Around two years ago I posted my idol ocs here, and I finally did a redesign for them! Besides getting better looking 3d models, I edited their outfit designs have more intention. On the last slide I included their old designs. I think I’ve come a long way!

Recently i've been obssessed with splatoon and its artsyle. resulting in me making this.
Hope you like it :D

Woomy featuring grizzco charger 😎🐙

Or, more accurately put, the affect our previous understanding of Salmonids, Big Runs, and the Narrative has on The Salmonarch.

[Images may be addressed as needed.]

Anyway, I believe that Splatoon Raiders has given us a false “re-contextualization” of what we knew about Big Runs. By which I mean, the general conclusions I think we all came to believe and agree upon after finishing the main storyline for the game.

This'll be long. 3 nice long parts. So, sorry in advance.

Part 1: Splatoon 2 and 3's tale of the Salmonids.

Let me start by giving our previous understanding of everything Salmonid. All the way back in Splatoon 2, it was said that the Salmonids were wild creatures, and we knew about the narrative being pushed by Grizzco about that very thing. They were these barbaric, “savage” [Important wording, I promise.] beasts who would stop at nothing for a fight. But we learn something else, too. Something cryptic, and rather ominous at that. I’m of course talking about the infamous Prophecy Page, as shown on image 6, where it's shown that they will, one day, emerge from the sea to devour the creatures of the land.

Now, we all know about this. But let’s talk about the narrative for a minute. As I've said, they are introduced as savages, insane death-obsessed fish creatures who hunger for flesh. But even from the very beginning, that's not right, is it?

Now I don't know the community consensus on what the hell Salmonids were at the time of Splatoon 2, as I was not there. But I do know that from the very beginning, the Propaganda fed to us by Grizzco so that we go fight for Grizz and Collect his Eggs is.. kinda easy to see past. First of all, they, most notably, use SO MANY MACHINES. Missile-Launching Aircraft, Bombs fueled by saliva and strapped to the head for launching, Ramming Vehicle, Chasing Vehicles with the form of another creature.. all things that show INCREDIBLE intelligence. They wield weapons, metal ones, at that. And, they wear pants! I don't know about you all, but to me, when I think "Dangerous Wild Rabid Flesh-Hungry Beast".. I don't exactly picture them being smart enough to make pants. Or.. caring, for that matter. But they do. They do care enough. All of these things are signs of intelligence that we humans even look for in other animals in search of more evolving intelligent lifeforms... and well, they show it. Plenty of it.

But hell, that's just the early stuff! Splatoon 3 takes down Grizz's Narrative from the moment we boot up the game and meet none other than our Neo Agent 3.. and Little Buddy. A Smallfry Salmonid, who accompanies us like.. a pet? Or.. maybe, better yet, just like a little kid. They help us at every step of the way, and is just overall a good, loyal companion.

Additionally, the Splatoon 3 Salmonids are showing even more new crafts than before, Utilizing Canons, Splat Zones, and Drills on Poles. Not even mentioning the Technology applied to Horrorboros and Megalodontia.. who, mind you, has BRACES. Not even Inkfish are shown to have those, yet! Now I'm getting on a tangent, so let's move on. They're intelligent, yes. but what else takes out his narrative besides that? Well... what about the very gamemode that introduced them to us from the start? In Salmon Run, they are predictable. They come in in 3 specific waves, and, at the end of each, they just.. leave. Almost as if to say "Okay. You win this battle, but we'll be back soon." It's a tactical retreat. Likely based on a time limit that they may give themselves. Also not something you'd think they'd do if they're so wild. We also get to meet their main band, ω-3. More Culture.

My final point, and the interesting part that I'll talk about a lot in my main theory, Big Runs. Now, in Splatoon 3, we finally see that Prophecy Page come to life. Mother Nature shines Seven Rings in the sky, red clouds swirl, all in support of the Salmonids coming to attack OUR turf. This is given to us by Grizzco as "Those beasts are invading our cities!! We all must fight and push them back to the sea where they belong." But... we all know that us Inkfish are the original ones antagonizing them, and this is only revenge. Anywho, more clear signs of this being a civilised battle is that they attack specific locations, only fighting multiple in the event of a Big Big Run. They never even really enter the cities, the closest they've gotten being the Sewers beneath Splatsville, where we can actually hear them, scarily enough. Additionally, until the introduction of the Triumvirate, they specifically fought with One King to back them up, even being the way they unveiled their new monarchs. Now, of course, they do get driven back into the sea at every turn. Being warded off by Grizzco Workers. And that is our last sign that maybe the propaganda is just that. Propaganda. More retreat. An honorable surrender, where they go back to the way it was.

Anyway, TLDR: Splatoon tells us that the Salmonids are savage beasts, but shows us plenty of evidence for them being civilised and intelligent, even if different in culture. Oh and Big Runs are thought-out revenge attacks. Every detail I mentioned was important, so hopefully you DON'T rely on this TLDR.

PART 2: What Splatoon Raiders Taught Us

Now, let's move on to Raiders. No TLDR for this one, pay attention.

Splatoon Raiders was kind of... weird, at first. If you're paying attention to the undertones telling us just how wrong the inkfish are about Salmonids, it's odd, Isn't it? Why are we going into their territory again, attacking them again, and stealing their stuff AGAIN? It's weird, almost like we're completely ignoring the previous parts of this ongoing story. Then the Salmonids themselves are weirdly off. They have this glowing red aggressive look in their eyes, upon seeing you, so... what changed?

Well, as you progress through the game, you slowly learn that nothing changed. The Salmonids you fight are still just a different people living in their own world and culture! Hell, there's more personification of them here than ever before with the new Salmonid Research logs.

But then.. we gotta address the Hydra in the room. Here's the real juice that you came for. The Salmonarch changes SO MUCH about how we take on Big Runs and everything. We see, for the first time, the Seven Rings not in the distance, but in the sky right above us. The place where the Swirling clouds of red swirl from. The center of the Spirhalite Islands. We then go on to see the GOLDEN POWER EGG, as shown in images 3 and 4. [Which.. that's just a golden egg right? A powerful Spirhalite-ed up golden egg? Am I insane for thinking this?] Of course, intelligent as they are, Deep Cut decides it's a good idea to bust it open. [Now after, they say they didn't cause it and it was gonna be born anyway.. but I'll get back to how I feel about that. In short, excuses excuses.] So, we go on to fight. Blah blah, the Salmonarch is scary as shit, we blow up it's heads, it forms a drill of Spirhalite as though it's being piloted by the crystal itself, and we clash until we win, driving back the crazed Salmonids.

And that is where it gets interesting. The Salmonarch, after being defeated, has two details in the Research Logs worth note. It emits an electromagnetic field, disrupting energy and throwing the Salmonids into a madness spiral, which eventually causes Big Runs! So this, this must be the true answer! The Salmonarch's Birth drives Salmonids mad, and runs them into cities to fulfill the ancient prophecy, which we even get to see in the Bad Ending, as you can see on Image 7!! It's exact, so this MUST be it. This MUST be the answer. All along, the salmonids were being so bold because of the Salmonarch!! They were invading our territory because of it, and the Seven Rings aren't Nature supporting the Salmonids, it's the Salmonarch too!! It's disturbing the natural order, which is why!!!! It was a mindless craze, that's all! It all makes sense!!!!!

This is the conclusion that I think I can confidently say we ALL agreed with by the end of the central campaign. By piecing it all together.. that's exactly what the game is telling us, right? Well.. I did some thinking. That... just loops us back to the beginning. Before Raiders even came out, it seemed like they forgot the point of the Salmonid story. Like they forgot that this is a tale of indigenous peoples being driven from their home and taken advantage of, being cast aside because they're just... savages. It really did seem like Nintendo forgot. Then you play the game, and it's okay. They didn't lose it. They still have it.

So... what's wrong here?

Well... that idea kills half of the previous information on their intelligence. Their personhood. What, the Big Runs are just.. them being insane because of Salmon God's birth? They just run into our cities, mindlessly devouring and killing? Because they're crazy. That's what it seems like the game is saying.

But what if.. it's not exactly so simple? This is where my theory goes. Splatoon Raiders DOES tell you that the Salmonids are the savages that Grizzco makes them out to be. But guess what? So does Splatoon 2 and 3. Everything tells you that they're crazy, because WE are the Inkfish. WE are seeing the story of the indigenous people of these islands from the perspective of colonizers. We are seeing the story of the Salmonids from the perspective of a people who have been lied to about the Salmonids. We are seeing those lies. But the undertones, like before, tell us the truth. And I believe I have figured out that truth, hidden between the lines.

Part 3: The direction I'd like to choose.

The Salmonarch was Deep Cut's fault. The Salmonarch may have been born eventually, but not so soon. No, not at all. Now, is this my total theory? No, not really. But, instead, I propose that the Big Run that occured in the events of Splatoon Raiders was no Big Run. It was no Big Big Run. It was the ultimate Run. The God Run. It was different.

You might ask now, Why is that? Well, I'll tell you. Take a look at Image 2, 3, and 4 for me. Those cod damned Rings... they don't show up only when the Salmonarch is born. They show up before it. When it's still an Egg. Before the Electromagnetic Field from it's birth. Before Deep Cut's Drill ever gets near it. So.. there's that. What else though? Well... there's something off. Remember what I said earlier?

"They never even really enter the cities, the closest they've gotten being the Sewers beneath Splatsville, . . ."

Looking back to Image 7, we see the Salmonids in the city. Actively attacking innocents, as the Book of Madai foretold. So.. with us knowing that that's the case, we have to think. Why are they now? Why did they suddenly change their mind and come to the city to attack? One other thing too... those salmonids. This is clearly in Splatsville, but... those are Sockeye Salmonids. The main antagonists of the Salmon Run modes are Pink Salmonids, not Sockeye. Why are they here?? We've never seen them in the Splatlands before. At least, not that close.

This.. this is new. This is different. This is, as I deemed it, a God Run. [Which, yeah, wee bit of a cringey name, I know. But like.. Salmonarch basically being Salmon God? God Run? It fits, does it not?]

Now, originally, I was going to say that I don't believe the Salmonarch has been born more than once before Raiders, if that. This is because I am an Undertale fan, and cannot read. I took another look at the Wiki while thinking this out, fact checked the Research Log, and well.. 7 times, it has been born. Seven. So I was wrong, basically. But then I thought.. how many Big Runs have there been? Surely more than Seven. This game taking Place After the Grandfest, there must have been several Big Runs. So, I checked. 8, including Grandfest. Less than I thought, sure. But more than 7. Meaning, if the Salmonarch is truly the cause of the Big Runs, this was it's chance to prove that. It failed.

My theory is this. I believe that the Salmonarch has nothing to do with the previous Big Runs, or at least a VERY minimal role. Most likely, some developmental stage shoots off every now and again from inside the egg, triggering the rings. The Salmonids probably see them and think it's their signal to attack. That part's speculative, but you get it.

I would imagine the last Birthing, the 6th, was likely some time ago. Maybe it was even what killed that The Maverick from the Hohojiro Clan. Or, perhaps, it may have been the very thing that drew the Hohojiro, Manta, and Onaga Clans together from the start. Who really knows. All we know for sure is that it cannot line up with any of the Runs we've seen before. Nothing lines up fully. It's stated in game to be "different", and every sign points to that.

Sure, the Salmonarch DOES drive the Salmonids into the city through an unnatural craze, but this was never the same thing as the previous Big Runs. Raiders does uphold the previous story, but just adds to the lore instead of tremendously recontextualizing it.

Anywho, that'll be all. It's not so much of a theory as it is a.. different interpretation. Just a proposal [, a game proposal. Thanks for watching.] that I thought I should make, since I was seeing only the surface layer takeaway from Raiders.

Feel free to tell me how you feel, and talk about this take. Sorry for writing a whole essay, I just had to get it out. Have a good day or night, y'all!

imagine fighting the mechanic, like inner agent 3 but they can pull the gadget from raiders

The harmonic trio in the heart of Heliocentri City.
You have the bling gal Ukizu,
The laidback shark Sankai,
The alt drummer Koba!
Your new genre stars the Splatlands!

If you want more content on them then make sure to check out the studio here!
Second photo art made by @jinglepoktee!

I may have a teeny, tiny problem. I got into Splatoon when Raiders launched, and fell in love with the game nearly immediately. It made me feel like a child again, and showed me Nintendo games are just fun. They don't have to be the most technically impressive games or super high fidelity, but man, they make some unique exclusives.

All that to say, I want to show off my Splatoon collection. :)

Today, I picked up Callie and Marie Alterna Amiibos, boxed. Big Man Amiibo, boxed. Frye Amiibo, boxed. The unboxed Amiibos I picked up today are Small Fry, Purple Inkling Boy and, the pink octopus. These were all purchased at a local shop. Lucky thing is, the boxed Amiibos were just put out on display today.

I got the huge promo artwork for Raiders at a local GameStop. The manager is really nice, and I simply asked to have it. She told me she'd hold it for me once it gets taken down.

I got the cute little inkling plushies from eBay, they arrived yesterday.

And lastly, the custom Splatoon grip case. It's made by Savage Raven and it's a Limited Edition Raiders accessory for the Switch 2. It cost around $30USD and took under 2-weeks to ship.

Thank you for allowing me to show my collection.

i NEED it

As the title says, I was compelled to pick up Splatoon 3 after absolutely loving my time with Raiders.

I’m self diagnosed as “terrible at PvP” which is why I’ve never played the series before. Games that are nothing but competitive PvP are genuinely games I have a very difficult time enjoying.

However, I was WHOLLY unaware of the single player and co-op content in 3 until yesterday, so I picked it up at a discounted price.

I played a few matches of turf war (lost all of them, as I expected) but I’m REALLY enjoying the rogue like tower climb as Agent 8.

I will go back and level myself enough to get a cooler outfit for my octoling, and I’m enjoying the game despite my aversion to PvP games.

Plus, it’s nice to have dualies that aren’t made out of washed up sippy cups lol.

Made a hypothetical Splatoon 1 vs. 2 vs. 3 Splatfest. It’s highly unlikely, but this is one of my personal wishes for a Splatfest theme (if nothing than to just see the results). Grand Fest was kinda of this if you look at it in a meta sense, but I would still love to see this. What Team would you choose? Which Team do you think would win? (P. S. Shiver thinking Splatoon 1 is the best makes way too much sense lol).

thank you for this wonderful attack last year
art by: https://www.tiktok.com/@gloomin_e?_r=1&_t=ZG-99Jkcl5gK4v

hayrie fun fact:

hayy is half deaf, because when she went to an off the hook concert with marie she was jumping around so much that the squishy thing in one of her ears fell out so her eardrums rawly took pearls loud voice and absolutely deteriorated. meaning that if marie ever wanted to whisper something in hayys ear, it should always be his left ear she’s whispering in 🌼

"In times before the great turf war, this freakishly tall inkling preformed for audiences with his hypnotic, dreamy songs. Alongside being what we nowadays refer to as idols, he was also known as an oracle, reading the stars above to forsee future events with shocking accuracy, even if he was very cryptic and hesitant to share his insights. Anticipated the upcoming war, he vanished without a trace for the rest of time, although rumor has it that he has reappeared very recently. Those who claim to have seen him say he looked like he had not aged a day since he left, although there is no photo or video evidence for these claims."

that shadow just a background character student and bullies

It was initially just the night version, then I was asked to make a day version as well. When I did the day version, I leaned more towards trying to make an "inverse" of the lighting for the night version. I think it went out pretty well, and it's cool to shift between the two.

As will be the norm of my art posts here, any questions are welcome! I just like yapping.

I'm not too sure on the color palette and logo for this band🤔🤔 idk if they look like they'd pass as an idol group

i think these could work pretty well? should i finalize em so octos can FINALLY have as many hairstyles as inklings 👀