#inkadia

The Great Turf War was primarily a land conflict as global warming had sunk a significant portion of settleable landmass beneath the ocean, and marine society had progressed enough that their populations were beginning to skyrocket thanks to innovations in science and quality of life.

Inklings and Octarians had amicable relations beforehand and even engaged in cultural exchange, but the fierce tactics they resorted to created a divide between species that is still present today, manifesting in extreme prejudice for the other race.

Some contemporaries have speculated that this entire war may have been the result or at least exacerbated by a particularly harsh breakup between two leaders of opposing factions,  General Octavio of the Octarians and Captain Craig Cuttlefish, a young platoon leader for the Inkling forces.However, because of much of the propaganda floating around regarding the war and its belligerents, this theory can neither be confirmed nor denied.

shown here is a photo of the two leaders in conference, dated before the start of the conflict.

Octavio is equal parts revered and reviled by the people he still leads, but the life and whereabouts of Craig Cuttlefish are mostly unknown. As of today, he is known somewhat of a recluse, having settled with his young lover(identity unknown) in Cuttlefish County after the war to lead a quiet life.

There is much propaganda about the events and outcome of the war, with a popular sentiment being that the Octarians were "more diligent" in addition to their technological advancements, creating many early victories for the Octarian Nation.

The Inklings' early losses are cited as a result of "not wak[ing] up early enough in the morning to defend themselves", emphasizing their purported hedonistic tendencies.

Not long after the inception of the conflict, Octarian scientists had developed a form of organically-supported war machines, "The Great Octoweapons", four weapons of mass destruction designed to defeat the enemy by all means possible. The Inklings had their own response to this, although not well documented due to extensive cover-ups by the inkling government.

Although not widely known to the general public, some defectors from the Octarian cause have come forward with information that the Octoweapons program has been revived and even repurposed, with new machines being created to fight a small guerilla force, confirmed to be unsanctioned by the Inkling military.

Photos provided by former Octoling engineers of the original Great Octoweapons prior to the recent attack by insurgents.

Below is a crude rendering of what the Inkling WMDs could have looked like, accompanied by an Octoling city being razed to the ground. Despite Inkling propaganda portraying themselves as a benevolent force opposed to the crueler, more authoritarian Octoling army, it is clear that there are many atrocities being covered up to uphold the image of acceptance and diversity that modern Inkling society prides itself upon.

There are few surviving first hand accounts, so most of the information gathered here comes from unreliable secondary sources. A handful of modern historians are attempting to parse apart the bias shown from both sides to obtain a true account of this deadly conflict.

The tide began to turn as Inklings figured out that the Octoweapons were powered by recently-discovered electricity, and severing the connections to their power source gave them a desperately-needed advantage over Octarian forces, which had been dominating for months.

Arowana Castle was the site of a major conflict, a siege on the main Inkling stronghold staged by the Octarian army. It lasted for months and finally came to a head as the Inklings made a final push due to dwindling resources and excessive cruelty by Octarian soldiers. The offense was helmed by Captain Cuttlefish, eventually leading Inkling forces to victory. His peers described him as "reckless, but a military genius."

Rather than deliberate in war rooms, Cuttlefish preferred to fight on the front lines with his soldiers, a true revolutionary spirit. His close friendship with Ammoses Shellendorf, a horseshoe crab aligned with the Inklings, lead to many innovative uses of the weapons Shellendorf designed during the siege, at a time when the Bamboozler was the only available ink weapon sufficiently advanced for modern warfare.

A modern replica of the Bamboozler, still used in turf leagues today.

A rare photograph of the Squidbeak Splatoon, Cuttlefish's renowned fighting force. Pictured from left to right: Ammoses Shellendorf, Craig Cuttlefish, Judd, two unnamed Inklings. Despite the group's small size, their prowess with firearms and the insight of Judd, an ancient telepathic cat, changed the outcome of many conflicts.

The Inklings eventually sent diplomatic representatives to negotiate with the battered octarian forces, who were unable to compete with the sheer ruthlessness of the Inkling campaign. They intended to not only win, but to leave the Octolings with a reminder of Inkling superiority, decimating civilian populations not involved with the conflict and razing towns in preparation for new settlements.

The Octarians agreed to leave what were now Inkling lands and remain in the wastelands, a rocky expanse devoid of life-sustaining resources, so long as any and all trade was severed between the two nations. And with the exodus of the Octarian people, a new era of peace began in the region of Inkadia.

There's a little family tree i did for Callie and Marie for HistSplat project. (Callie's mother didn't show up and I lack of art for her father)

Basically, Marie is a daughter of Antonia Kensaki(Toni Kensa is her nickname in writing and political community), who was a Danua* revolutionary against Inkadia's rule in Danua. She has formed Second Danua Republic with support from Octoria and she was attempting to get rid of Craig and replace him with his son and her husband Den Cuttlefish. But in 12025, Inkadia's State Security Squad(ISSS, future Squidbeak Splatoon) came to their family and took 10 years old Marie from them, as well as killed both Den and Toni as traitors. In my projects, Marie is very against Inkadia for killing her parents and wanted to revenge on Craig Cuttlefish with revolution against Inkadia's rule. And it technically was succeed in 12045, when Craig died and Marie was elected(first ever elections in Inkadia, because it used to be a despoty) to rule Inkadia. And she reforms the state to not just a republic, but a socialist republic. That is it, I think. But about Callie, we barely know her heritage, because she hides who was her mother. We only know, that she was a daughter of Suwen Cuttlefish, a marchall of Inkadia's army. He as well was a founder of ISSS, which killed Toni Kensa and his brother Den(probably even by his own order)

So this is something that has been on and off with my mind for I think about close to a year? I forgor, but basically the past few days my mind has been in a mental frenzy trying to jot down notes in a document as ideas flow in my mind. With that ramble done, I should answer the question:

What is Splatoon: Octo Cuetos?

Glad you asked random individual. Splatoon: Octo Cuentos is the name for my own personal AU regarding Splatoon. Beyond my own interpretations of the cast based on what has been officially stated and my own personal head canons, there are also a few OCs. Not only that, but story events will go down in their own way with using what is in the games as a foundation. But things will be twisted to work with the personalities of the main characters as I see fit. Just a thing for fun, as is the case with AUs in general for people.

As for the subtitle, Octo Cuentos, that is due to the fact two of the main characters are Octarian Octolings that go by the name of Orra and Celeste. Are they meant to be the Agent 8? No. In a way, they are a means to explore the idea of the perspective of Octarians from the time in the Octo Domes to building a life on the surface. They do play some roles in the 'main story' campaigns of Splatoon 1, 2, Octo Expansion, 3, and Side Order. But they are not the central protagonists in those stories, usually in the role of deuteragonists. But for this AU, the basically are the protagonists of the AU as a whole as it follows their journey, growth, and involvement in events that they get wrapped in. Some quick info on them:

Orra (Non-Binary. Age: 26 (S1)/28 (S2)/33 (S3). Octarian Octoling) - An ex-Recon Soldier in the Octarian Army, they always had a drive to create and thus had dissatisfaction in what they perceived as an existence of only surviving. After Octavio's defeat and learning of Marina Ida's dessertion, Orra would follow in her footsteps alongside their only friend, Celeste. After getting some aid from the leader of the No. 9 gang Inochi, who was sympathetic to the Octarians, they and Celeste would start their new lives in Inkopolis Square. They would be employed at Grizzco, getting some help from Celeste that led to the duo having quite the sizeable advantage in performing the job compared to typical employees at the time. Among their interests are listening to music, creating art, sketching, and partaking in Turf War for fun. Their main weapon of choice is the Inkbrush, them discovering their passion for this weapon during their time in Grizzco. While they did partake in Ranked Battles, they never did that well nor were that invested in them compared to Celeste. But teaming up with Celeste was fun nonetheless in either Inkfish sport. Events later on during the 'Deep Sea Metro Incident' would lead to them being scarred by Sanitized Ink. Orra is a massive fan of Marina Ida, and thus of Off the Hook. Unlike Celeste, Orra quite likes the music of the Squid Sisters, having found the Calamari Inkantation to be a really fun tune. Not only are they fluent in the Octarian dialect, they also know how to speak in the Inkadian dialect and Salmonarian dialect.

Celeste (Female. Age: 20 (S1)/ 22 (S2)/ 27 (S3). Octarian Octoling) - An ex-Elite Soldier that used to be Captain of the Takoshake Unit. While steadfast in Octavio and the Octarian cause, many events that happened as a result of the New Squidbeak Splatoon's assault on the Octarian Army and eventual defeat of Octavio would lead to her beliefs being cracked. The final nail would be the desertion of Marina Ida, a fellow Elite who was considered the epitome of Octarians. Consoling with the only person she felt safe in disclosing this shattering of her world, Orra would be the one to eventually suggest the idea of following in Marina's footsteps. Conflicted with abandoning her Takoshake Unit, she ultimately would leave. While Orra was much more optimistic in forging a future in the unknown of the surface, Celeste had been ridden with anxiety with many what ifs haunting her mind. To make money, she would work at Grizzco. Her previous experience in training battles with the Salmonids proved to be extraordinarily helpful in this job. While initially not into the idea of Turf War, she was convinced by Orra. With her previous skills as an Elite, Celeste would prove to be a demon at Turf War and eventually Ranked Battles. A way to relieve stress and earn more funds. Her main weapon of choice would be Charger weapons, her incredible eyesight proving helpful in using the weapon and relaying information to teammates. One of her hobbies that she picked up initially out of necessity was cooking. Wanting to better her and Orra's diets, she eventually grew to love the art of making food, testing new recipes and ideas. Some super basic stuff for now because I don't want to be making this post way too long as I do want to also go over a few things regarding the other big characters of this mythos. And who better to talk about than the Agents! Everyone's favorite bunch of blorbos in their head canons. In regard to this mythos, Agent 3/Captain, Agent 4, and Agent 8 are a thing. However, due to the way the mythos goes, there is no Neo Agent 3. The Return of the Mammalians story for Octo Cuentos will already be stacked with so many characters, there isn't a further spot for an entirely new character. Though in a sense, Orra serves the role of Neo Agent 3 for that story. That is what I will leave for now. But what about the other 3? Well, let us go over some quick bios on them:

Agent 3/Alma (Female. Age: 16 (S1)/ 18 (S2)/ 23 (S3). Splatlandian Inkling) - Hailing from the Splatlands, Alma lived a life being one with the breeze. An early bloomer in controlling between her squid and Inkling form, she would go from place to place around Splatsville to sleep and eat. Alma's primary form of supporting herself was scrap hunting. This would cause her to have run ins with others, her biggest opps being the then younger Deep Cut. Eventually, meeting an older Inkling by the name of Poolso, he helped her further refine the lifestyle of a vagabond. In time, learning of him being from the lands of Inkadia, she would wish to visit those lands due to feeling bored with the Splatlands. By age 15, she would make it to Inkopolis to begin seeing the sights. Due to her wits and skills, she managed to actually be pretty good at Turf War, catching the attention of a one Craig Cuttlefish. While not caring about this whole 'Great Turf War' (something not known by Splatlandians), she would agree to partake in his pleas for help on the grounds of her having fun and the promise of some good food. Seeing this 'New Squidbeak Splatoon' as nothing more than a silly gang she joined, the events of the 'Deep Sea Metro Incident' not only led to Alma getting scarred by Sanitized Ink but led to a rethinking about what this NSS was all about by the founding members. Eventually, this would lead to her eventually becoming Captain of the NSS. Her favorite weapon to wield is the Blaster weapon.

Agent 4/Chee (Female. Age: 15 (S2)/ 20 (S3). Inkadian Inkling) - Living outside the megalopolis that is Inkopolis, Chee was quite the fun-loving individual. One of her passions growing up was exploring the outdoors, seeing all the cool landscapes. When she wasn't out trekking in the woods, she could be found indoors playing some video games for fun. Later on, she would eventually partake in streaming for fun a variety of things. She had learned about the sport of Turf War and had a lot of fun partaking. In fact, she eventually got so good, she would even be eligible for Ranked Battles. One day when in the city, she decided to head out to summit Mount Nantai for fun. But the mountain wasn't her primary objective. No, that was to go see an area of land she read about. Chee would eventually get to gaze over the crater filled landscape to see her objective: the Octo Valley. As she got closer, she eventually would notice a strange building that had an incredibly well-dressed Inkling worrying over something. After some initial shock between the two, this woman by the name of Marie would eventually request the help of Chee, seeing her as quite a fit looking individual, to aid in her troubles. This would cause Chee to be recruited as Agent 4, her going up against not only the remnants of the Octarian Army, not only DJ Octavio, but Marie's own cousin who she was desperate to find. While quite a messy situation, Chee would take it in stride and good fun as best as she could. Afterall, she had a big heart and couldn't leave Marie to suffer. Her favorite weapon to wield are Dynamo Rollers.

Agent 8/Eight (Male. Age: 14 (S2)/ 19 (S3). Octarian Octoling) - Originally from the Octo Domes, he would seek out a new life on the surface after eventually not able to live with life there. While on his way towards Inkopolis, the young soldier was tranquilized and captured by unknown assailants. Eventually waking up in the arms of an Octarian Elite by the name of Celeste, he would wake up with no memory. After escaping with the detained Celeste, Orra, and Cuttlefish, the four would be joined by Alma who tailed behind. After being welcomed by a strange phone as subject 10,008, he would be put on a quest to reach the 'promised land'. Being christened the title of Agent 8 by Cuttlefish, Agent 8 would go on their journey through the Deep Sea Metro with Cuttlefish, Celeste, and Orra. After many twists and turns that led to stopping the world ending threat of Commander Tartar, Eight, as he would be known, would get the chance to live life on the surface. With only some memories recovered, he would join with Orra and Celeste under their care. From there, he would gain a passion for birds, loving to observe them and even keep some as pets. To not be a freeloader, he would eventually find employment at the iShipIt company. His love for birds had him yearn to find more information on them, leading to him eventually making use of the internet to find more knowledge on birds. But this also led to him finding other fun stuff about the digital highway. A pass time he would grow to love is watching streams, leading him to discover and eventually forge a friendship with Chee. While not one to partake too much in Turf War, Eight does enjoy Splatfests. His favorite weapon to wield are Dualies.

That should cover the main protagonists and the Agents. But I do want to mention two more characters. One has already been mentioned, but the other is a bit interesting. First off, the mentioned character:

Poolso (Male. Age: 30 (S1)/ 37 (S3). Inkadian Inkling/Mammalian Inkfish) - A rebellious individual, he was one that basically lived it rough since his youth. Shaped by his experiences in Inkopolis Square and around, he grew to have a love for the idea of living how he wants, where he wants, and doing what he wants. Basically, the lifestyle of a vagabond. While not one for authority, he wasn't beneath helping others if he saw fit to do so. Learning about the existence of the Splatlands, he would eventually make the journey across highway 108 to eventually reach Splatsville. From there, he would feel at home with the culture of the people and the street folk. It was sometime in his stay in Splatsville that he would meet the young Alma. Seeing some aspects in himself in the young Splatlandian youth, he would mentor Alma in all that he knew about the lifestyle of a vagabond. Forging more than a mentor/student dynamic, they grew to be quite good friends. His tales of his times in Inkopolis made the young Alma interested in those lands. Helping her get across highway 108 to reach Inkopolis, he would head back to further explore the Splatlands. However, one faithful decision would cause his life to forever change as what was a means to earn some cash had him and many others become prisoners and test subjects in Alterna to a one Mr. Grizz. Exposure to a strange, fuzzy ink mutated him and the others into strange, fuzzy lifeforms. While having seen the grizzly fates of those who crossed Mr. Grizz one too many times, Poolso had no intention to stay a prisoner to this freak. He would bide his time with those he managed to ally with. Finding a way in secret to figure a plan to oppose Grizz and escape, it would be a long seven years till fate would smile on him and his rag tag group when some people managed to break in a begin to make a ruckus.

The other character... so you know how I mentioned that Orra would basically serve the role of Neo Agent 3? Well, there is an equivalent to Smallfry. But it isn't a tiny little dude:

The Mind whose Dreams Surge from the Boundless Abyss/ Seishin (Female. Age: 35 (S2)/ 40 (S3). Boss Salmonid Chum) - A Salmonid from a tribe known as 'Gran No', she and her tribe reside among others in the region known as Lost Outpost. For many generations, her tribe would yield some of the brightest minds of Salmonid kind. Thanks to them, they were instrumental in the economic treaties with DJ Octavio. With the fancy Octarian technology, many among the Gran No tribe would come up with ways these devices could be modified to more fit general Salmonid culture and aid in the Salmon Run rituals. This Salmonid would be the one to create a weapon known as a 'Scrapper'. Loving her invention and fascinated with the stories of the 'invading warriors' and their many different weapons, she would ultimately make a plan to infiltrate the territory of the Inkfish. Gather knowledge of their weapons to not only make her Scrapper even mightier, but to pass on the knowledge to Salmonid kind so they can become even stronger and tastier. Fortune would shine on her as she managed to catch the scent of Octarians among those in Inkopolis, one in particular being familiar to her. With the alliance of Orra and Celeste set, she would be given the alias of 'Seishin' to make talks easier. Seishin was eager to learn all she could from her allies, certain that with each passing day, she would be closer to fulfilling her dreams.

ALSO as for the propaganda on both sides (inklings being taught that octarians are extinct and octarians inkling hating propaganda) it’s slowly phased out generationally so that it doesn’t cause tooooo much of a stir in the public for the inkling side, and the octarian side kind of remains the same because like... well, why wouldnt you absolutely despise the people who forced you underground, took your land and starved you of resources. the calamari inkantation was heard by octavio too and he wasn’t really eager to peacefully join the inklings after hearing it given splat2 storymode, so who’s to say some other octarians that heard it don’t have the same opinion as him? as for more octarians appearing around inkadia it’s probably chalked up to them being foreigners, kind of like in the game lol. 

According to researches of [ERASED] in 110XX, many facts say, that there was a civilization, that is really close to the old culture of modern Danua, Howzukua and Ida. We will call them "Klings", because according to our researches, it's a first form of modern "Clanes". And those Klings probably are common ancestors of Inklings, Octolings and Clanes. In ancient texts of Anemonians, we see, that they mention some "Ъкготъi" and "Иннъi". So, we'll call them Okghoths and Inns due to etymology between the Cephalopodic languages. Okghoths probably lives somewhere in Northern coast of Soklesh, while Inns near the Inkopolis region. And now we need to simply glue the names in the right order. Inn + Kling = Inn-Kling, so Inkling. Okghoth + Kling = Okghoth-Kling > Okotokling > Octoling. From the result of excavation, we see, that Inns and Okghoths attacked on Klings in somewhere around 50th or 51st century, so about of 5000 years before! But this is not just it. We also see, that some of the Klings have gone behind the Hymalayas to save themselves from the horde, so they became Clanes. We see, that the lands of modern Clanic region were empty from civilization before 51st century, so we can even see the trail, that Klings did to escape Inns and Okghoths. At this rate, Clanes are their own species, while Inns and Okghoths wete their own as well. But this is not just it. We also compared the languages - Inklish, reconstructed Okghoth, Anemon, Danua, and Ida… and the result was shocking. They all have the similiarities just like the Indo-European languages have among each other. And so, there once was Proto-Clani-Cephalopodic language, that Klings might used to speak. So now, we can unify Clanic and Cephalopodic languages into one huge marcofamily - Clani-Cephalodic languages.