i get the feeling a lot of fans think Callie overreacted in Splatoon 2 when she went to the Octarians. But Splatoon 2 also said that the loser of a Splatfest is LEGALLY THE WRONG OPTION, THE LESSER OF THE TWO CHOICES. And Callie was 17 when that fest happened. She was a child being told that legally, her cousin was better than her. That she was the lesser Squid Sister. In a literal, legal sense. That she was legally less beloved than Marie.
If that shit happened to me when I was 17, I also probably would have been mentally fucked up enough to go to the people I had been told my whole life were the enemy, especially if they said they loved me as much if not MORE than my legally better sibling.
And the fact she constantly goes BACK to Octavio and the hypno shades proves that even though Marie is doing her damnest to show Callie how loved she is, the rest of the inkling world still considers her the lesser Sister and it still bothers her enough to run away to people who say they love her more when they're really just using her for their gain.
Honestly, I don't think Splatfests are legally binding in 3. Not because of Callie, unfortunately, but because Deep Cut don't seem to take it as legal in the end. The Squid Sisters and Off The Hook still trash talked during the results, whereas Deep Cut seems to "see the other side" during their results. Like Frye apologizing to Big Man for basically rejecting his gift and then immediately started planning with Shiver to get him a matching gift so they could all go out and match. Or the results of Grand Fest where they literally saw why Big Man was right in trying to unite Splatsville and Inkopolis.
I feel like it literally being a popularity contest is far better than it being legally binding. It's why Frye and Big Man didn't become depressed when Shiver was decided to be the leader from the leader fest. They know they are still as loved and appreciated by everyone as Shiver is, her team just won the turf battles.
Its also why I feel Team Past winning the Grand Fest is very fitting and probably healing to Callie. Even in the DLC plazas, Callie and Marie represented different teams, even if they were constantly switching colors. Even if they were no longer in charge of Fests, they couldn't represent the same team during their performances.
But in Grand Fest, the Squid Sisters were finally on the same team. And they won.
Together.
No one truly better than the other.
How healing that must have been to her inner child, still upset at being the lesser.
She finally won with Marie being on equal ground.

















