Lamplings: A Splatoon Fan-Race
Okay then, let's do this!
The full bullet pointed list is under the read-more! Be warned, there's a lot.
The same way that Inklings come from squids and Octolings come from octopi, Lamplings come from lampreys!
They use aggressive mimicry! Lamplings look almost identical to Inklings or Octolings, depending on where they were raised.
Since they come from lampreys, Lamplings need to feed on bodily fluids (like blood, you heathens. Get your mind out of the gutter) in order to survive. This has gained them a reputation much like vampires.
There's even an in-universe horror movie about Lamplings. It's well-acted, but relies so much on the stereotype of "Blegh Lamplings are all evil and want to suck your ink and kill you" that it's not even funny.
Lamplings are technically pseudo-cephalopods, despite not evolving from a proper cephalopod, since they spent centuries evolving to mimic Ink and Octolings. This means they have things like an ink sac and swim form.
They have two types of mouths: one type on their face, and another type on their tentacles, replacing the suckers that Ink and Octolings have.
The mouth on their face isn't connect to their digestive system, instead only connected to the respiratory system. This means they can talk out that mouth, but can't eat with it.
The mouths on their tentacles are the eating mouths, having a full setup of sharp, retractable teeth, a sandpaper-textured tongue, and a throat that travels through the tentacle, down the head, and to the stomach.
The eating mouths act a lot like suction cups, pulling food in and trapping it in place with the teeth, so the tongue can bore a hole and eat the blood and small pieces of meat.
Lamplings are a female-only species! (By female-only, I mean in s*x only. If you're a transphobe, GTFO my post, this ain't for you.)
They reproduce asexually! If there's an abundance of food, resources, and shelter, an adult Lampling can lay an egg.
Lamplings actually have their own unique ears, with a round body (Octoling) that comes to a small point (Inkling).
Lamplings also can't mimic eyes, making small mistakes any time they try. This can make a Lampling's eyes look wavy, pie-cut, or even rotated.
Despite their weird eyes, they actually have better eyesight on average than Ink and Octolings.
When Lamplings are born, they're blind, rely entirely on their caretakers, and have several small, sharp fangs in the mouth on their face. While normally these fangs merge into a "beak" when the Lampling matures, sometimes they'll stay separated, leaving the kid with a mouthful of sharp teeth.
They reach maturity at the same age as Ink and Octolings, 'round 14 or so.
Despite their terrifying reputation, Lamplings are actually pretty chill and friendly!
While lots of Lamplings live in pre-dominantly Ink or Octoling settlements, sometimes lots of Lamplings come together to form settlerments of their own.
Lamplings have come up with lots of neat recipes in order to feed themselves and their families without hunting down an innocent person. Consequently, one of the freshest and kindest things to do in Lampling communities is cook for other people.
Food is everywhere in Lampling communities. Everywhere you look, someone is making something to eat.
Lamplings can cut away parts of their tentacles, leaving a light or dark-colored scar. Since Lampling heal incredibly quickly, this doesn't really bother them since they don't have many nerves in most of their tentacles, only having some around their eating mouths.
Lamplings usually cut parts of their tentacles to use in dishes, but Lampling youth find it "fresh" to cut their tentacles and maintain it, adding a cool scar to their image.
Lamplings are very friendly to those who they don't see as a threat, always lending a helping hand.
Due to their love of cooking, Lamplings have a high appeal and demand for cuisines from other cultures, studying and adapting them for maximal flavor and enjoyment in their community.
Examples of Lampling-Hybrid cuisine include: Battered-&-Fried "Squid" Rings (made from minced tentacle), Ink-Crystal Candy (Wasabi-Flavored), and Five-High-Pile-High Ink-Soaked Clam Mochi.
And now, pictures!
(A Lampling who mimicked an Inkling form, also called an "Ink" Lampling.)
(A Lampling who mimicked an Octoling form, also called an "Octo" Lampling.)
(Yuuna, one of the two Lampling "idols", and a newscaster for the main Lampling-dominant city, New Oceania.)
(Nami, the other Lampling "idol" and newscaster for New Oceania.)
Thank you to everyone who's read this far and/or voted in the poll!
If you happened to vote for the other option, "Research Paper", I'm pleased to announce that it's already been published on ArchiveOfOurOwn! You can check it out here: Lamplings: The Basics - ArgoNavisStarGazer - Splatoon [Archive of Our Own]
And remember: Drink water, have a nice day, and Stay Fresh!