#kathy analyses

When we’re first introduced to him in episode 1 we see the rest of the ocelots making fun of Jesse’s gang, taking notice of this, he immediately tells them to leave. A few moments later, they’re back to teasing, this time Lukas tells them to not waste their time. And when the gang is in the hut or treehouse, Axel and him are fighting where he offers to leave not even halfway into the argument.

All of these scenes show that he doesn’t like conflict and when presented with it, he flees and/or avoids it as much as he can. His fight with Axel also shows us that he’s not afraid of standing up for himself. He's quick to point out that Axel's way out of line, gets mad even, but where was that when Maya, Gill and Aiden were making fun of Jesse's gang?

He doesn’t call his group out cause he’s not the one bullying others, why would he? Thats their business, not his. At first, this may seem reasonable, however, he’s their leader and even is he wasn’t, these are the people he chooses to associate himself with, turning a blind eye whenever they do something wrong makes him part of the problem.

In episode 5, he apologizes. And while I dislike the fact this is choice dependant, even worse, it depends on how JESSE treats him. The way he makes up for this is interesting

He's constantly putting his trust in Jesse. In episode 6, while Jesse is venting their frustrations about the whole white pumpkin situation, Lukas says “If there’s anyone that Can untangle it it’s you” or “I know you can do it” “Of course we’re gonna pull this off, you’re Jesse”

In season 2, He’s not the coward he used to be yet people can’t help but see him as such. They constantly tell him “You’re not up for this” “You should stay here” “Hey Jesse, your companions kinda suck lol” which brings me to my favorite scene in the whole game

I have plenty of reasons why I love the new ocelots introduction, though “introduction” is not really the right word, one of those reasons being the fact that it ties up his whole character beautifully. Staying in beacontown even when Romeo told him to leave, showing that he’s tired of running away. Bringing back his old gang to encourage people to fight back against an awful government, the same group that previously brought other people down.

And it is ironic the person they’re fighting against is Jesse but even then, when Lukas realizes that he was wrong. He lets Jesse lead them, and the cherry on top. Out of all the people barging towards Romeo, he’s the only one that gives him a good punch, facing the problem as directly as he can. At least before Jesse could

As I said in the beginning, I think the way he deals with conflict is a pretty important part of Lukas' character and I feel like stripping him from his wrongdoings (not really doings cause he didn't do shit lmao) is a major disservice to his character and reduces the impact his development in season 2 has. I wish more people talked about this 😭 maybe they do but Im not in that side of the fandom

—TERMS & DEFINITIONS—

Rose: An abbreviation of ROmantic and SExual

Allorose: Someone who experiences Rose attraction. The allo prefix is also used for terms like “alloplatonic” and “allofamilial” however, we will only be using the allorose label since it is the most relevant to this conversation

Aroace/Arose: Someone who feels little to no rose attraction. However, we will make emphasis on the “no” part of the definition since people often hc Big Man as experiencing no attraction at all

Amatonormativity: The idea that everyone experiences romantic attraction, desires a romantic relationship and that romantic bonds are higher above other types of relationships

—WHO IS BIG MAN?—

Big Man is part of the Splatoon 3 idol group known as “Deep Cut” he’s a sweet lovable guy as well as being the first male and non-humanoid idol.

Because of this, people are uncomfortable with the concept of shipping him as he has no visible human features unlike his group members and previous idols. A lot of people have resorted into hcing him as aroace to prevent this, most people see this as a simple solution but it unfortunately falls under a famous stereotype and a certain trend across fandoms

—THE NON-HUMAN STEREOTYPE—

The non-human stereotype, as its name says, is a common aro/ace stereotype that portrays arose people as something non-human (alien, robot, etc) that allorose people often fall in when either creating or interpreting characters as aro/ace. It’s harmful because it portrays rose attraction as something inherently human, which obviously dehumanizes aro/ace individuals.

Why do I think Big Man falls under this? Because most of the people with this hc are allorose and when they mention Big Man being aroace its always followed up by “He’s a manta ray I don’t like shipping him” or “Big man is OBVIOUSLY aroace BECAUSE he’s a MANTA RAY” and they often ship Shivrye and/or the other humanoid idols with each other. Leaving the only non-humanoid character as aroace

—THE SHIELD ACROSS FANDOMS—

This is not exclusive to the Splatoon fandom, I’d say Big Man is part of a larger trend across communities

The label is never treated as an identity but rather as a shield, a solution to shipping discouse, something you can put onto characters you hate to keep your dearest away from them. Aroace hcs are never born from love but rather from hate and/or carelessness

Big Man is a prime example of this

A solution: He’s a Manta Ray which stirs controversy in shipping contexts

Carelessness: He’s often pushed away from the other two members as he simply isn’t interesting enough in others words

Hate: I’m not saying he’s the most hated idol but he is definitely hated by most people putting the aroace label on him

—WHY IT MATTERS—

The Splatoon fandom is a predominantly queer one, and like real life lgbtq+ spaces, aspec people are often pushed aside and alloroses often negate our queerness.

Big Man may be a fictional character, but the biases that people have towards aroaces are very present in this hc, especially if they ship the other idols except Big Man. I think it’s important to call out trends like this even in fandom spaces because it can help people unpack their internalized aphobia and be aware of amatonormativity. Helping them understand experiences better and opening up minds even more

—CONCLUSION—

The aroace Big Man hc is not inherently harmful, I have that hc for him and the rest of Deep Cut as well due to the fact that I can see how a lot of their themes can be related to my experience as aroace (my bio), but the notion of “he’s not human therefore I can’t ship him so I’m making him aroace” is

I think the Splatoon fandom has the right to be proud of how much it is a safe space for queer individuals but we can’t do that fully without working on our biases and prejudices against arose individuals. This post is not meant to villainize or attack anyone who happens to have hcs like these but more so educate on why it can be unintentionally harmful. Im willing to answer any questions anyone may have

Thank you for reading

Aiden

Starting with him because he's the one I connected to a Heather first and that just made fall deep into this rabbit hole. He's Heather Duke lol

Both green

Took on the leader role after their blonde friend was out of the picture

Didn't feel remorse for the death of said friend (Lukas didn't actually die but yk)

Tyrannical rule over an school/city only for it to end up in flames

Gill

Gill would most likely be McNamara

Both were mistreated when the green one took over

The most easy to sympathize with?? (For lack of a better term)

They're still mean ofc don't get me wrong and view people outside their circle with disgust

Maya

Surprisingly enough, I think she'd be Chandler but it gets complicated...

Both Chandler and Maya are selfish and arrogant (also red)

However, she also reminds of McNamara (here's where I come back to popular belief) Both of their leaders (Aiden and Chandler) trust them enough to be in the group and speak to them in a much kinder way than their other fellow member

Lukas

Lukas would be Veronica

The only ones that express their discomfort with their groups bullying and torment of others.

Become friends with their friend's victims at the end

Resent their friend when they become a tyrant

He'd also be Chandler but that's just because they're leaders (and Aiden's similarities to Duke lol)

Those two lines are similar to me....in a way. Also imagine Lukas giving Aiden a kiss on the cheek when he's defeated (DIED 1989 BORN 2015 WELCOME BACK DUKESAW)

AAAAAA OKAY IT'S FINISHED WOAH I'M SO TIRED AUGHFHHDFFHV