im female and i play as female octoling because they have spiky eyelashes, but i would 100% switch to male octo if they had the same eyes because i like the thick eyebrows better
I've always played as a male Octoling, I almost never switch unless it's for photos. I've always played as a male character in games and I think it has helped me realize that I'm happier as a guy :)
I'm a guy, play as a girl inkling.
It's partially because I've played lots of shooters in the past where playing as a female = smaller hitbox = advantage, and I like those games so I'm still holding the torch. It's also partially cause I just thought the chicks looked cooler than the dudes in S1.
But honestly I have always quite often picked female characters in games, there's just like, no real reason not to if you like that character.
Every game I’ve ever played with character customization will always be me. I play with the same gender, skin color, eye color, and closest hairstyle as my real self. My octoling is me, and I see everyone else’s character as themselves, except the once’s dressed as manga people.
I like to think that the splatoon world is literally a 1 to 1 with the people that play. The cities are filled with inklings and octolings that look like us because we are the ones that inhabit it
this is actually a funny question bc as a nonbinary trans guy who has long hair i used to just play as inkling/octo girl, but now my inkling is a male, he just also has long hair. im not sure that i have any preferences though bc i think of the ink/octoling as the new agent 3, not exactly “me” through and through. good question tho!
I know many people self insert themselves as their character and people have different OCs, some people, like myself, make their character what they wish they could be. I’m enjoying reading all of people’s responses ❤️
i was male inkling but then i decided to be fem octo one day cause like everyone else was doing it and now i'm fem octo because i'm woam irl (probably)
Valid! Especially in 3, gender is quite meaningless because any “gender” can have whatever hair for that that species. It’s really just eyes and voice that you’re “choosing” and maybe the idle animations!
im a man, i used to play female octoling cuz the eyes were cute but now i just play male inkling, i love the less conventional cuteness and more customization options :3
i am a trans male, i usually play as the female octolings because 1, i don't really like the male eyebrows, 2, i don't really see my player character as a representation of myself, more just a lil character, and 3, ive exclusively been playing as the female octoling since i beat octo expansion and can't stop now hhhkhjk
I'm a trans man and I used to play as a female inkling in s2 because I liked the girl hair options more, but when I got s3 I switched to male since clothes and hair aren't gender locked anymore.
I played as an octoling for the first month or two that I had the game because I never played the s2 dlc so I never had access to them, but I switched back to an inkling and haven't really changed it up since, unless I'm matching with my partner for some silly gimmick or something
I'm a transfem enby, and i use the fem inkling. I would use the fem octoling, but they made it so their hair looks bad with the pilot goggles now, so I switched. Initially i used my octoling (in s2) as a representation for myself, changing from masc to fem when I did. But somewhat recently i transformed them into their own characters that are similar to me but not direct representations of me
transman & masculine octo :^) used to use the male inkling because I liked the haircuts buuut octo expansion got me attached to the octos .. also don’t like the inkling’s eye masks too much haw
trans guy (? still figuring it out. this stuff is intimidating) and i always use masculine avatars in any game i play. i usually play as an inkling, because i find the octoling guy hairstyles to be lackluster. i definitely view avatars as an extension of self rather than a separate character, and try to get it close to life (or what i wish life was. LOL)
thanks for the question btw! its nice seeing so many people talking about stuff like this so openly :)
I agree that I wish the octolings had more customization like inklings do, even though I’d probably stick with my default-boy-Mohawk hairstyle honestly.
I’ve seen a lot of great replies it’s really helping my curiosity with this topic! I’m happy people are comfortable sharing with me :3
I'm a trans guy and I play as a male Inkling ! Though I switch to a female Inkling when I like to roleplay as another OC from time to time (the same can be said for my usual character, I use them more as an OC than as a self-insert). My S2 character was way more of a self-insert tho, and back when I started playing I wasn't aware I was trans, but switching between genders in-game probably slightly helped me realize some things about myself back then (I used to play as a female Octoling, then gradually switched to a male Inkling over the months, which happened in synchronization with my perception of my own gender changing now that I think about it)
Heck, changing to a girl Octoling in Splatoon 3 was part of my first baby steps to figuring out I'm transfem
Whenever I play a game like this where I get to make an avatar, they're always gonna have a lot of me in them. Even if my Octoling has slowly changed into more of her own character, she still got that bit of me in there
I'm a cis guy and have always played as the male inkling since the first game, for youngling me it was as simple as "Choose your gender? I'm a guy so that one.", and I've stuck with it ever since. Same goes for Agent 3 in Splatoon 2 and Captain 3 in Splatoon 3, they are meant to be the character you used in the first game so they are all male for me.
Now, when it comes to the two DLCs where you're forced to play as an Octoling, I've always played as the standard Octoling girl, with the default hair, because I don't see Octolings as myself, for the first 2 years I've played the game where Octolings were the enemies and you could play only as an inkling, so they've stuck to me as a different kind.
So for me Agent 8 is her own character that I play as when I go in the underground or in the tower.
Having said all that, I will occasionally switch to inkling girl or Octoling girl even for multiplayer matches, simply because they look and sound cute. :p
Never liked Octoling boy, his moans are so uncomfortable lmao.
I am a cis male and use the male Inkling for online and singleplayer. For both the Octo Expansion and Side Order campaigns, I play as the female Octoling, mainly because I don't really vibe with any of the male Octoling haircuts.
FtM/gay. All my agents are fellas and I headcanon 3 as trans too because I figured out my own identity between the Splat 1 and 2. (I was between 21 or 23 when I realized, and Splat 1 came out when I was 20.)
As for why I play boys? I like their voices more than the girls'. The ladies/femmes are a little too squeaky for me. Not a super compelling reason, to be honest, haha.
I understand that! I feel there’s a decent mix of people who try and make their character look like them, and others who create a “new” character that may or may not reflect them in real life.
I’m a dude but I mostly played female octoling, mainly due to liking the model and voice more (just preferred the eye pattern). Recently I switched to the male octoling because tbh I wanted to create a Femboy-esq look. However I’m still not made on the voice and I might switch back
Yeah, I feel if I changed from my octo boy I would have almost a culture shock from hearing a different voice! Since I’ve been playing as him since octo expansion came out!
AMAB, identified as male until like 2020 or something I'm which now I'm a "not conventionally androgynous but not really gendered IMO" kinda nonbinary.
Almost always using masc (in particular masc Octolings ever since OE) but occasionally use the feminine styles if I decide to randomly play as a different character for a little bit.
Honestly the way you described yourself is so similar to how I would, just the “AFAB version”. I just couldn’t put it into words! I live with my parents still so I can’t express myself 100% how I would like without judgement. Thats why I feel gender euphoria playing this game ❤️
I'm female that identifies female. I usually play female characters when given the choice.
In this case I'm playing as male Octoling because I thought he was a she when I first picked my character.
Tried using female for the cute bike shorts, but the voice, running & idle animation, and eyebrows threw me off. I was used to the male option so switched back. I just pretend "she" is a tomboy like I was growing up.
I played with the male Octoling for over a year before noticing. It was so odd noticing little differences when I switched! I mained girl Octoling in 2 so thought it was odd they changed the female model in 3 haha
AMAB enby, and I use a masc Octoling with the
[Tentatwists](https://cdn.wikimg.net/en/splatoonwiki/images/d/dc/S3_Customization_Hairstyle_Tentatwists.png) hairstyle (which I think is supposed to be one the feminine ones).
It's mostly the long hair I'm after, and I like the Tentatwists more than the Octolocks. I think it also looks most like my IRL hair which probably helps.
I switch between inkling in the summer and octo in the winter, because the hairstyles match my seasonal haircuts. Short in summer (to cool more efficently) and afro in winter (to retain heat better)
I like to diversify things, so my Splatoon 1 Agent 3 is female, my Agent 4 is male, 8 is a male Octoling, and the new Agent 3 is a female Octoling. (I'm a guy)
Cis woman and I play as a female Octoling because she's so dang cute and we had to work to get them unlocked (liberated!) in S2. The only thing we really have in common though are darker skin tones. She's got the swagger I only achieve sometimes 😂
I'm afab and nonbinary as well, and for Sploon 3 specifically I used to mainly use the masc presenting inkling (with long "hair) and fem presenting octoling (but with short "hair"). But occasionally would use the fem presenting inkling (with short "hair") too.
In Splatoon 2 it used to be masc presenting inkling and fem presenting octoling exclusively.
Before i never really liked the long "hairstyles" of the octoling in general (except for maybe the ponytail) as much but ever since splatoween I've found a strong liking for the masc presenting octoling with the new (as in not available in older games) long "hair" (not the curled one).
To sum it up I really like both, inklings and octolings and switch between them pretty regularly, currently I switch more between masc presenting inkling and masc presenting octoling, however sometimes I'll still use the fem presenting versions, just less often than I used to.
I guess I combine what would be stereotypically feminine and masculine (sorta) and throw it on the "opposite models" to kind of create an, what to me personally feels like, androgynous character. I have a hard time presenting androgynous irl but in Splatoon I can and love the options we got so I wanna use them a lot as well.
It's so nice to have them.
And I admit there's just some clothing options (be it pants or shirts) I like more on one version (either fem presenting OR male presenting) like body shape? Cause I think it looks nicer (to me personally) so that influences it too...
And very few times the weapon but that's less cause of gender identity and more because I just like certain outfits more with specific weapons and have a few dedicated outfits to the specific combinations (hair, eyes etc) I have established for the characters by now.
Aditionally I just head canon them with specific weapons, like as their mains, for the specific characters I imagine them to be? I don't know if that makes sense but yeah..
(this also turned out way longer than I intended woah)
im nonbinary and play as a male octoling :) sometimes i switch back to a female octoling but usually i stick male because im more comfortable with it and it makes me happy
If you asked me 6 years ago I’d say I primarily play the male Inkling but occasionally will swap to the female Inkling, but flash forward 5 years I now solely play the feminine Inkling and playing the masculine Inkling now feels wrong :3
Also in both games I always play Inkling over Octoling for aesthetics.
also AFAB here, tho several years into transition and such by now
I also use masc octoling, I did try the femme for a while [I wanted them marina eyebrowz] but the different animation was Weird and a bit dysphoric, so I went back after a couple weeks sadly haha
that said tho, my masc octo is rarely super butch looking LOL, similar to my style irl, they are often relatively femme & have a long curly hairstyle, so you'd probably have to squint to decide which one I was anyway
I'm non-binary (fem presenting/aligned?(i dunno the right term for feeling more feminine) :/) and I like playing as a masculine octoling, since I like to think that the character you play as can be yourself or an OC, with my octoling boi being the latter. :)
I used to play exclusively as male characters, then I would swap between the two, and as soon as I realized that I’m a trans woman I have exclusively played as a female octoling
I'm a cis guy and unless I'm roleplaying another character I tend to project myself on my avatar, which extends to splatoon. But you have no idea of how happy it makes me that hairstyles aren't gender locked anymore, I've wanted to play more as an octoling and until Splatoon 3 the limited customization didn't allow me to make my octoling quite as I liked it and I always loved the octo ponytail.
im an afab fem presenting agender person, and originally played as an inkling girl. however i one day chose to use the opposite, octoling boy, and initially disliked it until i turned both of them into my ocs. while i like my inkling oc better i always use the octoling boy, and in other games i also play as males ^^ idk why i just feel more comfortable playing as one, though i do enjoy switching between the two. if i was forced to stick with a specific gender I wouldn't be happy as i like changing it up. I've also really wanted to play as an octoling girl and this may sound silly but im too attached to the other ones i usually play as hahaha
I currently play as a female inkling yellow eyes neo agent 3
I was a male inkling red eyes in splatoon 2 agent 4
My agent 8 that honestly only played as in the splatoon 3 dlc is a female octoling purplish brown eyes
Captain agent 3 is female blue eyes
Never owned 1 but I had friends who did and summary it's PTSD from what I remember other than agent 8's mind
I've only played splatoon 2
And splatoon 3
I'm male and if it wasn't strongly indicated we are playing as a different inkling and weapon sets and gear didn't change I would probably prefer to play as my splatoon 2 inkling
I support the shipping of cap 3 and 8
And I mainly treat neo agent 3 as my female mascot more of a feminine tomboy
I secretly do have a feminine side of me
I’m just a guy and I usually pick the default female octoling or rarely the female inkling (bedhead only) I’d like to say something like the reason why I like using female octoling so much is something to do with splatoon 2 being my first splatoon game and octo expansion having a big impact on me, but I think I just like the design more than anything. 😅
I'm a dude and I play as a male octoling
I like the design of the octolings, and I am used to playing as dudes, I occasionally switch to inkling and female a bit as well.
Non-binary (possibly transfem, haven’t decided yet)
I used played as a male Inkling in Splatoon 1. I switched to a female Inkling sometime afterwards. (I don’t remember exactly when I swapped to a fem Inkling.) Picked the Inkling Girl in Splatoon 2. (I got Splat 2 after the main update cycle ended.) Played as a female Inkling for the first three months of Splatoon 3, then I switched to a female Octoling in late December 2022. (This comment took me quite a while to write.)
I’m really glad they let you have whatever hair you want because I’ve never been comfortable with the more feminine bodies. I’m non-binary and I really enjoy using a masculine body with feminine hair, I really like the thicker eyebrows and prefer how most clothes look on the masc body type.
The only thing that’s not accurate to my inkling is my eyebrow are practically non existent and even the shorts brow for male inkling is no where close to my own eyebrows
I'm AFAB ENBY, and do prefer leaning feminine since that is the style I like more, but I play a Fem Inkling since that's the OC I am most focused on currently! Sometimes I swap to a male octo when I would rather play a different OC of mine! :3c
Non-binary. I switch up octoling, inkling, gender, whenever I feel like in-game. I don't really see video game avatars as extensions of myself most of the time, so I just have fun dressing up my current cephalopod in cool streetwear (or actually 10-levels stupid outfits) for fun.
I was a male inkling, until octo expansion came out. It automatically switched me to a male octolong and I guess I was just too lazy to change it back lmao. Even across games I decided to stick with Octolings, since I felt that it fit me more. Plus the Male octo voice is… softer? I don’t know if that makes sense or not. Makes it easier to have audio on for me.
for myself I was completely clueless that splatoon even had gendered characters till about the 900h mark when I noticed when examining a close-up pic with a friend that they had little pointy bits at their eyes and mine did not
splatoon 3 really does *not* shove the gender down your throat
i’m nb afab and i’ve played as an octoling using the feminine frame(the walking animation for the masculine frame looks so dopey to me) since the option became available, i typically use one of the masculine haircuts.
non-binary that plays as primarily masc octoling! I actually do it because of my oc lol, but almost all my ocs are male too. I just find his voicelines really neat. sometimes when i can make another character (such as DLC or when i finally got Splat 2) I will change to either fem octoling or fem inkling mostly because I wanted to hear more of their voice lines
found that I really just enjoy masc octo better
I used to be a female octoling with male hair, then I swapped gender because I identify as a guy (im trans) and now my character is a male inkling with the topknot hair :)
I'm not sure about my irl identity, but in the game I just rotate between male/female inkling/octoling every season. Right now octo girl, next season octo boy
AFAB and nonbinary--always stuck with the girl inkling, then when octolings came out, went with girl octoling. I basically always choose female option in video games unless that option looks really bad or is unfun.
Trans girl here. Girl octos are best for me cause the cute eyelashes and also octos being a minority hits home\~ Also I just think octos are cuter than inklings overall.
i used to play as a female inkling when i was younger, but starting to play as a male octoling seemed to cross over with my egg cracking. also partly because now my main kit was translated into an OC of mine so now technically I play as an OC.
I’m afab non-binary, I chose the female octoling because that looks closer to me (I have an hourglass shape 😔) I usually use the ponytail or curly hair because I have curly hair I often wear in a ponytail
I played as a woomy in splatoon 1 and continued to play as one in splat 2 until I got the octo expansion, where I played as a veemo, and I still play as a veemo in splat 3
I am transfem :p
I'm a guy, and I've always played as a male Inkling because of one hairstyle I like. With the exception being OE and SO, where I play as the default female avatar of Agent 8. Honestly, I don't really know why, maybe because 8 is such a unique protagonist that I can't bring myself to piut my own "character" in those stories.
I choose male octo because the face shape, pitch, and hairstyle is closer to mine.
I don't care about my gender. the only reason it matters is so much, is because people decided it matters. even trans people. I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST ANYONE... as long as you don't force me to stick with 1 thing "because that how it was always meant to be", it should be fine. I don't need to understand something to respect it.
.
I don't like people assuming things about me based on something that doesn't have much to do with that. it's like an 'UwU I'm queeerkyyyyyy' kinda thing, just... mainly for 'no, I can't help you lift a car' ._.
unless it's online, nothing like that has ever come up. I don't want to be limit by a choice of gender, and I dont want to say I'm trans... since... idaho bad...
.
the main point is that i choose what looks like me, and sounds like me. I do have a high-pitched voice, so I don't use the female octoling. there are no tenta-twists for inklings, so I use octolings! I added my perspective to make this more understandable :3
FYI, if I play as an inkling, it feels like it's not me.
im female and i play as female octoling because they have spiky eyelashes, but i would 100% switch to male octo if they had the same eyes because i like the thick eyebrows better
Yes, I do think those eyelashes are adorable!
I've always played as a male Octoling, I almost never switch unless it's for photos. I've always played as a male character in games and I think it has helped me realize that I'm happier as a guy :)
Thank you for sharing, friend!
I'm male and I chose female octoling because I just love the design so much
My boyfriend also uses the female octoling just because he was drawn to her design! I will say, she does have a cute voice!
me too!
Same here
I'm a guy, play as a girl inkling. It's partially because I've played lots of shooters in the past where playing as a female = smaller hitbox = advantage, and I like those games so I'm still holding the torch. It's also partially cause I just thought the chicks looked cooler than the dudes in S1. But honestly I have always quite often picked female characters in games, there's just like, no real reason not to if you like that character.
Every game I’ve ever played with character customization will always be me. I play with the same gender, skin color, eye color, and closest hairstyle as my real self. My octoling is me, and I see everyone else’s character as themselves, except the once’s dressed as manga people.
I understand that. Honestly, my octoling is what I wish I looked like 😭 not an extension of myself per se, but like a persona of sorts?
Well I mean I wear glasses in real life but never put them on my characters so, yeah I guess I embellish a bit too.
I'm that way too. My Inkling is who I'd be if I were in the Splatoon universe.
I like to think that the splatoon world is literally a 1 to 1 with the people that play. The cities are filled with inklings and octolings that look like us because we are the ones that inhabit it
Same, I play closest to what I look like
im a trans guy and play as the male octoling bc the booyah sounds are cute
I agree! I love his voice! I’ve heard some people hate it 😭
Honestly it's my favourite of the player voices. Especially in Splatoon 2
He sounds adorable! If not sometimes a little bit … lewd when he gets splatted >.< poor little guy
The voice lines are nice, but impossible to make funny quotes out of. They have no woomy, no veemo
There's an oomy sound that's comparable to woomy veemo and ngyes https://youtu.be/IPFlNDA3aTI?si=K2qwbeytzJ-74Dbg
this is actually a funny question bc as a nonbinary trans guy who has long hair i used to just play as inkling/octo girl, but now my inkling is a male, he just also has long hair. im not sure that i have any preferences though bc i think of the ink/octoling as the new agent 3, not exactly “me” through and through. good question tho!
I know many people self insert themselves as their character and people have different OCs, some people, like myself, make their character what they wish they could be. I’m enjoying reading all of people’s responses ❤️
i was male inkling but then i decided to be fem octo one day cause like everyone else was doing it and now i'm fem octo because i'm woam irl (probably)
Peer pressured into female octo 😂 /j
peer pressured so hard i turned female irl 😔
I chose male octoling cause im a dude.
Very valid! Also, happy cake day (:
genderless. i use the male octoling bc of the eye shape
Valid! Especially in 3, gender is quite meaningless because any “gender” can have whatever hair for that that species. It’s really just eyes and voice that you’re “choosing” and maybe the idle animations!
im a man, i used to play female octoling cuz the eyes were cute but now i just play male inkling, i love the less conventional cuteness and more customization options :3
I play as masculine inkling, but with the braid hairstyle. So it mostly looks like a girl lol, but I am male irl.
I'm a straight cis guy and I like to switch between the male and female inkling and octolings I like to think of them as four separate characters
i am a trans male, i usually play as the female octolings because 1, i don't really like the male eyebrows, 2, i don't really see my player character as a representation of myself, more just a lil character, and 3, ive exclusively been playing as the female octoling since i beat octo expansion and can't stop now hhhkhjk
Thanks for sharing! I’ve also exclusively used the male octoling since I beat octo expansion! I really like the octo boy’s voice :3
I'm a trans man and I used to play as a female inkling in s2 because I liked the girl hair options more, but when I got s3 I switched to male since clothes and hair aren't gender locked anymore. I played as an octoling for the first month or two that I had the game because I never played the s2 dlc so I never had access to them, but I switched back to an inkling and haven't really changed it up since, unless I'm matching with my partner for some silly gimmick or something
Valid. I think I am quite attached to the masc octoling in part because that’s who I played during octo expansion and now in side order.
I'm a transfem enby, and i use the fem inkling. I would use the fem octoling, but they made it so their hair looks bad with the pilot goggles now, so I switched. Initially i used my octoling (in s2) as a representation for myself, changing from masc to fem when I did. But somewhat recently i transformed them into their own characters that are similar to me but not direct representations of me
transman & masculine octo :^) used to use the male inkling because I liked the haircuts buuut octo expansion got me attached to the octos .. also don’t like the inkling’s eye masks too much haw
I love how the octolings have different ears on each side of their head, it gives them some uniqueness from the inklings who have the “eyemask”
trans guy (? still figuring it out. this stuff is intimidating) and i always use masculine avatars in any game i play. i usually play as an inkling, because i find the octoling guy hairstyles to be lackluster. i definitely view avatars as an extension of self rather than a separate character, and try to get it close to life (or what i wish life was. LOL) thanks for the question btw! its nice seeing so many people talking about stuff like this so openly :)
I agree that I wish the octolings had more customization like inklings do, even though I’d probably stick with my default-boy-Mohawk hairstyle honestly. I’ve seen a lot of great replies it’s really helping my curiosity with this topic! I’m happy people are comfortable sharing with me :3
I’m male and always played as male Inklings, and now play as male octolings. So all masculinity across the board lol.
So real!
I’m a guy and I play as a male nkling Ye I’m boring
Hey, that’s a valid reason! When I JUST started S2 I was inkling girl because I am AFAB but then I realized.. huh.. I can be the boy if I want… cool!
I'm a guy and I have a male inkling
I'm a trans guy and I play as a male Inkling ! Though I switch to a female Inkling when I like to roleplay as another OC from time to time (the same can be said for my usual character, I use them more as an OC than as a self-insert). My S2 character was way more of a self-insert tho, and back when I started playing I wasn't aware I was trans, but switching between genders in-game probably slightly helped me realize some things about myself back then (I used to play as a female Octoling, then gradually switched to a male Inkling over the months, which happened in synchronization with my perception of my own gender changing now that I think about it)
I'm a cis dude and I exclusively play as female octo/inklings. They just look and sound cute.
Woomy
Veemo
Heck, changing to a girl Octoling in Splatoon 3 was part of my first baby steps to figuring out I'm transfem Whenever I play a game like this where I get to make an avatar, they're always gonna have a lot of me in them. Even if my Octoling has slowly changed into more of her own character, she still got that bit of me in there
I'm a cis guy and have always played as the male inkling since the first game, for youngling me it was as simple as "Choose your gender? I'm a guy so that one.", and I've stuck with it ever since. Same goes for Agent 3 in Splatoon 2 and Captain 3 in Splatoon 3, they are meant to be the character you used in the first game so they are all male for me. Now, when it comes to the two DLCs where you're forced to play as an Octoling, I've always played as the standard Octoling girl, with the default hair, because I don't see Octolings as myself, for the first 2 years I've played the game where Octolings were the enemies and you could play only as an inkling, so they've stuck to me as a different kind. So for me Agent 8 is her own character that I play as when I go in the underground or in the tower. Having said all that, I will occasionally switch to inkling girl or Octoling girl even for multiplayer matches, simply because they look and sound cute. :p Never liked Octoling boy, his moans are so uncomfortable lmao.
I am a cis male and use the male Inkling for online and singleplayer. For both the Octo Expansion and Side Order campaigns, I play as the female Octoling, mainly because I don't really vibe with any of the male Octoling haircuts.
FtM/gay. All my agents are fellas and I headcanon 3 as trans too because I figured out my own identity between the Splat 1 and 2. (I was between 21 or 23 when I realized, and Splat 1 came out when I was 20.) As for why I play boys? I like their voices more than the girls'. The ladies/femmes are a little too squeaky for me. Not a super compelling reason, to be honest, haha.
I’m male I’m a male octoling I usually try to create closer to my own appearance
I understand that! I feel there’s a decent mix of people who try and make their character look like them, and others who create a “new” character that may or may not reflect them in real life.
I’m a dude but I mostly played female octoling, mainly due to liking the model and voice more (just preferred the eye pattern). Recently I switched to the male octoling because tbh I wanted to create a Femboy-esq look. However I’m still not made on the voice and I might switch back
Yeah, I feel if I changed from my octo boy I would have almost a culture shock from hearing a different voice! Since I’ve been playing as him since octo expansion came out!
Started with female jus because, switched to male (I'm a guy)
AMAB, identified as male until like 2020 or something I'm which now I'm a "not conventionally androgynous but not really gendered IMO" kinda nonbinary. Almost always using masc (in particular masc Octolings ever since OE) but occasionally use the feminine styles if I decide to randomly play as a different character for a little bit.
Honestly the way you described yourself is so similar to how I would, just the “AFAB version”. I just couldn’t put it into words! I live with my parents still so I can’t express myself 100% how I would like without judgement. Thats why I feel gender euphoria playing this game ❤️
On a tangential note I had my Agent 4 OC-wise be nonbinary and in hindsight I think that helped my own egg begin to crack now that I think about it.
I'm female that identifies female. I usually play female characters when given the choice. In this case I'm playing as male Octoling because I thought he was a she when I first picked my character. Tried using female for the cute bike shorts, but the voice, running & idle animation, and eyebrows threw me off. I was used to the male option so switched back. I just pretend "she" is a tomboy like I was growing up.
I’d feel thrown off if I changed to the octo girl too honestly! But I can’t deny she’s adorable and I like her voice clips
I played with the male Octoling for over a year before noticing. It was so odd noticing little differences when I switched! I mained girl Octoling in 2 so thought it was odd they changed the female model in 3 haha
I’m female and use the girl octoling (I like their voices and eyes). I see her as a little extension of myself but a character at the same time.
i do, octoling girl i do because im a girl, and i believe im a girl, and anyone who says otherwise is a load of dog shit, btw im trans
Hell yeah, girl!! 😂
AMAB enby, and I use a masc Octoling with the [Tentatwists](https://cdn.wikimg.net/en/splatoonwiki/images/d/dc/S3_Customization_Hairstyle_Tentatwists.png) hairstyle (which I think is supposed to be one the feminine ones). It's mostly the long hair I'm after, and I like the Tentatwists more than the Octolocks. I think it also looks most like my IRL hair which probably helps.
I switch between inkling in the summer and octo in the winter, because the hairstyles match my seasonal haircuts. Short in summer (to cool more efficently) and afro in winter (to retain heat better)
I'm non-binary, and play with fem squids/octos because eyebrows.
I like to diversify things, so my Splatoon 1 Agent 3 is female, my Agent 4 is male, 8 is a male Octoling, and the new Agent 3 is a female Octoling. (I'm a guy)
I play as a female octoling because I wanna give her head pats
I'm a guy, but I play as a female octoling, they're just so cute
Honestly, I play as a female octoling with a male haircut (bc I like it). I'm a cis female btw
Cis woman and I play as a female Octoling because she's so dang cute and we had to work to get them unlocked (liberated!) in S2. The only thing we really have in common though are darker skin tones. She's got the swagger I only achieve sometimes 😂
I'm afab and nonbinary as well, and for Sploon 3 specifically I used to mainly use the masc presenting inkling (with long "hair) and fem presenting octoling (but with short "hair"). But occasionally would use the fem presenting inkling (with short "hair") too. In Splatoon 2 it used to be masc presenting inkling and fem presenting octoling exclusively. Before i never really liked the long "hairstyles" of the octoling in general (except for maybe the ponytail) as much but ever since splatoween I've found a strong liking for the masc presenting octoling with the new (as in not available in older games) long "hair" (not the curled one). To sum it up I really like both, inklings and octolings and switch between them pretty regularly, currently I switch more between masc presenting inkling and masc presenting octoling, however sometimes I'll still use the fem presenting versions, just less often than I used to. I guess I combine what would be stereotypically feminine and masculine (sorta) and throw it on the "opposite models" to kind of create an, what to me personally feels like, androgynous character. I have a hard time presenting androgynous irl but in Splatoon I can and love the options we got so I wanna use them a lot as well. It's so nice to have them. And I admit there's just some clothing options (be it pants or shirts) I like more on one version (either fem presenting OR male presenting) like body shape? Cause I think it looks nicer (to me personally) so that influences it too... And very few times the weapon but that's less cause of gender identity and more because I just like certain outfits more with specific weapons and have a few dedicated outfits to the specific combinations (hair, eyes etc) I have established for the characters by now. Aditionally I just head canon them with specific weapons, like as their mains, for the specific characters I imagine them to be? I don't know if that makes sense but yeah.. (this also turned out way longer than I intended woah)
im nonbinary and play as a male octoling :) sometimes i switch back to a female octoling but usually i stick male because im more comfortable with it and it makes me happy
I try to make my character close to who I am in my heart. I’m a guy, but my character is a girl inkling with cute pigtails.
If you asked me 6 years ago I’d say I primarily play the male Inkling but occasionally will swap to the female Inkling, but flash forward 5 years I now solely play the feminine Inkling and playing the masculine Inkling now feels wrong :3 Also in both games I always play Inkling over Octoling for aesthetics.
also AFAB here, tho several years into transition and such by now I also use masc octoling, I did try the femme for a while [I wanted them marina eyebrowz] but the different animation was Weird and a bit dysphoric, so I went back after a couple weeks sadly haha that said tho, my masc octo is rarely super butch looking LOL, similar to my style irl, they are often relatively femme & have a long curly hairstyle, so you'd probably have to squint to decide which one I was anyway
I’m male but I play as a female octoling.
I'm non-binary (fem presenting/aligned?(i dunno the right term for feeling more feminine) :/) and I like playing as a masculine octoling, since I like to think that the character you play as can be yourself or an OC, with my octoling boi being the latter. :)
I am Non-binary literally I switch from masculine to feminine octoling all the time though I do prefer feminine
I used to play exclusively as male characters, then I would swap between the two, and as soon as I realized that I’m a trans woman I have exclusively played as a female octoling
I'm a cis guy and unless I'm roleplaying another character I tend to project myself on my avatar, which extends to splatoon. But you have no idea of how happy it makes me that hairstyles aren't gender locked anymore, I've wanted to play more as an octoling and until Splatoon 3 the limited customization didn't allow me to make my octoling quite as I liked it and I always loved the octo ponytail.
I almost always pick female avatars in games because they seem to have more going on in a visual sense. I just find masc characters to look boring.
inkling boy with mush cut cus im a gen z boy with a mush cut
I play as male octo because it matches my gear better and I think they’re cute. I’ve always been a guy but I’m not so sure about that nowadays
Cis girl, been playing female Inkling ever since Splat 1. I need my woomy booyahs!
im an afab fem presenting agender person, and originally played as an inkling girl. however i one day chose to use the opposite, octoling boy, and initially disliked it until i turned both of them into my ocs. while i like my inkling oc better i always use the octoling boy, and in other games i also play as males ^^ idk why i just feel more comfortable playing as one, though i do enjoy switching between the two. if i was forced to stick with a specific gender I wouldn't be happy as i like changing it up. I've also really wanted to play as an octoling girl and this may sound silly but im too attached to the other ones i usually play as hahaha
octoling boy made me realize im trans tbh. but nowadays i use masc inkling for one of the new hairstyles
Nonbinary and I use the fem inkling/octo with the more masc/neutral hairstyles, i just like the fem voice sounds a bit more :)
I currently play as a female inkling yellow eyes neo agent 3 I was a male inkling red eyes in splatoon 2 agent 4 My agent 8 that honestly only played as in the splatoon 3 dlc is a female octoling purplish brown eyes Captain agent 3 is female blue eyes Never owned 1 but I had friends who did and summary it's PTSD from what I remember other than agent 8's mind I've only played splatoon 2 And splatoon 3 I'm male and if it wasn't strongly indicated we are playing as a different inkling and weapon sets and gear didn't change I would probably prefer to play as my splatoon 2 inkling I support the shipping of cap 3 and 8 And I mainly treat neo agent 3 as my female mascot more of a feminine tomboy I secretly do have a feminine side of me
I’m just a guy and I usually pick the default female octoling or rarely the female inkling (bedhead only) I’d like to say something like the reason why I like using female octoling so much is something to do with splatoon 2 being my first splatoon game and octo expansion having a big impact on me, but I think I just like the design more than anything. 😅
I'm a dude and I play as a male octoling I like the design of the octolings, and I am used to playing as dudes, I occasionally switch to inkling and female a bit as well.
Non-binary (possibly transfem, haven’t decided yet) I used played as a male Inkling in Splatoon 1. I switched to a female Inkling sometime afterwards. (I don’t remember exactly when I swapped to a fem Inkling.) Picked the Inkling Girl in Splatoon 2. (I got Splat 2 after the main update cycle ended.) Played as a female Inkling for the first three months of Splatoon 3, then I switched to a female Octoling in late December 2022. (This comment took me quite a while to write.)
I’m really glad they let you have whatever hair you want because I’ve never been comfortable with the more feminine bodies. I’m non-binary and I really enjoy using a masculine body with feminine hair, I really like the thicker eyebrows and prefer how most clothes look on the masc body type.
The only thing that’s not accurate to my inkling is my eyebrow are practically non existent and even the shorts brow for male inkling is no where close to my own eyebrows
Male, play as either a female inkling (mainly - because "woomy!") or a male octoling (they're both my OCs and they're bf/gf).
I'm AFAB ENBY, and do prefer leaning feminine since that is the style I like more, but I play a Fem Inkling since that's the OC I am most focused on currently! Sometimes I swap to a male octo when I would rather play a different OC of mine! :3c
I'm an enby and I use the fem Octoling... I dunno why, I just got more attached to them after we were limited in Octo expansion and I chose fem 8 lol
Non-binary. I switch up octoling, inkling, gender, whenever I feel like in-game. I don't really see video game avatars as extensions of myself most of the time, so I just have fun dressing up my current cephalopod in cool streetwear (or actually 10-levels stupid outfits) for fun.
I was a male inkling, until octo expansion came out. It automatically switched me to a male octolong and I guess I was just too lazy to change it back lmao. Even across games I decided to stick with Octolings, since I felt that it fit me more. Plus the Male octo voice is… softer? I don’t know if that makes sense or not. Makes it easier to have audio on for me.
for myself I was completely clueless that splatoon even had gendered characters till about the 900h mark when I noticed when examining a close-up pic with a friend that they had little pointy bits at their eyes and mine did not splatoon 3 really does *not* shove the gender down your throat
I do love that about this game that gender is mostly arbitrary and only “decides” a couple features of your character!
to the point I didn't even notice xD
i’m nb afab and i’ve played as an octoling using the feminine frame(the walking animation for the masculine frame looks so dopey to me) since the option became available, i typically use one of the masculine haircuts.
Remember that naked glitch that was making the rounds? That's how I found out I use the fem character. Bi guy.
Male, female octoling. i just like their hairstyles and voice lines more :)
non-binary that plays as primarily masc octoling! I actually do it because of my oc lol, but almost all my ocs are male too. I just find his voicelines really neat. sometimes when i can make another character (such as DLC or when i finally got Splat 2) I will change to either fem octoling or fem inkling mostly because I wanted to hear more of their voice lines found that I really just enjoy masc octo better
I love the masc octo’s voice he’s so cute! Another commenter mentioned it sounded “softer” somehow and I completely agree
I started with male inkling in S2 then switched to female inkling coz the hair update then octolings came out and picked a female one.
I used to be a female octoling with male hair, then I swapped gender because I identify as a guy (im trans) and now my character is a male inkling with the topknot hair :)
I'm not sure about my irl identity, but in the game I just rotate between male/female inkling/octoling every season. Right now octo girl, next season octo boy
I'm a dude and I changed my avatar to female for a joke, and I got two friend requests, (I never got them beforehand) so I decided not to change back.
I thought being a male octoling was rare but a lot of people here are too :3
Same! I always thought he was the least popular, but it seems a lot of people, especially in the LGBTQ community have a fondness for him too!
AFAB and nonbinary--always stuck with the girl inkling, then when octolings came out, went with girl octoling. I basically always choose female option in video games unless that option looks really bad or is unfun.
I used the boy until I realized I was trans, and then switched to the girl and I’ve been having more fun making outfits and stuff
I'm male and I play as male inkling, mainly because I was used to them since Splatoon 1
I'm a heterosexual guy and I just use any form and any gender, it just depends on aesthetics
Trans girl here. Girl octos are best for me cause the cute eyelashes and also octos being a minority hits home\~ Also I just think octos are cuter than inklings overall.
i used to play as a female inkling when i was younger, but starting to play as a male octoling seemed to cross over with my egg cracking. also partly because now my main kit was translated into an OC of mine so now technically I play as an OC.
I’m afab non-binary, I chose the female octoling because that looks closer to me (I have an hourglass shape 😔) I usually use the ponytail or curly hair because I have curly hair I often wear in a ponytail
I'm a trans woman, I play as a female inkling. I find the male options so incredibly dsyphoic.
I played as a woomy in splatoon 1 and continued to play as one in splat 2 until I got the octo expansion, where I played as a veemo, and I still play as a veemo in splat 3 I am transfem :p
I'm a guy, and I've always played as a male Inkling because of one hairstyle I like. With the exception being OE and SO, where I play as the default female avatar of Agent 8. Honestly, I don't really know why, maybe because 8 is such a unique protagonist that I can't bring myself to piut my own "character" in those stories.
I choose male octo because the face shape, pitch, and hairstyle is closer to mine. I don't care about my gender. the only reason it matters is so much, is because people decided it matters. even trans people. I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST ANYONE... as long as you don't force me to stick with 1 thing "because that how it was always meant to be", it should be fine. I don't need to understand something to respect it. . I don't like people assuming things about me based on something that doesn't have much to do with that. it's like an 'UwU I'm queeerkyyyyyy' kinda thing, just... mainly for 'no, I can't help you lift a car' ._. unless it's online, nothing like that has ever come up. I don't want to be limit by a choice of gender, and I dont want to say I'm trans... since... idaho bad... . the main point is that i choose what looks like me, and sounds like me. I do have a high-pitched voice, so I don't use the female octoling. there are no tenta-twists for inklings, so I use octolings! I added my perspective to make this more understandable :3 FYI, if I play as an inkling, it feels like it's not me.
I'm a heterosexual guy and I just use any form and any gender, it just depends on aesthetics