might even say “fabulous”) game like this became a safe space for the LGBTQ community. Once the series really took off with the success of the Nintendo Switch, Inkopolis became a haven for young kids to come out of the closet and those questioning their gender identity to explore roles outside the expectations their real lives may have for them.

And sure, there has been some pushback. Some players just want to see posts about the game, and are clearly made uncomfortable or even annoyed by people openly speaking their truth and claiming ownership over a shared game space. But due to Nintendo’s dogged refusal to let people communicate with other players, bullying is kept at an absolute minimum. You can’t even see how many “Yeah’s” a post gets, and the only way to downvote is to report something for violating the terms of use. The only posts that get “seen” are the ones most people like, so the result is a truly democratic social media platform in which bullies are not just silenced but eventually turned invisible by a more compassionate playerbase.

However, all of this is a reflection of the players, and that is only one half of a game’s community. The game developers themselves have tackled the concept of “fringe” culture with its recently released Octo Expansion, and their approach was fascinating and brave.

As the DLC was released, Pearl commented on all the people hanging out in Inkopolis Square sporting “weird new haircuts.” Marina was visibly uncomfortable, because she (and the players) know that these are in fact Octolings (just like Marina). Is Pearl truly race blind, or is she refusing to acknowledge the arrival of the new immigrants into her city? If you know the backstory, it would be no surprise if some in Inkopolis reacted negatively to their arrival.

As most of you know, Octarians are a race of creature that fought against the Inklings for dominance in the first Great Turf War, and after their defeat were banished (or retreated?) deep underground. DJ Octavio tries over and over again to steal the great zapfish as a resource for his people, as they are running out of power and his society is literally crumbling as a result. Despite this somewhat sympathetic backstory, Octolings have always been one-note villains. They are the Nazis in “Dunkirk”: faceless, imposing, and nothing but a threat.

The Octo Expansion changes all that by letting you play as Agent 8, who was freed from her oppressor’s brainwashing by the soul-cleansing power of Squid Sisters rock. The Octo Expansion follows her/his fight for freedom, as a strange voice over a telephone tasks her with completing “tests” to find four holy relics known as “thangs.” Only then will Agent 8 be allowed to enter “the promised land”, which we all assume to be Inkopolis. By collecting little collectible erasers, Agent 8 reclaims her lost memories, and we learn that she is a sensitive, poetic person with anxiety about being accepted and meeting her idols. Plenty of shooter series have allowed you to play as the enemy (Halo, Killzone, etc), but few made me care about them as much as the Octo Expansion.

Throughout the course of the game you are able to read entries from an online chat room. Here, Pearl learns that Marina is not only an Octoling, but a former engineering prodigy for the enemy. Marina is anxious how Pearl and society at large will treat her when they learn of her past and her true identity, invoking the feelings of “coming out” that many Splatoon fans struggled with irl.

However, Pearl not only doesn’t care that her best friend is an “other”, but is actively excited to be exposed to the Octoling culture! She doesn’t just tolerate differences, she celebrates them. That Pearl is also a “white girl” from a wealthy family just makes her compassion more endearing, especially when we learn that she initially lost fans by teaming up with an “exotic girl” like Marina, and that she didn’t care in the slightest. Their friendship truly transcends all labels, and that’s amazing. Even Captain Cuttlefish, the salty old war veteran who openly distrusts Octolings, comes around and finds friendship with Agent 8 and Marina through their shared love of music.

Cut to the end of the game, in which we learn that the sinister telephone is actually an AI built by an ancient human scientist. His goal is to literally blend different species together (gross) to create one genetically perfect race to inherit the Earth. However, his goal of ethnic cleansing is replaced by ambitions of genocide when he learns that Octolings and Squidkids are warring tribes, despite being nearly identical in terms of DNA. Marina and Agent 8, two Octolings and former enemies of Inkopolis, are pivotal in the battle to save the city, and when the DLC ends, all signs point to them returning to an accepting, peaceful world without borders.

But is that really how the player base would feel? Splatoon 2 bravely put the compassion of its community to the test with a global splatfest: Squid vs Octopus. Tensions were high going into this one, because it felt personal in a way that “Pulp vs No Pulp” never could. In fact, according to Splatfest Law, one race would be considered legally superior. Yikes.

But then the actual Splatfest rolled around, and the lobbies were chock full of the most compassionate posts promoting peace and harmony between races. The love that permeated this competitive game space was nothing short of inspiring.

No one seemed to care who won; we all just liked playing together. And in the end, the Squidkids reigned supreme (despite team Octopus being more popular), but nobody gloated. No one was salty. Life, and the Splatoon community, went back to normal.

https://twitter.com/TwotoneStrauss/status/1020710444258881537/video/1

Octolings are here to stay, and for all that represents, I think that’s just lovely.

[blitzandthebarracudabrigade]

Prologue 1.2: The Truth of Takoyarkov

Well, it’s about time I started working on these again! Writer’s block is apparently just as potent as artist’s block (qnq). But I’ve pulled through to bring you the next part to Prologue 1! And who might show up in this story? Who knows, but there’s only one was to find out now isn’t there? So here’s part 2 of the Takoyarkov story!

(Several hours after landing…)

“…ake up.”

…

“… wake up.”

“No… a few more minutes…”

“Siemo! Wake! Up!”

“Gyah!” The octoling sat up in a daze and looked around, only to see her comrade standing over her. “Ugh… what’s going on?”

“It’s been 4 hours. And your turn to overwatch for us.” Torke grumbled as he slouched down by a dimly lit lamp in the center of the room.

Siemo zipped open her sleeping bag and stretched her arms before reaching for her weapon. “What? No time for coffee?” She joked.

“Har har, just stay by the windows and look out for anything suspicious or moving.” The inkling scoffed before grabbing his flask to sip some water. Leaning on some debris he watched as Siemo took his position by the window. He saw the determination in her eyes despite waking up, her sights set on the most remote spots around them. Her pupils focused on adjacent windows, crevices, and even the few bushes that dotted the cracked pavement running along the buildings. Hmmm… she certainly knows her stuff. Keeping a sharp eye on every little detail. He’s taught her well. Torke thought as he reached an arm behind him to rest his head. Maybe she really is ready for her own missions… 

Siemo leaned against the wall she was hiding behind and kept her eyes peeled for any movement. But in between her vigilant watch she would glance up at the night sky to watch the stars twinkle. It reminded her of the kettles that would change the artificial skyline from sunny days to clear moonlit nights. But the underground bunkers’ projectors couldn’t compare to the vibrant lights of the celestial specks. It’s so beautiful… I wish my friend is able to see them every night. Siemo wondered as she felt her grip on the Octo Shot loosen slightly. I wonder… if any of them could see the real thing. For a moment Siemo was lost in though when her weapon almost slipped out of her grip, forcing her to quickly tighten her grasp on the stock. Her heart skipped a few beats as her fingers curled around the grip of the gun. Did… did he see that? She turned her head and saw that Torke was lightly snoring where he laid, a hint of drool forming on the corner of his mouth. Sighing in relief, she turned her attention back forward to resume her overwatch shift.

(The next morning…)

Torke slowly opened his eyes and sat up, crossing his arm in front of the other to stretch them out. He looked around to see Siemo still sitting by her post, leaning against the wall she was hiding behind. Nodding to himself, Torke stood up and packed up their equipment before nudging the octoling. “You ready?”

Siemo looked back to him and nodded. “Let’s go.” She stood up and vaulted over the broken wall and checked around. Just like the night before the surrounding buildings, or rather what was left of them, was still and silent. She waved her hand for Torke to follow, watching the commando slide down. Giving each other a quick glance they proceeded west, where their destination awaited. After several minutes of silent walking, the two eventually came upon a large open field that was now populated by small young trees, their branches having just budded their spring flowers. Siemo stopped for a moment and walked up to the closest tree as she could begin to smell their faint aroma.

“Heh… not something I expected to be honest.” Torke scoffed, shifting his weapon from one shoulder to another. 

“Yeah… I wouldn’t think anything like this would grow.”

“Mhmm, these kinds of places haven’t been explored ever. I wouldn’t be surprised to run into a bunch of tribal peoples or something out here.” Torke leaned next to another tree as he reached a hand up to pick one. He moved the still budding flora and lightly sniffed before letting it go to drift down to the ground. “Anyway we should keep moving. If I’m correct we should be less than half a mile to our objective.”

Siemo stepped away from her tree and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, let’s go-”

Suddenly the pair heard a faint humming from the distance. “What is that?” Torke looked around, but found the trees were blocking most of the skyline. But it didn’t take long for him to get an answer as several flying objects began to appear. “Come on! We gotta get to cover!” Torke grabbed Siemo’s wrist and started to make a break for a nearby cluster of bushes. Grabbing his weapon, Torke shot at the base of the bushes before leaping into it in squid form with Siemo following suit with her own. For several seconds the two watched as dozens of the flying objects flew by, the trees swaying from the force of their speed rustling their branches. “Stay down.” Torke muttered as he carefully peeked out of his hiding spot. Eventually the last of the objects passed by, leaving the area eerily still and silent. Torke popped out of his ink puddle and scanned the trees around him until he was sure there wasn’t anything else passing by.

“Is it safe?” Siemo asked as she peeked out of her puddle. Torke nodded and waved for her to come out. As she did the two noticed that all of them were headed right for their objective. “What were those things?”

“I don’t know, but it’s definitely not good. We better move and find out.” Torke huffed sternly. The pair then started to make their way once more, determined to find out what those flying craft were doing.

After passing by numerous collapsed buildings and ruins the two finally reached their objective: a clearing of what they assumed was the “town center” of Takoyarkov. They looked around and found a small outcrop in which they could see what was on the other side. 

“Up there. That should give us a good idea of what we’re up against.” Torke started to climb up to the outcrop, with Siemo not far behind. Within moments they reached the top, only to be greeted by an unsettling view.

All across the clearing was what appeared to be a mining operation. Hundreds of Octarian soldiers were gathered around pits and tents, some operating excavating machines while others were driving trucks carrying away piles of dirt and debris. However the most alarming sight was the presence of Salmonids. Among the Octarian troopers were several Chums who were busy with their own operations as well as Cohocks carrying away pieces of scrap metal. Flying around them were squadrons of Octocopters, Octobombers, and Fly Fishes patrolling the outer perimeter.

“What the hell…?” Siemo mumbled as she pulled out a pair of binoculars. She scanned the groups of Octarian and Salmonids and noticed that a majority of them were crowded around a much larger tent, donning the Octarian emblem on top. Despite the crowd Siemo could just barely make out two individuals having a conversation.

“What do you see?” Torke asked as he checked their flanks for any patrols.

Siemo felt her heart skip a beat as she zoomed in on one of the two talking. The unmistakable head crest, the distinct green X-shaped scar on one arm, and that cold-hearted glare. Only one Octarian had those features.

“It’s Octorus Krillovsk…” 

(At the Octarian/Salmonid base of operations…)

“We finally meet Octorus,” A capped figure chuckled as he puffed a smoking pipe. “I presume that your part of the plan is already prepared?”

“Yes, and it seems that your part of our plan is coming along well.” Octorus huffed as he looked back towards a giant pit being dug out. All around the edge of the pit, diggers operated by Chums were clearing away slabs of earth and rock as Cohocks lugged away mine carts filled with debris.

“Indeed. Once our plans are complete, those pesky inklings won’t know what hit them,” The pipe smoking figure grinned, his whiskers twitching with anticipation as a puff of smoke plumed out. “Once we reach that underground bunker, all of the weapons locked away will soon be ours.” The two let out a malevolent laugh as their respective soldiers joined in chorus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What are all these Octarians and Salmonids doing?” Siemo asked as she hid behind a collapsed wall.

Torke followed shortly behind her. “I have no idea, but this is a bad sign if I’ve ever seen one. If what I think is going on down there is true, then we better move fast.” The pair then plotted out a path around the perimeter of the enemy’s base, making sure to stay clear of any patrolling aerial personnel. Slowly but surely Siemo and Torke managed to reach a position close enough for them to hear a conversation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Do you believe those inklings know of our presence here?” Sturgeon huffed his pipe, a few more plumes of burnt tobacco floating upwards.

“I highly doubt it, this human ruins hasn’t been visited by any faction ever since the peace treaty that ended the Great Turf War all those years ago! DJ Octavio swore revenge on that day and yet he failed to because of a single inkling agent!” Octorus cursed, almost spitting venom at the ground at the mere thought of the failed usurper trapped in the snow globe. “But the humiliation us Octarians suffered will soon be replaced by revenge!”

Commander Sturgeon nodded in agreement. “Yes, and the Salmonid people will have their own vengeance for the past 2 years of those pesky ‘freelancing’ inklings stealing our golden eggs. They think they could just hunt my people down for sport like we’re game?” The towering salmonid removed his pipe and looked over the quarry. “No longer. The Salmonids will have a new location to claim as their own.” He signaled to his Fly Fishes and motioned a fin towards the bottom of the pit. They then gathered above the perimeter of the pit in mere moments before opening up their rockets pods to unleash their full payload. The pilots then fired upon the pit, sending volley after volley of Tenta Missiles into the pit. As each projectile impacted the ground, the resulting explosions sent chunks of earth and rock flying in every direction causing the few spectating Chums and Octarians to flee from the site. In minutes the Fly Fishes dispensed almost all their ordnance, the pit now covered in green slimy ink. But at the bottom of the pit was what appeared to be a slab of metal with rivets bolted along several plates. 

“Sir! We’ve found something!” One of the Chums hollered.

“Excellent! It must be the secret weapon bunker!” Commander Sturgeon grinned. “Let us see if we can’t crack open the vault.” Octorus nodded in approval and followed the Salmonid, with their soldiers trailing behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Uh oh…” Siemo said as she lowered her binoculars.

“What just happened?” Torke hissed, still unable to believe the sudden barrage of missiles.

“I…I don’t know but it looks like they’ve found something.” Siemo raised her binocs again to see that something was exposed at the bottom of the pit. “It looks like… some kind of vault door.”

“Oh no. That must mean…” Torke didn’t finish his sentence as he yanked the octoling back into concealment. “Siemo, we need to notify GBR HQ of this.”

“But how?” Siemo stuttered. She then saw him pull out his radio from his coat. 

“We should be able to raise a signal to contact home base with this. But…” Torke trailed off as he stared at the device. “It means we’ll have to compromise our position if they have scanners to detect unknown frequencies.”

“So… you’re saying that we either let them take whatever is in that vault or risk being captured or worse.” 

“Yeah, it looks that way. But if you ask me,” Torke unholstered his weapon and cocked it ready. “I’d rather take some of those bastards down before they try to achieve their goal.”

For a moment Siemo looked to her inkling comrade with uncertainty. But she then recalled everything her new commander did in order to protect Inkopolis. Taking a deep breath, she unholstered her own weapon and cocked it with a click.

“So… what’s the plan?”

[sunshinelulusplatoon]

Future Arc

So the future Arc is just something as a ending of this blog for when splatoon ends. I’m not sure if we will get another sequel but if we don’t, figured I would post this now.

So future Arc is what happens during Lulu rule. During the time leading up to Lulu crowning as queen, the Agency has been causing trouble and stirring up things in the city. This being stricter rules and more blame on things towards Octo Valley when the Octarians had nothing to do with it.Then when agents start to go missing and certain heads of the agency are spotted doing shady business with the local gangs in Inkopolis, Joey starts to snoop around and finds documents about the corruption in the Agency and even the government. He then finds to his horror a hit list with certain previous members scratched out and he finds that Lulu’s name is on the list. With this knowledge, Joey warns Lulu of what is going on after her crowing as Octo Valley’s queen. 

Because of this, Joey decides to quit the agency and plans to go rogue to dig up what he needs to expose the corruption in the agency and government to the public. Knowing all this, and fearing the safety of her people, orders for all connection to the city to be cut off and that the valley’s people must decide to either stay or leave. Most confused by this, they are awakened to the threat when a few agents sneak in and try to take a hit on Lulu. Captured and kept prisoner for their crime against the queen, the valley agrees to their new queen’s demands and set off to cut the pipes to the valley as well as connections to the city. During this, Joey creates a small group of rouge agents and a few octolings to fight and combat the Agency as they start attacking certain establishments in Japan to create out cry and let people see things for what they are. In time this becomes a civil war between the common squid and the government which will last over 10 years. During this time, the Valley flourishes under Lulu’s rule as technology, medicine, space travel, and universe hoping advance. Many under Lulu’s rule would say Lulu was caring and kind but she was strong and ruled with an iron fist, just like her grandfather before her. During all the fight though on the surface, Octo Valley became a place for many trying to escape would flee to. Many Octolings, Inklings, Octarains, or other species in the valley who had ones they knew in the city that were in danger would sneak out during the night and bring them into the valley. Though that’s not to say Lulu didn’t know about this. In fact, most who were snucked in Lulu already knew was coming. Lulu wanted the valley to be safe but also a safe place for innocents in danger.

During the 10 years, Lulu only sees Joey one other time. 5 years into the fight, word of the great zapfish dying spreads to the valley. It is late into the night though, that Joey comes to Lulu holding the one egg The Great Zapfish had laid. Handing it to her and explaining how he had to break into the facility to get it, he knows this would probably be the last time he sees, should he not make it through all this, so he gives a honest hug and lets her know he always saw her as a sister. Leaving, Lulu is left heartbroken to see her friend leave again but also overwhelmed with joy by having the egg in her hands. Quickly as possible, the heads of the valley get things made for the egg and it isn’t long before it hatches. Taking care of it, the baby fishes matures into an adult Great Zapfish that Lulu names Zappy after her pet zapfish that had passed away only a few years before her crowning. The Great Zapfish is welcomed by all in the valley and is raised quite affectionate, especially to Lulu who took most care into raising it.

During the time, many things had to change to accommodate everybody. Especially Turf Wars for the residing Inklings. Under Lulu’s command, certain domes were built to hold areas for the battles to commence in and a tower was built to be the new hub world. As an old tradition, The Great Zapfish would sit on the tower to mark where the hub is. With the addition to Turf Wars into the valley, many connections were made between the species as new weapons were made to accommodate to ones who couldn’t produce ink but still wanted to play. In many cases, Lulu was able to bring people closer than ever before and break the prejudice that Inklings had on Octarians and Octolings alike. 

At close to the 10 year mark, Joey will be able to get the information needed to expose everything for what it was as well as execute an attack on the heads of the government and eliminate them and take control. When doing so, he shows everybody the truth and snuffs out all who were apart of it. With no legs to stand on, the Agency collapses as ones responsible are captured and tried for their crimes. With the government cleaned out, Joey and his group make no waste in re-establishing a proper government. Once done, Joey returns to the valley as warm and happy faces welcome him home. Joey will then settle down with Hannah and start a family of his own with her as the new government puts things back in order for Japan. The ones in Inkopolis will then make contact with Lulu to establish connections and rebuild relationships long torn.  Lulu welcomes them warmly and in time, trade and peace are established to the city as many return to it after being gone so long. 

In all this, Lulu does settle down and marry her lover and have children of her own, of which Octavio lives long enough to see his grandchildren grow until his passing at 160, to which Athena passes away 10 years later at 120. Precious will remand in the valley as head of the family music company until her passing, to which it will be passed down to her grandchildren. Though as for Kane, he returns to the states once old enough to start up as a professional turf wars team with his old friends again until he establishes his own company to cater to upcoming new players. Octavio and Lulu will create music together until Octavio’s passing and with his passing, a great ceremony will be given to the old king with music, laughter, and happiness; the way he would have wanted it. Lulu will continue on making music with her grandfather’s Remixer to wow many and teach others the joys of music.

As the years pass, connections with Inklings and Octarians and other species grow better that Octarians and Octolings start to live back on the surface once again. In the time, Octo Valley becomes a world treasure for music and the music industry and many come and visit the musical world beneath the ground. During Lulu’s rule though, Lulu finally decides to stop the dynasty and builds a democracy for her people. Although still known as the queen in her late years, Lulu will leave her crown at the age of 130 to spend time with her family and friends. Lulu will pass at the age 180, outliving her grandparents, her mother, and her half brother and living long enough to see her great-great grandchildren. Both her and Octavio will have a statue build at the palace to monument what they have done for the Valley and the struggles and triumphs they had as it’s ruling party.