Headscratchers / Splatoon

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• Why is it that the dwindling amount of land made the Inklings and the Octarians desperate enough for territory to break off their previously amicable relations and fight over what remained, only for the Inklings to afterwards have no problem freely sharing their hard-won territory with the jellyfish people and etc.?
  • Some possibilities off the top of my head: jellies are so much smaller and fewer in number than the inklings that the space and resources they use is small enough to not be of concern, they were already on the land when the squids claimed sovereignty and decided not to make a fuss so long as the squids didn't, squid vs octopus Animal Jingoism was heated enough that the land dispute was just an excuse for a fight until the latter lost enough ground that it really did become an issue, non-inklings are relegated to what effectively is a service class in exchange for being allowed in their cities.
  • There's also the possibility of land simply not being desperately scarce; instead, one of the groups' representatives got greedy or desperate with the one they had and attacked. Probably from the Octarian side, considering how the first battles had the Inklings not managing to wake up early enough in the morning to defend themselves.
  • It's also possible that Inkopolis isn't the only available land period. It's entirely possible that all the other races (jellyfish, urchins, anemones, whatever) have there own landmasses, and the Octarians just attacked the Inklings because it was the closest place available. The Octarians are Persona Non Grata because of the war, whereas the other species are welcomed because they're on better terms with the Inklings. It would also explain where the shipping containers and such are from; they're imports/exports from Shrimpland or wherever.
    • Somewhat building on this line of reasoning, a possibility is that the Octarians had lived in the lowlands while the Inklings lived at higher elevations. As the sea levels continued to rise, their lands started to be underwater while the Inkopolis was not threatened. In response, Octarian leaders got desperate and decided to take the Inklings' land by force. Initially the attacks came as a surprise (thus the sunken scroll about the Inklings losing the first few battles due to not getting up early enough in the morning to defend themselves), but the tide turned and the invasion ultimately failed. And with their relationship with the Inklings soured and any possibility of simply trying to immigrate to Inkopolis as peaceful refugees ruined by the failed attempt at invasion, their only remaining choice was to build the underground domes at Octo Valley. The Inklings, on the other hand, didn't really have a problem with immigration as long as it wasn't from a group that just tried to invade them and take over their country. Thus, the Jellyfish people and etc. living there without issues (and judging by Sheldon's grandfather, even before the war there were at least a few non-Inkling citizens of Inkopolis, who sided with them in the war.)
  • Alternately, the other races are still capable of living underwater. There's nothing saying that Sheldon doesn't live in an undersea grotto and only surfaces to run the shop.
  • It is also possible that all of those other races allied with the Inklings. Thus, the Inklings would consider their people as friends and allow them to live with the Inklings.
  • Given that Inklings seem more than willing to share the land with the Octoling refugees come Octo Expansion, any land-related issue that helped caused the Great Turf War seems to have been largely solved in the century or so since then.
• If Inkopolis and the less desirable Octo Valley are the only land left in the world, where is it that the shipping containers at Port Mackerel are being shipped to and from? And where are the sources/destinations of the jet airliners sometimes seen flying over Inkopolis Plaza?
  • The crates are probably from oil rigs, sea labs, and other over-water constructed areas meant purely for industry, the airliners would be either artificial islands or about to be submerged land masses ferrying immigrants.
  • It never says specifically that Inkopolis is the only land remaining, just that there's less of it than it used to be, which forced the Octarians to attack. As noted above, it's entirely possible that there are other landmasses inhabited by other species. Naturally, there could be trade and/or travel between the areas.
  • Years ago, the Octarians turf war'd the Inklings to claim the land they both share, they failed. The learned to live with the underground they have, but recently they are having an energy shortage and need more power. Inkopolis is the closest target again, they steal zapfish from there. What I'm saying is they only hit Inkopolis with the UFO because it's convenient and close enough, but there may be other countries/land masses out there remaining... besides the possibility that some of them can/still live in water, of course.
  • It looks like there are at least multiple islands of land, considering Hammerhead Bridge is set over the sea.
  • The Squid Sisters Stories, the art book, and 2's Sunken Scrolls all state that many of the people in Inkopolis come from far-flung lands, and that they come not because of rising sea levels, but simply because they either want a better life or are tourists seeking to experience the world's hippest city. Long story short, Inkopolis and Octo Valley are far from the only landmasses left on Earth.
• If the Inklings get all their power from Zapfish, why do they have an oil rig?
  • Petroleum products are a wider range than just fuel, for example as a component of asphalt, and even on the energy front, the Zapfish are only used for the powergrids.
  • It could also very well be an unintended and renovated hand-me-down from humanity they are not necessarily using.
• All of singleplayer is underground right? I wonder why there's replicas of multiplayer maps (meaning they are replicas of Inkling utilities, establishments and entertainment facilities) there. A sign of envy perhaps?
  • It could also be the Octarians invading these multiplayer maps. All those levels involving the multiplayer maps aren't your regular levels, as they either have Octolings or an Octostriker manning a UFO to be defeated before the Zapfish can be retrieved. In the Octolings' case, this Zapfish is always found on a UFO-like device, and not on the map itself, so these Zapfish are all found on Octarian devices.
    • But in that case, how come you still enter those levels through the kettles? Aside from Gameplay and Story Segregation, I suppose.
• Can someone tell me what the heck is with that weird fax machine? First a picture of it showed up in one of the Sunken Scrolls, and the text alongside it was some poetic/philosophical navelgazing about the meaning of life, that did not obviously relate to a fax machine. Then, in a special report on the Squid Sisters' news show announcing an upcoming Splatfest, they cut to a live feed of that fax machine, which had begun to spit out a piece of paper announcing the theme of the Splatfest, and they stated that a message was being received "from On High". Does that fax machine have some sort of religious significance to the Inklings???
  • It is probably no secret that Inklings like the things humans had even if they assumed the humans to be dumb thanks to small head size. A side question would be how much they worship human items (since the fixed up Tokyo and all). And, if indeed the fax machine is a relic from human times (making it a Cargo Cult of sorts) then why does it still work and who sends messages to them? (I'm also fine with believing that it is haunted or blessed in some way, bring on the Sequel Hook.)
  • Or alternatively, Callie and Marie are just making a big deal out of it for their TV show. Since they are the MC's of the Splatfest, this is probably just a huge gimmick and the fax (which is probably a common office item in the Inkling world just like real life) doesn't actually have any religious significance but they are pretending like there is, and the fax message containing the Splatfest theme is just being sent by a producer, director or network executive. Compare: real-life Japanese game shows. Also, note that there are also "fairly recent" items being depicted in Sunken Scrolls, such as schematics of the "Octodomes", modern weapons, stuff they sent into space, and a music sheet for a pop song.
    • Somewhat going against this explanation, though, is the fact that there are markings on the fax machine, and they appear to be in Kanji rather than in the usual Inkling-ese character set. It can be seen here◊. Also seen in that picture is that the fax machine is in a dim room with candles placed around it in a seemingly ritualistic manner.
    • Use of a foreign language, whether ancient or modern, to make something seem to have religious significance or make it seem cooler is not unheard of. (Say, Ominous Latin Chanting.) Plus, the arrangement of candles and traditional Japanese doodads imply that it may be religious, but it doesn't totally disprove the "TV show gimmick" theory. (I can think of The Undertaker as an example of having skits that seem mystical and use religious themes.)
  • As it turns out, Word of God states that this is a case of Aliens Steal Cable; basically, the fax is receiving ancient human signals that were beamed out into space and then bounced off various celestial objects back to Earth. This explains the Product Placement Splatfests that normally make no sense, :since the fax is receiving the signals of ancient human arguments. Also, the developers have stated that the Inklings do genuinely believe that the faxes they're getting are divine messages; in fact, the Squid Sisters were originally intended to be shrine maidens instead of idols.
• If all vertebrate terrestrial life is gone in the Splatoon world, why are there seagulls flying over Saltspray Rig, and how can there be a "Team Dog"? (For that matter, "Team Cat" can't simply be dedicated solely to Judd.)
  • Perhaps non-Judd cats and dogs in Splatoon are like dinosaurs in the real world - they're extinct, but there's still interest in them.
  • As for the seagulls, maybe some fish species evolved the ability to transform into birds, like the Inklings can transform into humans.
    • Or the water didn't cover everything and gulls were able to migrate to those places, which were too small to support humanity.
  • Also, Word of God is that the Inklings are still receiving ancient human signals that were beamed out into space before bouncing off other planets back towards Earth, so they know a decent amount about what the world was like before the Mollusc Era.
• When Octavio had Cuttlefish tied up, why didn't he just slip out in squid form? Does he have Alzheimer's? Is he just not that bright to begin with? Was he staying there willingly just to humor Octavio? Or did he lose his squid form at some point like Octavio apparently lost his Octoling form?
  • Maybe the Voluntary Shapeshifting is restricted to young Inklings/Octolings, and Octavio is probably stuck in his octopus form. So it would explain why the Cap'n, and even the Squid Sisters, are never shown as squids (or at least not onscreen).
    • Splatoon 2 shows that the Squid Sisters are still capable of going into squid mode, but given the crazy tech the Octarians have, there might be some anti-shapeshifting magic involved.
• Ok so on scroll number 17, it shows a picture of Callie and Marie as young kids (going by human years, I want to say they look like 8 year olds) winning the singing contest. The Inkling development process chart shown in the direct however shows that an Inkling doesn't gain it's humanoid form until the age of 14, and that in-between, the Inkling has a more hybrid-like look between a human and a squid. Callie and Marie in the aforementioned picture are around the same age, but are in a fully humanoid form rather than what's shown in the development process picture. Why is that? Clearly they can't be 14 years old in that picture and look that young.
  • I think the reason why most Inklings don't take a humanoid shape until they're 14 isn't because they CAN'T or that it's impossible, but rather that it's the average age when they master their shapeshifting enough to be able to make the humanoid form. So, maybe Callie and Marie just mastered it REALLY early?
• This might veer into Fridge Horror depending on how you view it, but does anyone find it at least somewhat odd that Cap'n Cuttlefish is fighting closely alongside his granddaughters, the Squid Sisters, in what is basically a military squad, but their parents (a.k.a. Cuttlefish's own kids) receive absolutely no mention whatsoever? The small pictures of the Squid Sisters on the side of the Cap'n's shack in the hub world can either provide some evidence or further the confusion.
  • The Squid Sisters Stories reveal that at least Marie's parents are still alive, but they live all the way out in the countryside; they didn't get involved in the plot simply because they live several hours away from Inkopolis.
• If the Splatfests are supposed to be thousand-year old arguments transmitted into space then back down again in the distant future of Splatoon, how would the "Callie vs. Marie" Splatfest work? We were arguing about who was better thousands of years before they existed?
  • The Callie VS Marie one was likely an exception that was done right after their arguement in the Early Bird VS Night Owl Splatfest. It isn't some thousand year old argument, it's a current argument.
• Instead of stealing the Great Zapfish and other smaller Zapfish, why couldn't the Octarians just ask nicely for spare Zapfish, or a power contract? Inkopolis didn't go black after the Great Zapfish disappeared, and it isn't treated as a national or citywide emergency by Callie and Marie in their newscast, so there has to be enough spare power sources that they didn't care enough to send a military force, instead they sent Cuttlefish and a random teenager who's an expert at a recreational sport. Also, depending on the interpretation of the credits and the post-credits Octo Valley, didn't they make peace and weren't the Octarians Easily Forgiven, meaning there's space for negotiations?
  • Maybe the Octarians tried theft before diplomacy just because Octavio, apparently the Octarian king, is an antisocial jerk?
  • I was kind of under the impression that nobody believed Cuttlefish about the Octarians stealing the Zapfish, or that just for some other reason no one but Cuttlefish and Agents 1-3 knew it was them who stole it. As such, maybe the Octarians stole the Zapfish because they knew it'd get them exactly what they wanted, which might not happen with negotiation, and that they wouldn't face much resistance doing so.
  • Octo Expansion implies that it's simply because DJ Octavio still holds a massive grudge about the Great Turf War, as the Inklings at this point are more than willing to let the Octarians move back to the surface.
• How do Inklings know of dogs when Judd is apparently the only living land mammal?
  • That's just an assumption. Nothing in the game says that.
  • Not the game itself, but the developers say the Inklings know about life 12000 years ago due to the faxing machine used for Splatfests, which transmits messages from the present time in the form of radio waves that bounced off of another planet or moon back to Earth.
  • Then why would anyone pick the Dog side if dogs don't even exist anymore?
    • Dragons don't exist, yet a Dragon vs something else would definitely have people cheering for the dragons.
    • For the same reason why people like certain dinosaurs.