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blackjackkent · 2 months

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Jaheira's office does indeed look completely overgrown, which is apropos to be honest.

There's several notes in here from various people regarding her investigations into the cult and the shadowlands prior to her departure to Last Light. Also a note from the Flaming Fist indicating that Rion and Jord have been helping to "settle street disputes" in a fashion the Fist disapproves of, and a clipping from the Baldur's Mouth Gazette relating to the Beloved Ranger statue (which was actually Minsc) disappearing.

There's a button operated by the pin Tate gave us on the side of her desk; it opens a pathway down into "Jaheira's Hideout" beneath the house.

Whoa.

There are quite a number of these traps set up. The Narrator informs us, on a passed arcana check, that these are attuned to the druid who set them - Jaheira - but that they can be overwhelmed by being hit with the same element.

I trust you implicitly, Jaheira, and also I can't figure out what pressure plate you're talking about. So I hope you're right. XD

At the bottom of the hill is... well, a sort of paradise.

A gorgeous green lagoon rounded with trees and plants and a run-down but sturdy house of wood and thatch. Next to it is a badger, labeled "Postmaster Badger", and several "Messenger Rats."

"The only patch of wilderness this city permits me," Jaheira says wistfully. "There ought to be supplies here to aid us."

"You know this place, Boo?" Minsc says indignantly. "Hmph. Minsc has never been invited."

Everything inside the house is trapped. XD I quicksaved aggressively while disarming everything because I was very afraid of exploding Jaheira's sanctuary by accident.

In disarming the traps, Hector finds a hidden door behind a bookshelf.

Jaheira reaches out and puts a hand on his arm before he can proceed. "Keen eye," she says quietly. "But if it's supplies you seek, weapons to aid in our fight - you won't find them behind that door." He can hear a sudden effort in her voice, one he knows all too well - the struggle against sudden emotion. "There is nothing back there of worth to anyone but me."

Hector looks at her thoughtfully. His curiosity is piqued, certainly, and it is a powerful force on its own - but more than that, he has been fascinated, over this past hour or so, at seeing beneath the brittle shell that Jaheira always presents to the world. "If it matters to you, it matters to me," he says earnestly.

She looks away from him, her eyes flicking rapidly around the room. "On my word," she mutters. "All you will find inside is dust, and the mouldering keepsakes of a much younger woman."

"Jaheira," Minsc rumbles gently. "Our friend has put their trust in us. Boo thinks it only right to return the gesture, no?"

For a moment, Hector thinks she is going to lash out, defensive-- but then she hesitates, and smiles ruefully. "You so rarely make a habit of being right, ranger, that it puts me ill at ease when you are." She sighs, looks back to Hector and nods. "Pass, then. Go on. See what it is a foolish old Harper thinks worth hiding away."

Hector holds himself still for a moment, giving her the chance to change her mind. He is curious, and he welcomes the chance to connect with her here-- but he will not push where he isn't wanted.

When she doesn't object, he leans over and pushes the bookcase aside.

It's an unassuming little area, really - no more than a dirt cave behind the house. A large chest, several display cases and crates and a table covered in scrolls.

-----

The table first, and the scroll on it:

"Rite of the Timeless Body," Hector says thoughtfully. "What's that about? I'd best ask Jaheira."

"I found a strange scroll in your sanctuary. Something about a 'timeless body'?"

She snorts. "The threat of spanking never kept the children from poking through my things. Why should it deter you." She glances at the paper on the table. "It is... a ritual. Or it describes one at least. Practiced by druids of certain esoteric circles. If they be learned and powerful enough, the practitioner of this ritual might slow their aging, extend their life well beyond its natural reach. In greener days, I might have been strong enough to do it. I might be yet, with the right preparations."

Hector blinks. "So you plan to do it?"

Jaheira hesitates, shrugs. "I make no plans. Only... contingencies." She scowls, seeing the expression on his face. "Do not look at me like that. I have been content to see the span of my natural years - a privilege far too few in this world can claim. I do not speak of clinging to life for its own sake. I just... look back on that life's work and I wonder... is it done?"

She lets out a heavy breath and leans against the wall of the building behind them. "The Dead Three plague the world still. The city still falls prey to small minds like Gortash or lost souls like Orin. It is every Harper's hope to be a light that drives out darkness. But I've lived long enough to see so many of those lights burn out, while the shadows cling stubbornly on. Knowing that, isn't it our duty to burn on if we can? To fight for as long as we are able?"

Karlach gives a sudden, sharp laugh at Hector's side. "You're preaching to the doomed choir, ma'am," she says sardonically.

Jaheira smiles sadly. "You've done more than your share of fighting already, Karlach," she says. "If there is one person I would trust to make the most of a longer life, it is you."

Hector knows he shouldn't ask, he knows it isn't fair with Karlach standing right there to hear him... but the words slip out anyway. "Would you live on at any cost?" he asks.

She quirks an eyebrow at him. "In truth, I had put this ritual from my mind - until Last Light. Trapped in that darkness, I turned to my research again. What if I was a little stronger? As fast as I once had been?" She shrugs. "Then you came, and made the question moot. But I kept this. Just in case, I told myself. A final resort. Perhaps you were not the savior you seemed. I had learned better than to think of life as some simple tale, after all. There is no guarantee of happy endings, or true heroes."

She looks at him thoughtfully for a moment before going on. "I believe that still. But when I look on all we have achieved since, I wonder... perhaps it is not heroes we need. Only people who are willing to try. I do not know what manner of story that makes. But I do know that, without an ending, it would be no story at all." She gives a short, sharp nod. "So I will accept mine, when and however it comes. As for this city's story, well..." She grins suddenly, pockets the scroll. "Well, that is entirely your problem now, cub."

He smiles slightly. "I'm honored you think of me that way."

"Hah. Do not thank me for slinging a weight around your neck," she says dryly. "I might start to feel bad." She huffs out a breath and shakes her head. "I do mean what I say - but I am also a Harper. In every honeyed word, there is a hook. But I do not plan on going anywhere just yet."

She pauses, and then grins with gallows humor. "And besides, you still have a tadpole in your skull. You are almost certainly going to die first."

Hector doesn't really think that's particularly funny.

-----

(A/N: Time for some incredibly self-indulgent headcanon - in this worldstate and in my particular headcanons for Jaheira post-BG2, you cannot convince me that she didn't obtain the information on that ritual partially for Rasaad, knowing she was going to outlive him by a century and not wanting to face losing another man she loved. Though I think the more altruistic explanations for her wanting it still also applied. (And perhaps Rasaad wouldn't have accepted it anyway even if she'd been able to figure it out.) She does say she put it aside for quite a while, until Last Light. Probably after Rasaad died.)

-----

Throwbacks!

There are two Very Rare quality weapons in the chest opposite the table:

This is a scimitar first found in a haybale near the Druid's Grove outside Trademeet, in Baldur's Gate 2.

This staff is obtained in Watcher's Keep in the Throne of Bhaal expansion. Caden (to my recollection) never went there during my playthrough, but that doesn't mean he didn't while I wasn't paying attention. ;) Cespenar also apparently can upgrade it in the pocket plane.

I miss Cespenar. I hope he's doing well.

-----

Finally, at the back of the room is a slightly dusty-looking display case.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Aw man, c'mon, I just teared up. You can't hit me with a throwback like that and expect me to remain normal.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

This is the necklace that Khalid makes for Jaheira (if you help him) in the Siege of Dragonspear expansion between BG1 and BG2. He was incredibly cute about it and talked about how he declared his love for her for the first time. SHE was incredibly cute about it and talked about how lucky she was to have him. The item description was also incredibly cute and talked about how just wearing it revitalized her.

HNNNNGNNNGHHHH I NEED TO GO LIE DOWN.

*quiet wailing*

We can ask her about it further, too.

"About that amulet I found in your house..."

"Oh dear," she says, looking at him warily. "Should I brace myself for some fashion advice?"

She pauses, then sighs. "But I suppose you have earned better than glibness from me. It was a gift from my husband, Khalid."

He can hear the emotion that rockets through her with the single word. He is sure he sounds much the same when he speaks of Karlach.

"He was a Harper," she goes on. Her expression grows distant, lost in memory. "A better one than me, truth be told. Any idiot can swing a sword. But to believe in the cause, with the whole of your heart? A much trickier thing."

She draws a breath and lets it out shakily. "He died. Alone, in pain, and far too young. Murdered by a mage who craved immortality." A muscle works in her cheek. "I'll not grant it by naming him in the same breath as my husband."

[HISTORY] Recall what you know of Khalid.

Narrator: The quiet, unassuming shadow to Jaheira's strength, Khalid was another warrior who helped end the Bhaalspawn crisis. Shortly after, he was murdered by the mad mage Jon Irenicus.

Hector and Jaheira have spoken of this a little before. Jaheira first mentioned him in the context of Karlach's engine, and the impending similar loss that Hector faces himself. In that moment, and in this one, he felt and feels a sudden deep surge of connection with her, a terrible bond that steadies and reassures him even if he wishes neither of them had to bear it. He is not alone, and neither is she. He hopes his presence gives her similar solace.

"I'm sorry," he says quietly. "I hope I didn't bring up any bad memories."

She smiles weakly. "Nothing that wasn't already there, fear not," she says. "But I've lived many lifetimes since Khalid died. You, ah..." She trails off before the slight shiver in her voice can take root and blossom into tears. "You twine your life around the people you love. And when they are gone, you grow around their absence instead. It is just another way they shape you..."

She swallows, then goes on suddenly louder, faster-- "Which is my sage way of saying... I am in no danger of forgetting how my husband died. But I choose to remember how he lived."

(A/N: God, the writing in this game is gorgeous.)

Hector wonders, briefly, what Karlach thinks of this conversation, but he does not dare to look at her, or that same emotion will rise into his own throat and choke him. Instead, he focuses on Jaheira, listening intently. I choose to remember how he lived. "Tell me something about him no one else knows," he says, tone deliberately light.

She gives a slight laugh. "Most Harpers swagger and flash their feathers to catch your attention. Khalid was of a quieter sort," she says. "I have never known a warrior who would go so far out of his way to avoid a fight. Which meant the few he chose were usually the right ones." She pauses, and then laughs again, shakier this time. "And when we were married... on an upturned cart in the rainy Dalelands... he stammered so much, I've never been sure if our vows actually counted."

Hector smiles. "You seem an odd pairing," he says, gently teasing.

Her eyes narrow, taking on a sudden almost playful air. "The druid in me would like to say it was a thing of balance. The younger woman recalls rather more about a fine bottom-- and the habit not to speak unless he had something to say."

This comment is so unexpected that it startles a laugh out of Hector - and he's relieved to hear Karlach laughing too, behind him. Jaheira looks rather pleased with herself at the reaction.

"The songs make much of Khalid's meekness," she goes on after a little while, more seriously. "The quiet little Harper who had to keep a tight hold on his courage. But he had it when it counted. And more than that-- he had compassion. When you live a Harper's life, see all that a Harper sees, that is by far the harder thing to hold onto."

She looks down at the aquamarine pendant in her hands, then slips it around her neck. "But a bard can tell you all the rest," she says, turning away. "As for all the things they cannot... well. I shall just have to keep those for myself."

#bjk plays baldur's gate 3 #hector carlisle #AHHHHHHHHHHH #AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH #y'all i love jaheira so much okay #and i'm having so many feels and this post is enormous and and and #i'm a mess #weh #yes this is all massive fan service but i am a fan and i am here to be serviced #so thank you larian #i will probably have to write some drabbles or something about followup to this #either hec talking with jaheira or hec with karlach #or karlach with jaheira :O #oh man having ideas #but it's 1am so i should go to bed right now XD #jaheira #jaheira bg3 #bg3 jaheira #khalid

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qtubbo · 6 months

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don't worry about sleepy responses, or wait until the next day i don't mind and i'm sure other anons don't either! i'm too awkward to start posting myself but i've started having fun with asks :D

While he latched onto to trusting Pac pretty quickly. He hung out with Fit more, but it took him longer to be unwavering to him because Fit had secrets.

totally agree with this but also i was watching pac's stream the other day and he definitely recognizes fit as the one tubbo trusts the most. there have been a bunch of times where he's asked fit to go check on tubbo in the past, and this time he said something along the lines of "he always hears you". it was when pac and fit were using invis to check quackity's basement and pac ended up following along to listen but stayed hidden and didn't let them know he was there. i think all the islanders recognize that there are different levels and types of trust even among friends

Honestly I think pac has a lot of self confidence issues, while I do think Tubbo looks to Fit as the more grounding force therefore he’s more willing to listen him, plus him having to grow to trust Fit has really allowed him to learn through experience that Fit means well for him. I’ve always been under the impression that Tubbo trusts them both around the same amount its just that he considers Fit a lot safer, I think thats what Pacs been picking up on. Pac’s under the impression that he’s a bit useless so he pulls back a lot from tubbo even though he really doesn’t mean to, which has pushed their trust dynamic in a very different direction then the one they both have with fit.

#I watched pacs vod too i love he kept invising even though tubbo wouldn’t have switched up with him there #I think Pac and Tubbo are both under the impression that Fit can and will defend them #Which lead Pac to play a much more silent defender role. He really never gets the chance to physically act on defending him #But tubbo still trusts him enough to tell him about quackity and to sleep curled up next to him and that requires a lot #qsmp #Asks!#im glad you get to post through me :] if you ever start posting yourself send me the @ so we can be mutuals <3 #Thanks though Im just an eepy guy but Ill try not to fret over it in the future #Tubbo #morning crew posting

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jenna-louise-jamie · 1 month

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sorry, i can't come to the phone right now. why? oh cause im playing the stardew valley 1.6 update and realizing maybe there are still beautiful things

#stardew valley #eric barone #stardew valley 1.6 #literally thank you so much eric your hard work is so appreciated #if you need me I'll be playing stardew valley for the next 3-5 business years

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zhongrin · 7 months

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cw. gifs, jitters

🔓

𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝐈

Trickery of Light and Shadows

Quest Started

I think

Some people were born a shadow.

Destined to always be the second best.

(Love is fleeting. Love is conditional. Love is pain.)

Destined to always be the second option.

(Love is cruel. Love is a game of logic. Love is a race.)

Destined to always be…

…. alone in the dark.

….

I dare not defy the fate bestowed upon me, for I know it would not be kind. It never was and it never will. Ice destroyed all that I held dear, yet it is that same ice I had no choice but wield.

But the lights; oh how they call upon me.

So when I see a sun so incandescent—

The brighter I wish for it to dazzle.

You are not worthy

You are not

ー I am not worthy.

“What are you zoning out for? Duty calls.”

“But Lord Tartaglia, your injuries—”

“Eh, I’ll be fine,” the harbinger blinked and smiled almost knowingly, “… Or would you rather stay in Liyue?”

“What?! No! Of course not! I—”

In my clouded chase of a disillusioned future, I have ruined everything.

“There is… no place for me here.”

Not anymore.

“…. If that’s what you think. Then, I guess you’ll be going with me to Fontaine.”

“Of course. It is only right, seeing as I am your underling.”

The two pairs of boots crunched against the stone pavements leading towards Liyue Harbor’s gates. Coviello reached into their pocket, habitually checking to see if they had their Delusion - yet their fingers brushed against two folded sheets of paper. One, they recognized, but the other....

“……?”

a friend of mine gave me this for protection, but i don’t think i’ll need it, so i'm giving it to you. stay safe and drop by whenever you're in liyue. i wouldn't be opposed to hire such a capable part-timer. the patrons will miss you. — your ex-boss

.... Should I send her a letter, at the very least?

........ No.

I'm sure she's already back arrived back home safely.

𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝐈 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞

Trickery of Light and Shadows

Quest Completed

[ To be continued(?) ]

#rin plays ebg #:>#ik that people wont be much interested in this but i wanted to do this anyway #cause i think it brings this ebg chapter to a close much better. i wanted them to have their conclusion #thank you so much for liking coviello #it means so much more than you realize <3 #the fact that several people asked whether they'll stay so they can talk to them is mindblowing to me hsldfjksldf #can you believe they were supposed to be a throwaway oc?#i don't really create ocs because i know i'm not good at it so honest to gods i didn't expect anyone to care #but no. i've became attached to them. they're my child now.#(ahem. don't mind the exasperated dragon noises in the background)#anyway #good night and thank you again for your support #ily all so much /p <3 #rin's adopted children: coviello

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coconut530 · 16 days

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100

#Nevermore #Nevermore Webtoon #Webtoon #OH HELLO I CAN’T BELIEVE WE MADE IT HERE IT’S SO CRAZYYYYYY #3/3/22 - 4/11/24 HAS BEAUTIFUL EPISODES LIKE 1 8 19-29 35 38 41-64 66-69 71-78 84 87 90 97 BUT THEY’RE ALL AMAZING AND RNF DO AMAZING WORK #THANK YOU TWO SO DANG MUCH I LOVE BOTH OF YOUR STORIES #ANYWAY ONTO THE EPISODE LENORE RIGGING THE QUESTION DEAL LOOK AT HERRRRRRR #IT CAN BE DONE?!?!?!?!?? LET’S DO IT #I LOVE THE ABSTRACT DEAN PANELS VERY CUTE #NO WEAKNESSES WHATTTTTTTT. MAYBE LENORE WILL BE THEIR FIRST WHEN SHE MANIFESTS AND DESTROYS THEM #ARE THE DEANS JUST MORE SPIRITS?!?!??? I WONDER #ACADEMY HISTORY?!???!???!! VERY INTERESTING #I FORGOT ABOUT THE CURSE CRAZY IT ACTUALLY COMES INTO PLAY WOWWWWW #RAVEN’S SASSY EXPRESSION— OOP LENORE SNATCHED HIM #AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HIS DEMON FORM IS SCARYYYYYYY #LENORE SHOUTING AT HIM YES I LOVE VOICING LENORE SHOUTING #DON'T MAKE ME BONEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS #SO MENACINGGGGGGGG #EVERYONE SAW OMG #NO MORE SECRECY AND WE ONLY HAVE LIKE A DAY TO DO IT LET'S GOOOOOOO #AMAZING STORY #THANK YOU RED N FLYNN YOU GUYS ARE OUR AMAZING GOTH WINE AUNTS AND WE LOVE YOU

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scatterbrainedbot · 2 months

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ZACH OH MY FUCKING GOD WHAT DO YOU MEAN I MISSED YOUR BIRTHDAY?!!! IM SO SORRY OFERJGFERN IM SO MAD IM ONLY FINDING OUT NOW.

IM SENDING YOU ALL THE GODDAMN AMAZING VIBES AND HUGS AND BEST TIMES EVER IN THE WORLD. TY FOR BEING SUCH A WONDERFUL LIGHT IN THIS COMMUNITY AND ABSOLUTELY FEEDING US WITH YOUR ENDLESS RICH CREATIVITY AND BEAUTIFUL MIND!!! YOUR PASSION, ART, AND REFLECTIONS NEVER CEASE TO AMAZE ME AND FILL ME WITH SM HAPPY STIMS LIKE- AGH!!!!

IM GONNA STOP YELLING NOW BUT ILYSM /P AND HOPE ONLY THE BESTEST THINGS EVER HAPPEN FOR YOU AND AND YOUR THE BEST AND AHHHHHHHHH QAQ <33 <33 <3333333

NO WORDS. ONLY CRY.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

#AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH TRIONAAAAAA #IM BAWLING MY EYES OUT #LOOK!!!!! AT MY BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL BOYYYYYS!!!!#YALL ARE FREAKING SPOILING ME SM RN #ALSO #LIGHT IN THIS COMMUNITY UM BITCH HAVE U LOOKED IN A MIRROR?..#????#DONT BC YOULL BLIND URSELF U ABSOLUTE BEACON OF GOODNESS HOW DARE U #ADFJBKKJHSDFJKHSFDKHJ #fandom friends #rat sons fanart #ask reply #THANK YOU THOUGH SERIOUSLY THAT MEANS SO MUCH AND MAKES ME GENUINELY SO EMOTIONAL #legitimately i am so so so glad and touched to be a part of this little corner of the internet #and to have met so many of you amazing incredible wonderful people <3 #i for real love you all so very much /p #SOMEDAY IMMA STEAL U AND ARCHIE AND THE REST OF THE MOOTS AND WE'LL ALL HANG OUT TOGETHER #ILL BUY U GUYS SNACKS OR SMTHN #CUT FRUIT OR PLAY CATCH #IDK!!!!!#OLD MAN FORMS OF AFFECTION #AS I AM NOW OFFICIALLY ANCIENT #ALSO APOLOGIES THAT IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO RESPOND LIFES BEEN KICKING MY ASS A BIT THIS WEEK #got a second job so my time to draw and be online is even less than before :((((#but!!! im hoping i can eventually slowly shift from my old retail job to just this new one which should improve things!! :D #THANK YOU AGAIN TRIONA!!! LOVE U SM /p AND SENDING U THE MOST AMAZING WONDERFUL VIBES FOREVER #KICK ASS OUT THERE!!!! 💪💪💪

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goombasinastack · 4 months

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splatoon 3 hot take turned impromptu essay

was stuck offline in splatoon 3 because internet was actin up and i realized how pretty the photomode splatoon 3 filters are compared to the actual game

i was taking photos on brinewater and thought. damn. this game looks fine but i miss how VIBRANT splatoon 1 was! i wish i could play sploon 3 with this photomode filter on all the time. and brinewater is the best map for this because of the sunset lighting! so i went to one of the worst offenders mapwise for general color—undertow spillway. it is a warm gray mess:

for someplace underground, it’s WAY too warm of a tone—even if there are skylights, they aren’t very well defined, as they’re off in the background—they’d be better with some light shafts to pop out more, imo.

so here’s undertow with photomode filter #6 (this would’ve been a video but tumblr limits to 1 video per post):

and i think this looks a lot nicer, colorwise! the icky warm gray is shifted to a soft pink—and while that’s still not in keeping with the lack of obvious skylights, it works better than warm gray.

so then i opened ibis x paint and got to work on a filter that would hopefully help elevate the entire game’s look:

on top is photomode filter #6, in the middle is the original screenshot, and on the bottom is my proposed filter.

i upped the contrast, brightness, and saturation a bit, then added a 5% pure magenta (#FF00FF) overlay layer on top of that. then i added a slight gaussian blur to emulate antialiasing, which nintendo refuses to do for some reason!

and i wanna play splatoon like that! i miss the vibrancy and intricacy of splatoon 1…

incoming splatoon 1 essay‼️

not only were the colors eye-bleachingly bright, but the overall game feel was much more immersive—especially in ink physics. you could paint trees, and the ink would drip down through leaves as if it were rain… ink splatter would respond to the movements of platforms, keeping its intertia as it dripped! you could see the textures of surfaces through the ink, as if it were an actual liquid instead of a layer of thick oil. 3 doesn’t have any of those special touches.

there’s also the music… 1’s ost feels so much more WEIRD and experimental than the later games, and that really helps cement that this is not human society—this is a new thing—which tracks for splatoon 1, as it was so zany nobody had ever seen anything quite like it before! splatoon 2 follows this sheer melting-pot of brashness and creativity with evolving and varied styles—where once was punk and weird samples in Squid Squad is now groovy rock in Wet Floor, jazz in Ink Theory, and also whatever Sashi-Mori was. also i <3 chirpy chips. splatoon 3’s music goes back to that punk, but i feel that it loses some of the charm and creativity of the first two games. C-side is pure metal, and hardly uses any weird instruments. there have sparsely been other splatbands involved with regular battle music—Yoko&tgb call back to the jazz of Ink Theory which i love! Off the Hook’s new tracks delve into a new style in piano rock. but the main band kind of falls flat to me. :(

let’s talk stages. in splatoon 1, stages were wildly different from each other, including skateparks, construction sites, underpasses, malls, sewage plants, and other locals that are culturally underground. the rest of the trilogy moves away from this in a story standpoint, as ink battles evolve from punky, diy competitions into full-fledged championships in 2 and 3, with advancing battle infrastructure as time progresses. that’s fine, and honestly it’s cool to see that kind of worldbuilding! but in 1, each stage was designed about and influenced by the area it represented. Arowana Mall is a straight line with high vantage points on the second/third story because it’s a mall. Pirahna Pit features convenyor belts that shuffle refuse around because it’s a trash plant. Blackbelly Skatepark has so many hills and valleys because it’s a skatepark, for goodness sake. splatoon 3’s original stages have some of this charm, but it feels lost in ambiguity. why doesn’t Mincemeat Metalworks have small moving platforms on cranes or other heavy machinery? Idk, have some grates and one-way drops, and a car on a post. why isn’t there any water incorporated into the stage design of Brinewater Springs? Idk, have 2 paintable walls and a tetris piece. 3’s original stages have little to no connection between their locals and the geometry, which make it feel same-y compared to previous games.

maybe this is because of the inflexible philosophy of the designers—or their corporate oversight, maybe. for stages, you need to make a straight line or tetris piece with few routes to push, in an effort to promote the game’s main premise of Chaos. for music, you need to make punk songs that aren’t too weird so they don’t drive away the parents. maybe the little ink touches could have been missing because development was rushed?

i honestly dont know why it happened out this way—perhaps the splatoon team just needed more time to cook, in order to squeeze out that extra 20% of game feel? or maybe it was that speculated corporate oversight, i dunno. things WERE missing on launch—notable exceptions being X rank, online tableturf lobbies, and no more than three salmon run maps. i know we’ve yet to even get the DLC but for being about 75% of the way through the game’s content lifespan, but splatoon 3 feels incomplete. there have been improvements, yeah! i just wish there could’ve been more. i would rather have waited another year for splatoon 3 if it were polished that much better, y’know?

i honestly feel like splatoon 1 captured that creative, no-holds-barred mantle of Chaos better than 3 does. 3 feels… flanderized, in a way. the curse of trilogies, perhaps? writing about it more, it feels like not only have the in-game sports of turf war been ripped out of its seedy home and thrust into the spotlight, and gone “mainstream” (see: massive squidsport companies investing in multimillion battle lobbies with holograms and lockers [sunken scroll about that!], flying coffee machines that grant you brief invincibility, new rules and techniques that allow squid surges and rolls, etc.), but also the Real Life Physical Video Game Cartridge of Splatoon has been popularized massively with the sequels on the Switch. maybe i’m not missing the “vibrancy” of splatoon 1 when i look at the colors and photomode filters of splatoon 3, but instead the inherent punkiness and counterculture inspiration that i see in the original.

fuck capitalism, i guess!

#splatoon 3 #long post #i did not think i’d be writing an essay tonight #on SPLATOON no less. i feel like im on storming the ivory tower #thats a good blog site btw i love their stuff #but anyways... i was like 12 or 13 when i first got splatoon 1 #i was an orange n-zap/carbon roller (i forget which kit) main #i never played any of the splatfests but i imagine they were really fun!#my internet connection in the basement was never really that good so i never played much.... i never finished story mode until years later #this also means that i'm probably misremembering specific splatoon 1 tidbits. let me know if i messed anything up? or whatever you think lo #it's 2:11 am and i need to wake up early lmao #goodnight and thanks for reading

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