#side order theory

[snailvibes]

Glitch in the system

Side order seems like it’s gonna be a virtual simulation so I like the idea that Agent 4 in it is gonna be a virus/piece of corrupted code :0)

Binary code translations under the cut:

In order:

���Do I at least look like herobrine?”

“Yayyy!-“

“..what was I saying again?”

“What was I just doing?”

[wild-saber1337]

CLONE OR 8?

Crazy theory hear me out what if what ever is happening killed 8 and this new 8 is a clone, or 8 is suffering trauma from their lost memories and the clones are just 8 shedding inconsistencies in her memory........or maybe 8 got infected by a brain coral parasite and it's slowly consuming her mind and this dlc is 8 body and mind fighting back with aid from the inner versions of off the hook

[flamingskull28]

so the main "parallel canon" boss member hairstyle changes to your agent 4's if you have splatoon 2 save data on your switch.

marina diaries say agent 4 was made the head of security for memverse.

do you think that the "parallel canon" 4 is like an memverse avatar of agent 4 made security purposes? similar to how the pearldrone is an memverse construct of pearl made to guide octolings having their memories restored

IF SO... why do u think agent 4 fight us? did she get grayscaled? what do u think is happening with her in Real World?

So everyone's pallets in side order is a show that the person was brought into the memverse (I'm pretty sure, not 100% tho)

so 4 was greyscaled and order mentioned that they thought 4 was strong so they turned them from a guard of the spiral most likely meant to ensure the safety of octolings who were using the simulation to get their memory back to an "order defense force" meant to enforce order. Though 4 was likely already connected to the memverse since they were doing a test simulation when Order took over.

I think Order used parts of 4's soul as the parallel cannon boss. Since Order controls the memverse to a degree and 4 was connected to the security systems they likely used that to control 4. Though not all of 4's soul was used for the boss and it became a pallet.

What gets me thinking is that even after freeing her soul by beating the sprial with 4's pallet. Her boss is still there, maybe she's not fully free? It could just be like a copy of 4's soul which would explain why this happens and why 4 is far less effective and would also mean that 4 was set free when 8 cleared her pallet.

But if the first part is true then maybe 4 is still trapped, possibly still being inside the simulation......

[unregisteredskybox]

HOLY SHIT. HOLY SHIT.

[arandomcat1717]

I’m actually really intrigued about what the implications of the pallets are. Because when I just saw DJ Octavio, I assumed it was because he was in Side Order. But then I saw Frye, so would that mean she (and the rest of Deep Cut) are also in Side Order? Or are the pallets just based on characters without them being in the story? But then what are the requirements for unlocking them? Is it just arbitrary?

Personally, I’m hoping Octavio and Deep Cut are part of the story to at least some extent. Otherwise, what’s the point of having the palette be assigned to them.? Even if they aren’t major characters, I think I’d be pretty disappointing to just have the character faces slapped on without actually meaning anything. Honestly I’d even settle for a mem cakes situation where we just get a few cryptic lines.

As long as it’s not like “oh you reached this far? Okay have this palette that has Frye’s face on it! No we won’t give you any insight into her character, or assign any meaning to getting it now”

[thebananaofwisdom]

Side Order theory:

So this is really improbable, but hear me out: What if instead of Agent 4 actually being in Side Order, there's an order clone kinda version of them that you fight as a boss. I mean, it would explain the shadowy figure that looks like a cross between 4 and the jellytons (I think that's what they're called) on the official art.

[amelka-s100]

SPLATOON THEORY

Side Order has something to do with cloning 🪸

I believe those are imperfect Pearl and Marina's clones.

Pearl looks really out of character, she's applying make-up (I think she wouldn't be a fan of it), her clothes are similar to her main design but not the same and her beauty spot is missing. Really seems like an imperfect clone of Pearl.

For Marina tho it is hard for me to say more, her outfit reminds me of the Final Fest look and she also seems a little bit off. The beauty spot is nowhere to be seen as well.

This artwork really gives off the vibe of cloning...

Maybe we play as a clone of Agent 8 or 8 finds out they're a clone... who knows ?? That would be sooo cool in my opinion!!

I am also pretty sure I saw a scrapped concept of clones from Octo Expansion but I can't find it anywhere 💔

Overall, I think cloning or trying to create a perfect version of yourself (aka a clone that is flawless compared to it's counterpart) would fit the aesthetic of this "perfect world of order"

🤍🪸

[saturnarias]

SIDE ORDER THEORY POST! MAJOR SPOILER WARNING FOR SIDE ORDER IF YOU HAVEN’T BEAT IT YET!!

(Prefacing this by saying I’ve only beaten the tower twice now, once with Brella and once with splattershot/agent 4’s palette)

I think Agent 4 is gonna be a secret boss at the end of side order once you’ve cleared the spire with every palette, for a few reasons

First off, in the Jelleton Field Guide, there’s a single empty space after the bosses, which feels incomplete and like they’re hinting at one more boss in that space.

Secondly, if you go to the palette selection and press ZL twice to see the info, you can view Smollusk’s secret notes on the palettes that you’ve completed. For Agent 4’s, it says that Marina wanted them to be security for the Memverse, and “No reason such strength shouldn’t be used to protect a world of order. An Order Defense Force is MUCH cooler than a New Squidbeak Splatoon anyway! No lawless do-gooder would be beyond our grasp!” So not only does that sorta explain how 4 got sucked in, but it also means that as Smollusk is trying to put together an Order Defense Force. And the agent 4-like boss is called the parallel canon. Case in point, I think Agent 4 is actually inside the Memverse, like Pearl, Marina, Acht, and 8, and they’re being controlled similarly to Marina, as a part of this order defense force. Which is why once you beat Order with all the palettes, they’d either send 4 after you or let go after being beat so many times, and you have to fight them to get rid of Order’s control.

Also, OE and RotM have both had secret bosses, so it would make sense for them to add a secret boss as to not break the pattern. And it would be cool as hell.

Anyways let me know y’all’s thoughts regarding this theory because I miss agent 4 so much and I wanna see other peoples’ takes on this ^_^

[etherealstrike]

here's the thread I made on Twitter about the new trailer for side order bc I'm too lazy to rewrite it here

[nonepizzaleftgirl]

Though back on the incomprehensible icon from the Side Order trailer and... is this anything

like obviously it's not a picture of the guy but maybe it's a machine this guy designed or smth

[vout-vouniern]

THIS THEORY CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR SIDE ORDER, PLEASE BE ADVISED. THANK YOU I WILL STOP YELLING NOW.

So, Eight’s Palette is the lockers themselves. Odd, right? And never fully explained…at least, directly.

Order/Smollusk mentions that all 11 other Palettes were particularly strong souls that it didn’t want messing up its plan. And yet we the player (aka Eight) end up getting all of them after freeing them from our own Palette? Not to mention these are all people Eight knows, with the only potential (although extremely unlikely) exception being Murch. My theory is that Eight, on some level, wanted to protect these people they know, and in doing so inadvertently turned their Palette into a set of lockers (based on OE’s ones, I’m sure that’s no coincidence) to protect the other 11 from Order.

Which then leaves the locker keys. This is a bit more of a stretch, but the keys are all put into the possession of bosses, no exceptions (yes, Marina counts as a boss). This means that Order did have the potential of opening the lockers and getting the Palettes, but for some reason either chose not to or couldn’t; with my opinion leaning towards the latter. But either way, I think the keys almost symbolize Eight confirming with themself that they are capable of protecting the Palettes and by proxy the people, almost opening up to themself in a way.

This could also be an explanation for why Eight’s Palette is “hack-resistant;” Order not being able to get through the lockers and Marina’s hacks also “locking out” the Palette come from the desire to protect the others, potentially leaving a lasting impact on the Palette. There is also another theory I have on Eight’s hack resistance: they could see the hacks themselves as a crutch, like it makes them feel like they can’t do this on their own and want to prove otherwise. Plus Marina does mention to Eight that it’s fine to use the hacks (I think at least; sorry if this isn’t true but I swear I remember her reassuring Eight that the hacks are to help them), so there could be an explanation there too.

If anyone has any further thoughts/evidence confirming or denying any part of this theory, please let me know!

[vin-lord-of-squid]

oh.

oh my cod.

we’ve been thinking about it all wrong.

our perspective was off. we jumped to too many conclusions.

it all makes sense now.

side order wasn’t created by Marina. probably not purposefully, anyway. side order- now just HEAR ME OUT- side order takes place:

in alterna.

explanation under the cut.

in the YouTube video linked at the end at 5:09, there’s dash pads pointed out with the alterna logo on them. plus, the weird black glitches on the wall are the same as the loot anchors in alterna. we know what the core component of alterna is, it’s the liquid crystals all over the walls that reflect the last wishes of the humans. now think about Marina, and her odd absence. what’s her greatest wish? her number one desire?

she wants to find a world of order, beyond our comprehension, after this chaotic world… so she can choose her inner self.

look at side order. that describes it perfectly. it’s so familiar, but so alien, a world of order beyond our comprehension, so similar to our own…

but i doubt Marina wanted this.

my theory is that during Off the Hook’s world tour, they came to Splatsville with 8 and 4 (probably not). due to being close to the Squidbeak Splatoon, they’re shown Alterna. Marina is fascinated by the liquid crystal, and tries to incorporate it into a computer. but the crystal is old and corrupted. so Marina loses control of the computer and everyone is sucked in. the crystal primarily reacts to Marina, creating the world of order she so desperately craved, but also trapping her at the top of the spire and endangering her friends (kind of a “be careful what you wish for” scenario.) Acht was in Alterna due to collaborating with Octoplush and is sucked in as well. the overarching story focuses on Marina’s relationship with Pearl and how she felt hurt and scared after Pearl left (the rest of the interview is here and another person’s elaboration on why Marina feels this way that I agree with is here and here.)

basically i think that everyone looks the way they do because the crystals are reacting to Marina, like Pearl is a robot because a programmed robot would never think of leaving Marina (which Marina would never actually admit or accept she desires but mind reading crystals). and 8 has the white suit because Marina wants 8 to discover themselves and find individuality so she literally gave them a “blank canvas” as their clothes. and she. didn’t know acht was there so no change.

as for story, i think it will go the direction the earlier posts said. i will note that i think Pearl wasn’t purposefully ignoring how Marina feels or trying to hurt her, she just. literally did not notice. not because she’s cold towards Marina or anything she’s just. half blind and a dumbass. as we saw from how long it took her to realize Marina is an octoling.

anyway i think the world of side order is working against Marina and Marina is trying to fight against it to return to her friends, but she’s torn between “i didn’t want this, this is hurting my friends, this isn’t right” and “this is literally the physical manifestation of my every desire.”

and this could play with my predicted arc for Acht (as detailed in this post) because Marina could land on “I want to stay here and you all will too” and Acht is like “bitch put a fucking cork in it I’m seeing my brother again” but I’m so normal about Acht.

and Pearl will have to confront the fact that she hurt Marina, and she’ll have to resolve things with her and land in a healthier place. I’m thinking that throughout side order, Pearl will deny that she hurt Marina and try to focus on getting to Marina, only to get to her and find “oh this is partially my fault.” and because a Nintendo game won’t have years of therapy and recovery there’ll just be an emotional breakdown and reunion with Pearl profusely apologizing for ever hurting Marina, she’s such a dumbass (she is), she was so irresponsible (she was), she loves you so much (she does), she needs you too (she does).

and 8. poor baby 8. a flea on the back of a dragon, in for one hell of a ride. 8 had wanted to explore their past, overcome their trauma, and find their identity and individuality in a more hands-on way.

this is not what they had in mind.

8 is the glue holding everyone together. They relate to Acht in some ways and they love Marina and Pearl. If not for 8, all of the character relationships would collapse. Pearl would never take accountability, Acht would remain cold and hostile, Marina would stay obsessed with this world. But 8 brings out the best in everyone she interacts with (comedically, without ever saying a word.) 8 is compassionate and patient, and works to bring everyone together for the goal of escaping. and 8’s personal arc, their journey relating to themselves, is to grow beyond their past of hurt and trauma. it’s a little played out but they ask themselves “who am I? A soldier? A test subject? A friend? Glue? Do I exist independently, or only in relation to others?” the answer is simple.

they’re Agent 8. and their potential is infinite.

(that’s a big deal because the infinity symbol is prominent in the second trailer, and also 8 on it’s side.)

also 4 (if they’re there) has a journey of independence and learning to move past their abandonment as their own person.

and that’s what gives this so much potential and power. every character has an aspect with which they can relate to Marina. Acht with the anger, Pearl with the love, 4 with abandonment, 8 with trauma recovery. alone, none of them understand what Marina is going through exactly. but together, each of them understand one aspect of her suffering. and they can all help her through it.

anyway here’s the yt vid referenced earlier:

thanks for reading my rambles. please please please send asks if you have anything to say I really wanna talk about this.

[noplaceofhonour]

In Side Order, Agent 4 is an INTRUDER

Agent 4 has "back doored"/ found his way into the Tower of Order through not intended means, and due to this ends up looking distorted - he's considered an "unauthorised entity" by the Tower and his appearance/ the way he exists there reflects that. Maybe he's considered by the Tower the same type of "entity" as those black goop fish?

I don't believe Agent 4 is possessed/ manipulated/ "forced to be evil", I think he's acting of his own accord. He may view the Tower of Order's purpose/ existance as a negative thing and therefore oppose it. He was on Team Chaos after all.

Maybe prior to Side Order, Agent 4 notices that people have been dissapearing or things have been affected due to whatever is going on in the Tower of Order, so he investigates it and eventually forces his way in?

Also I made some art for this

[galaxyseclipse]

alright, gonna try to be slightly more organized than last time about my thoughts/theories/observations about Side Order also this might be a shorter post than last time because there isn't a whole ton of trailer, it'll mostly be about the artwork tbh

so I'm just gonna start this by saying I really dislike the "it's all New 3's dream" theory, it feels like a cop-out. I'm not saying it is 110% untrue, just that I don't like it and hope it isn't

how do I explain the transition from the train to Inkopolis Square? New 3's on the train to Inkopolis Square(which is fully unlocked after beating Side Order; the option just takes you to SO until then) and falls asleep, one matrix-y transition later and we're in Eight's pov inside of whatever simulation they got dragged into. it's purely to transition the player from New 3 to Eight, and the events are completely unrelated

or I'm utterly, wholly wrong! who knows!

---------

another thing I noticed on my millionth trailer rewatch was this

it's just to the right of the tower in the shot where everything materializes. it looks like a filling cabinet? it's in the last trailer we got too, I checked, but not the first teaser(granted, a lot of stuff wasn't)

I dunno, probably not anything super important, but it's not there in the Square in 2, so I thought I'd point it out

edit: look at reblogs, it's probably actually a set of lockers

---------

I've seen a shockingly small number of people bring up this guy

so far(maybe there's more talk of them on twitter or something idk)

they're clearly pretty prominent, they're next to Acht, Pearldrone, and Eight, so they have to be important, right?

my first guess is that they're something a la CQ Cumber or ORCA, just the one who explains the rules of each level and splats you if you fail. but it feels redundant to have both them and Acht, who already knows a good amount about this place, explaining stuff to you

I dunno I also see twist villain potential from them, just because we haven't seen them before now. like, "hahaha! It was I who fucked up this place, and now that you've helped me hack the mainframe, I can take full control!" or something idk lol

I'm not even gonna try to guess what kind of sea critter they are lmao

---------

now onto the real stars of the show

these fuckers

hopefully y'all already know that I am a firm believer that the one in the center is Agent 4, seeing as they're the only one of the group with ears and tentacles, and those two features bear resemblance to "canon" Agent 4. the rest don't have those, so that one is clearly important, right? am I being delusional? probably

setting that aside, what are these things in the first place? they're most likely related to the fish guys in some way, both being covered in black goo with glowing red eyes

I personally think that they're either mobile versions of the copy machine from the lobby, or some weird, goopy creation of the simulation used to replace enemy Octolings in gameplay(which is a fun twist, haven't had enemy Inklings before) otherwise I have no idea lol. they're enemy units and that's all I've got

---------

there's also this thing

featuring a lot of Acht's head

kinda looks like the Octowhirl to me, but like, less octoweapon-y and more coral-ish, with the same red eyes as the fish; probably a boss of some stripe, or tougher enemy

---------

something else that's probably inconsequential I noticed in the artwork

the different colored color chips have different text on them, probably stating what kind each one is?

notably, the blue one(the one used in the trailer) doesn't have the same text on it, that moved to the red one

---------

I think that's it for now; I have picked apart the artwork as much as I can/want

I'll bet if we get a direct before the 22nd, we'll get one more small trailer or maybe just a repeat of this one. though judging by the trailers Nintendo's been releasing lately, that feels oddly unlikely to me

but idk I'm just a weirdo who likes staring at fictional cephalopods

[moxoarl]

Side Order Theories

Ok before we go in id like to say that there will be no discussion of any leaked info (which to be fair there isn't really any of note) but I will talk about potential spoiler stuff so y'know

OK so in the jacket sleeve of splatune 3 Marina says this "there may be a world of order that is beyond our comprehension. Gazing at the end of the world may be similar to being able to choose one's inner self... I would like to construct a new frontier with the power of art".

This line comes pretty much out of no where, even Marie and Big man comment on how strange it was

It's also worth mentioning that Marina seems to be in a bit of a venerable state at the moment since earlier in said interview it talks about how Damp Socks ft. Off the hook was formed because Pearl felt OTH was getting stale

That combined with the fact that Pearl had ghosted Marina while finding Damp Socks seems like it would defiantly leave Marina at least a bit on edge, almost as if shed be willing to do or say things that she normal wouldn't

Maybe a bit similar to another idol we knew, eh?

Much like how Callie was willing to join Octavio I think Marina might also be willing to do something similar, we all know how much Splatoon likes to repeat tropes in its story

(Not to mention both lost the final fest yet have a story mode that relates to the team they were on)

So by know you might say "But Callie had the hypnoshades there's no way she or Marina would be willing do such things if she hadn't wear them"

And to that I bring you to this part of the manga (which I know isn't cannon but LISTEN TO ME) Marina is the last person seen with Tartar as she puts his broken head on Mt. Nantai, It could be very possible that Tartar still had some mind control goo in him, after all the man was covered in the stuff

Now this does raise the question of "But Marina doesn't look like how Agent 3 appeared when they were mind controled by Tartar". For this next bit I'm gonna need you guys to stretch a bit

Marina is wearing HEADPHONES right? yeah uh basally what if tartar snuck into marinas headphones or something and is controlling her there? NO NO NO DONT ALL OF YOU LEAVE

but yea, to wrap this all up. I think Marina is going to be the new "Callie" in side order and Tartar is making her build his prefect world or something idk im not proof reading this so sorry if i sound incoherent

[fish-at-fish-fish-resort]

side order thoughts inkoming

ok remember this from the first teasr? yeah well we have this line in the new trailer. maybe im going insane and theyll change it in the final game (and i mean we can be p sure that the first teaser was entirely just concept art) but maybe. MAYBE theres another inkling agent there too. in the old image i still think it looks like neo3 but personally im hoping for 4.

the logos of the currency and on that board thingy looked really familiar to me. the best i could find was the shoal logo

it looks very similar but like if it was reversed(bg and foreground swapped) & upside down but yk thers the swoosh and the arrows. idk what this means but i just noticed. if anyone knows wht other place we know this logo from plz tell me

also on the boss at the end (the are just looks like a boss fight to me) theres a screen on one of th twirly parts it shows a torpedo. fun fact in splatoon 2 only toni kensa weapons had the torpedo. anyway i think its showing what weapon to use for getting rid of that layer? maybe like an octonozzle but on steroids

other thoughts were: meatgrinders. random ass objcts in the boxes in the bg. the slick stuff that the lego fish have as their trail look very much like oil. also the fish being plastic and coming fromthe whole oily shit makes sense i mean plastic is made from that stuff. also the parts in the inside areas(??) with the weird glitchy holes on the wall really look like portal to me.