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lytmeowtif · 2 years

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Calamari Inkantation is a Big Deal.

Splatoon 3's campaign has a WHOLE LOT of lore in it, a metric fuckload, and in there are some tidbits that make me really REALLY emotional. But one major facet of the backstory 3 introduces retroactively makes the climaxes of both Splatoon 1 and 2 resonate with me so, so much more.

This is gonna be super super detailed and has MAJOR spoilers for Splatoon 3's campaign, so don't click Read More until you've gotten all the logs! (except the postgame one, I haven't read it yet lol)

So. to get to Calamari Inkantation we first have to discuss literally all of the Alterna Logs and the backstory they present. Namely, we have to talk about the liquid crystals, and about humanity's desire for freedom.

The small pocket of humans that escape the effective end of the world take refuge and build their new home inside a flooded volcano crater. They survive by eating the sea life already living in that crater, particularly the squids and octopi. They manage to build a thriving society, and are safe in their cavernous home of Alterna. But they always long for more. They miss the outside world dearly.

They discover that they can make liquid crystals out of the body fluids of the cephalopods native to the crater's waters. When screens are made using those crystals, like modern LCD displays, they react to the thoughts and emotions of those near them. They set them up throughout the entire cavern, covering the walls and roof completely.

Those crystals could display anything, anything at ALL that humanity had on its mind. But the desire to return home to the surface is so strong - so overwhelming - that every single liquid crystal reacted to it and let them see the sky they longed for, the sky that they had been without for 25 long years.

Humanity of course fucks up, and the crystals all overload when humanity tries to escape their tunnel system via rocket and cave in almost everything, destroying Alternan society.

But their desire doesn't fade with them. Their desperate need to see the sky, their longing to escape out into the world again, is still stored in all those billions of liquid crystals which have now collapsed into the ocean. All that longing for freedom, all that desire to see the sun again, is now polluting the waters and over centuries is gradually absorbed into the sea life of Alterna.

Little-by-little, those desires become the desires of the squid and octopi and assorted sea creatures that live there, and they adapt. Their evolution is accelerated by their desperate need to see the sun and the sky.

Humanity never achieved their desire to escape the caves of Alterna. But their desperate longing was soaked up by the life of the sea, and the squid and octopi followed their new calling and found freedom. They absorbed the feelings and memory and hopes and fears of humanity and built an entire society just like the one that humans had left behind.

(From here I could diverge and talk about the tragic irony of Tartar wanting to eliminate inkling and octoling society for things that likely were also inherited from humans, but others have covered that ground.)

Instead I'm going to talk about humanity's desire for freedom, and about Calamari Inkantation.

Calamari Inkantation isn't just a really cool bop that everyone loves, written by the Squid Sisters. It borderline has magical powers; it dispels the last of Callie's mind control in Splatoon 2's story and is described as having "blown the hearts and minds" of anyone who witnessed it in Splatoon 1's finale. Marina heard it, said "This changes everything", vanished and immediately made for the surface. Agent 8 was similar, as Marina recounts:

DJ_Hyperfresh > I could tell right away that Agent 8 had also been touched by the Calamari Inkantation. DJ_Hyperfresh > Once our souls have been freed, there's no way we can continue to live under the oppression of Octarian society.

The parallels are there for sure, but how can we be sure of what's going on? This scroll from Splatoon 1:

"The customary chorus of Calamari County. Nowadays, this song and dance may as well be carved into the very DNA of all Inklings. It began as a way to celebrate and show respect for the bounty of the sea."

That heavenly melody that makes you wonder what's out there, and break past the artificial sky.

It's that same feeling, passed down for thousands of years. The longing of humanity, that desperation to escape their confines and see the sky, to break free!

It endured in Inklings and Octolings, for all of time, passed down in their blood and in their culture and song and dance, and that desire was so STRONG that hearing it in musical form was enough to bring those feelings flooding back to every Octarian and immediately make them defect and seek the surface world.

Humanity may be long gone, but their hopes and desires and dreams were so strong and rang so true that they live on even now, aeons later, withstanding the passage of time.

That's it. That's Calamari Inkantation.

#splatoon #splatoon 3 spoilers #calamari inkantation #splatoon lore #i just... FUCK #it makes me so emotional!!!

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dogtoling · 9 months

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probably an unpopular opinion but i still think Splatoon 1 has the best graphics style in the series

the graphics were so much moodier and darker, shadows were really prominent giving it a much more gritty and realistic feel

The far-off environmental elements had a nice blur that gives them a bit of a dreamlike quality IMO.

I know the top picture is a sunset level, but; seriously is it just me? Why is everything in Splatoon 2 SO CRISP AND BRIGHT AND NEON? I talked about (probably 2 years ago at this point) how Splatoon 2 feels like it's an evolution and commercialization of Turf Wars into a product and a brand rather than how in Splatoon 1 they had a much more backstreet, discreet, shady feeling. And I feel like the graphics carry that over weirdly enough.

But most importantly, the ink and the Inklings themselves; ever since Splatoon 2 came out and people started going "omg the ink looks so good now!" i. literally never agreed with that. even with Splatoon 3 i STILL THINK the ink looks the best in Splatoon 1. In Splatoon 2 and 3, they have really been leaning into making the ink extremely neon and super saturated, and I don't think it looks great. I can't really even pinpoint the difference here (especially not with the Inklings themselves, but).

(Splatoon 1 above, Splatoon 2 under)

The Inklings in humanoid form don't stray away from having dull or dark colored tentacles in different lighting conditions, and even the ink itself is nowhere near as saturated as it is, leaning more into quieter or pastel tones. Again, it makes it look nice paired with the darker graphics of the game, and somehow it feels really at home and pretty natural? The difference in the model of the Inkling itself is also a mystery of me, it might be a case of less shading or less specular making it look flatter and that's more pleasing to the eye than how shiny they are nowadays, ESPECIALLY in Splatoon 2. The ink is notably flatter than it is in newer games, and if it wasn't obvious I definitely think it still just, looks the best? Don't ask me how. (The squids also look amazing. Like gummy.)

just thought about putting that out there. Anyone else's thoughts on the games' graphics?

#rambles #i definitely think splatoon 3 has nicer graphics compared to 2 because i didnt like how glossy and shiny everything was in 2 AT ALL #but splatoon 3 also has extremely flat shading and that still puts it below S1 in my books #i think splatoon works REALLY WELL with duller darker graphics paired with colorful but not over the top ink

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sarahmackattack · 3 months

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Hi, your blog is gorgeous! I'm enthusiast in sepiida and sepiolida, which books/publications about their general morphology and behaviour you may recommend? For those, who have knowledge in bio approximately equal to 1-2 year student? Any other cephalopod group would be also nice, Thanks!! 🦑

Here's my suggested reading list

1. Cephalopod Behaviour by Hanlon and Messenger This is the best book out there on cephalopods, in my opinion. It's pretty dense and not a beach read by any means, but it's a cephalopod bible.

2. Octopus, Squid, and Cuttlefish by Hanlon, Vecchione, and Allcock Lots of beautiful pictures, and an overview at the beginning written in simple terms

3. Monarchs of the sea by Danna Staaf A popular science book about cephalopod evolution. Entertaining and wonderful!!

4. Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith A lovely book about animal intelligence, paying special attention to the octopus

#To read #reading list

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demi-shoggoth · 3 months

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2024 Reading Log, pt 2

006. Gardening Can Be Murder by Marta McDowell. I honestly thought that this book was going to be about something else. With the subtitle “how poisonous plants, sinister shovels and grim gardens have inspired mystery writers”, I thought it was going to be about, you know, that. True crime themed to gardens, discussions of poisonous plants, that sort of thing. The book is actually about the mystery books that have gardening as a theme. And while the author’s dedication to not spoiling anything (seriously, anything, even 150 year old stories like The Moonstone or “Rappacini’s Daughter”) is admirable in its own way, this leaves the book feeling like endless buildup without any payoff. Big fans of murder mysteries might enjoy this—especially the last chapter, which interviews writers about their gardens—but I found it more boring than anything else, and finished it only because it was very short.

007. Antimony, Gold and Jupiter’s Wolf by Peter Wothers. This book is about how the elements got their names, and most of it deals with the early modern period, as alchemy transitioned to chemistry and then into the 19th century, when chemistry was a real science, but things like atomic theory were not yet understood. The book goes into fascinating detail, and has a lot of quotes from primary sources, as scientists then were just like scientists now, that is, opinionated and bickering with each other over their preferred explanations. And names! Many of the splits between elements and their symbols (like Na for sodium) are due to compromise attempts to appease two different factions with their preferred names. A book covering arcane minutia of history always has the risk of feeling like a slog, but this is a fast and fun read.

008. Doctor Dhrolin’s Dictionary of Dinosaurs by Nathan T Barling and Michael O’Sullivan, illustrations by Mark P Witton. This book is an odd concept, but one that I was immediately on board with—a D&D book written by paleontologists with the intention of bringing accurate and interesting stats for prehistoric reptiles to the game. The fact that it’s mostly illustrated by Mark Witton definitely clinched my backing that Kickstarter. And this book is a lot of fun. So much so, that I read it all in a single sitting. I don’t know how accurate the stats are (like, a Hatzegopteryx has a higher CR than titanosaurs or T. rexes), but they seem like they’d be fun in play, and the writing does a good job of combining fantasy fun with actual education. Even for someone not running a 5e game, the stuff on how to run animals as not killing machines, and the mutation tables, could be useful. There are multiple types of playable dinosaurs, all of which seem like they’d work well at the table and avoid typical stereotypes, and a lot of in-jokes and pop culture references (like the cursed staff of unspared expense, which looks like Hammond’s cane in the Jurassic Park movie).

009. Romaine Wasn’t Built in a Day by Judith Tschann. I’m a sucker for books about etymology. And this one, on food etymology, is a pretty breezy read. I had fun with it, and it even busted some misconceptions that I had, etymologically speaking. Like, there’s no evidence that “bloody” as an explicative originated from “God’s blood”? Wild. Etymology books tend to be written in a sort of stream-of-consciousness style, where talking about one word may lead down a garden path to the next one. The book also has a couple of little matching quizzes, which is something I haven’t seen in a book since like the 90s.

010. The Lives of Octopuses and their Relatives by Danna Staaf. I was previously a little disappointed in The Lives of Beetles, another book in this series, but I knew I liked Staaf, who wrote the excellent book Squid Empire about cephalopod evolution and paleontology. I’m pleased to report that this book is also excellent. Staaf takes the “lives” part seriously, and the book is arranged by ecology, looking at different marine habitats, the challenges that they pose to living things, and the cephalopods that live there. Cuttlefish get slightly short shrift in this book compared to squids and octopuses, but that’s about the biggest complaint I had. I like how the species profiles cover more obscure taxa, and information about the best studied (like Pacific giant octopus and Humboldt squid) is kept to the chapters.

#reading log #marine biology #cephalopods #etymology #food history #tabletop rpgs #dinosaurs #D&D 5e #chemistry #periodic table #history of science #mystery #horticulture

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weirdmarioenemies · 9 months

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Name: Now or Never!

Game: Splatoon Series et al

Hi :3 Mod Cat Flopter here. I was too busy sleeping in a sunbeam to post until now, but I’m here with an oddball.

Now or Never! is an iconic song by the band Squid Squad, one of the first popular rock bands in the Splatoon world! Now or Never plays in the last minute of a Turf War in all three Splatoon games, as well as at other times in other forms.

The first hint of Now or Never! that world saw was at E3 2014, a weird boogie that helped show off Splatoon (for the Wii U console!!)

The Beta version of Now or Never! is unavailable in a clean quality. Most of the footage has ink flying everywhere! However, one intrepid fan recreated the sound on youtube :3

The original track goes for even more of a hard rock sound than the final Now or Never! This song REALLY tells you to Ink or Sink down the rankings, and Splattack the enemy to win! However, it doesn't quite sound like a Squid Squad song to me, with a lack of their trademark vocalist and the synthesizers Splatoon is known for. Overall, I like the finished Now or Never! betta, but the changes have me Kracken Up!

The finished Now or Never! by Squid Squad, which debuted in Splatoon 1, is such an iconic piece of Splatoon that it's hard to imagine the game without it.

The track is high energy and establishes lots and lots and lots of Splatoon's sound, from the rock influences, to the synths, to the inklish vocals and the energy! To quote a cool video, it's loud, bold, and Booyah! (please imagine a guitar riff!) I'm just a little guy and I don't know music theory so please watch this video instead https://youtu.be/38h8eudzy7k

it's only 11 Now or Never!s long, it's a good use of your time.

Squid Squad is soooo creative for soming up with this song all on their own :3

Next is the Squid Sisters’ splatfest cover of Now or Never!

With more of a Jpop feel, the Squid Sisters change up the sound immensely, going for MORE synths and a BUBBLEGUM feel! It’s so cool. I bet the original creators of Now or Never! Were so happy when they heard this cover by a famous band!!

The next iteration is a slightly altered live performance by the Squid SIsters from 2016!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxkKUbNnXKE&t=326s

The song is modified to be extended in this version, although i have to say- too much of a good thing :c. The new sections that aren’t just a loop of the original song are interesting evolutions, but they’re sadly a small part of the performance.

Next up is an era shift! The Splatoon 2 Global Testfire (2017) had its own version of Now or Never! This came with a shift in bands and an overall higher push for Splatoon marketing within other Nintendo games, such as Super Smash Brothers Ultimate and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe! Its so cool that Squid Squad let Wet Floor cover their original song, and I'm excited to tell you about it!

With an obvious and notable shift in vocals, the Splatoon 2 Global Testfire Now or Never! also brings a shift in energy from the Squid Squad version, slowing the song down and bridging the gap between the Squid Squad and Wet Floor versions of the song. It adds even more synths to the composition, pushing it towards a western poppy feel over the rock and jpop versions of Splatoon 1.

And here’s the finished version!

It pulls back on the synths to pre-splatoon 1 levels and boosts the crowd section, adding in a ska feel. The classic guitar and drum kit are even more prominent here than in the Squid Squad version, which has both benefits and drawbacks. For one, the Splatoon sound is a fusion of both rock and synths, so scaling it back to more conventional instruments for the genre it’s aiming for is to the game’s detriment. On the other, my cat flopther (father cat flopter) has made me a big fan of classic rock all my life, so I can’t be too mad at moving Now or Never! In that direction.

On the other hand, Off the Hook’s version of Now or Never is…

Oh. Oh no.

It’s the same issue I have with the other version of Now or Never! In Splatoon 2, but it’s also I think a bad song for Off the Hook. Sorry to fans of lesbianism everywhere, but this just doesn’t sound like an Off the Hook song to me, and although the bubblegummy synth composition works for a Japanese pop band like the Squid SIsters, it doesn’t quite vibe for an American hip-hop, as well as pulling back on Splatoon’s unique sound. The brassy sound at the very beginning is cool, though, and the homage to Marina's inspriation is nice!

Although I’ve been speaking in timeline order up to now, I have to admit something.

I skipped two (2!) Now or Never!s. Actually, I skipped one Bouyant Bougie and I’m going to talk about Ebb and Flow as well in this section.

Being a story mode song, Buoyant Boogie appeared before the Splatfest exclusive Off the Hook Now or Never! on day 1.

Buoyant Boogie is a Now or Never!; it samples the Squid Sisters’ Now or Never! and even includes backwards vocals from Callie, hinting at her story mode fate, which is cool. :3 The song additionally only lasts one minute before looping. Also, Turquoise October ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

In Octo Expansion, the final battle is a Turf War on the NILS statue. For two minutes, Fly Octo Fly plays, then at one minute remaining, it transitions into Ebb and Flow. At the time, many people called this a Now or Never!

However, Ebb and Flow is NOT a Now or Never!. It’s an Ebb and Flow. Although it’s cool symbolically, it’s its own song and Off the Hook doesn’t need to be bound by tradition!! THEY GET TO MAKE THEIR OWN COOL MUSIC OK!!

sorry none of these videos are available btw

Okay so next is the first not a Splatoon game Now or Never!, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017)’s Now or Never!

This song plays on the Urchin Underpass battle stage when one minute is left in the match. Interestingly, this is the only Now or Never that is shorter than a minute- The Final Lap jingle takes up four seconds, so the song itself is sped up to accommodate. It’s modeled after Squid Squad’s Now or Never, which is fitting for a Splatoon 1 exclusive stage!

In fact, it feels like a lot of appearances of Now or Never! are almost identical to Squid Squad’s Now or Never!. Here are the rest of them:

Tetris 99 (2019)’s Splatoon Theme’s “10 players left” music

Wait, that’s it?

Yeah! Surprisingly, Now or Never! Is usually remixed. Even though Squid Squad’s iconic and original cover of the song is the most popular, most appearances pay tribute to them instead of keeping their sound 100% the same. Take Super Smash Brothers Ultimate’s Now or Never for example. It’s worse than the original! I’m not even going to pretend to link to it! It’s bad!

The Splattack cover, though, is fresh and new! A jazzy, big band vibe that samples Now or Never! in the same jazzy style. Although it’s far from my favorite Now or Never! it’s something new, something that I’d be excited to see in a Splatoon game. Perhaps an Ink Theory cover? Regardless, it’s an interesting evolution of this Strange Splatoon Entity.

Meanwhile, the The Super Smash Brothers Ultimate remix of Now or Never! itself is……….

….

…

bad.

it’s so bad

Sorry, Spikey, do I have to talk about this?

“Yes, Sorry Mod Cat Flopter! You said you wanted to talk about all versions of Now or Never!”

Ok, fine :(

I will continue not even pretending to link this. It’s so bad. zero tension. only nominally a Now or Never!. An infinite Now or Never! would be a good thing, you would think.

Next is the Taiko no Tatsujin Switch Splatoon 2 Medley. A compilation of two original Wet Floor songs (Rip Entry and Turf Master) and their Now or Never! cover. It starts about a minute into the song, not a minute from the end, strangely enough! It’s the middle song of the three!

Off the Hook Live! at Polymanga 2018 This is one of the BEST versions of this song. Take a listen for yourself: https://youtu.be/-i9GTp3Mp30

With the Squid Sisters and live band members here, they use ACTUAL INSTRUMENTS along with the synths, the Splatoon style that I love so much. With a fresh new intro to the song and lots of extensions that continue to ramp up tension, this version of the Squid Sisters’ classic is the height of this song in my opinion!! it’s sooooooo gooooood!! The record scratches in the beginning to lead into the song itself, the electric guitar, the DRUMS!! that kick in at around thirty seconds in. Pearl dabs. THIS is how you extend Now or Never! to four minutes.

Okay, now the SPLATOON 2 FINAL FEST CHAOS VS ORDER NOW OR NEVER!

A second collaboration between Off the Hook and the Squid Sisters, this Now or Never! takes after the Off the Hook cover of the Squid Sisters’ cover of the Squid Squad cover, with both bands providing vocals. With the Squid Sisters here, this version of Off the Hook’s cover is… less bad. Not as good as the other way around, but still better than before. I like it when squids sing :)

Fast-forward three years to Splatoon 3! The third game in the series had, fittingly, three versions of Now or Never! At launch.

First of all, the Deep Cut cover. This chaotic cultural fusion combines the Brazilian, Middle-Eastern, Indian, and classic Japanese influences of the three members of Deep Cut! I’m only one of those things, so I will not comment on how well they pulled this off! All I know is that I really like this song, and that Shiver and Frye are lesbians as fuck. The same guy from before has a video on this one too! I’ll link that instead of posting a not available image. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ebqBmL53UQ

Now! Wham!

Flashback to when I posted about the Infinite Now Or Never in Smash Ultimate!

This one IS an infinite Now or Never! The Tableturf 3 turns remaining theme is a modified infinite Now or Never! In the Tableturf sound style, with Onward! cutting in multiple times through the song. If Now or Never! represents the Turf Warring denizens of the Surface, and Onward! represents the octarian army, this tune is perfect for the Splatlands, where both live in Harmony (tee hee! Get it? :3) and have for generations. Pretty cool if you ask me!

Last but certainly not least, but certainly not last-

C-Side’s Now or Never!

While writing this post (this has taken a long time!) New information came to light! Beika, the lead of C-Side, has claimed to be the first creator of Now or Never! THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!!!! And it makes perfect sense! C-Side’s Now or Never! Is pure rock, a decision that sets it apart from other Splatoon music, which always involve synths!! This perfectly reflects the change in setting from the trendy high tech big city to the grungy desert! It’s SO GOOD!! Not the best Now or Never! (I do prefer Splatoon’s unique style!) But it’s hard to beat the original! But it’s also easy to beat the original! I love you C Side!!!!

Okay, this has been Mod Cat Flopter, Logging Off! :3 see you next week!!

p.s. ichiya is a stupid bastard

#mod cat flopter #splatoon #mario entities #now or never

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fogwitchoftheevermore · 10 months

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Do you want a better understanding of (part of) Evolutions SMP but don't want to watch it? Then this is the post for you!

I just finished Pearl's POV of Evos, and wrote notes on every episode as I went, so that if you haven't watched Evos yet and/or don't plan to, but still want to understand what happened in it, you can reference this!

It's important to note that Pearl joins a good few months into the series. By that point, a lot of the classic parts of the server like the Property Police, the Mafia, and the Grian Empire have been well established. Taurtis is already gone from the server by the time she joins. However, she experiences a lot of the important stuff with the Watchers and Listeners near the middle and end of the series, so you're not missing everything. I'm planing to watch either Martyn or Jimmy's POVs next, as they were there from the beginning, but any notes I do for them will take longer, as they have many more episodes.

The notes summarizing all of Pearl's episodes will be below the cut!

Also, whenever I wrote down messages from the Watchers and Listeners I transcribed the exact grammar and spelling. I promise. This is only really relevant for one word the Listeners use at one point, but they also use some weird capitalization.

Episode 1: Pearl enters Evos by falling out of the sky (and promptly dying). Grian greets her at spawn and gives her some materials to get started. Both of them are resigned to Steve skins because the version they're on is so old, and Grian asks Pearl how it feels to be a guy. She says she feels like she’s “missing a few things” while looking down. This isn’t important I just think she’s hilarious. They are briefly distracted by Grian attempting to tame an ocelot to make it into Maui (he fails). Grian talks about how Pearl has been watching the series so she’s up to date, as she joined about halfway through. Something something watcher moment. Pearl gets started on her base, and explains the concept of Evos, including the Watchers. She says that no one knows what they are, but they are always watching and build the portals to help the Evolutionists through the versions.

Episode 2: Pearl continues work on her base, and talks about how she’s going to build a large phoenix on top of it. She does not do this. She talks about the Elmo prank she and Jimmy pulled on Grian on his stream and shows it off. Pearl arrives back at her base after getting levels and enchanting to a message from the Property Police (Martyn and Jimmy), telling her she needs to give her coords to the police within 3 days or they’ll “let Elmo loose. Pearl decides she just wants to see what they do if she doesn’t listen. Pearl decides to give an “anti-welcome gift” where she leaves every member a present as her welcome to the server. Most of the gifts aren’t really important but I need you to know she makes BigB cookies.

Episode 3: Pearl shows off the sheep she built on stream to make fun of Grian and his “sheep escaping the pen” issue. She FINALLY starts eating bread consistently instead of rotten flesh and cements herself as the server’s crazy cat lady with her many cats. She goes to show off another prank, inside Grian’s head in spawn, and finds that Martyn has taken over Taurtis’ house with his own face and dubbed himself “Mayor Morty”. He even changed the signs on Pearl’s gift to Taurtis to refer to him. The prank on Grian’s head was a squid Elmo hanging out on top of him (she calls it a squelmo). Pearl continues work on her base and adds some vines and flowers and builds a large hummingbird statue to drink from them. MiniMuka (hereafter called Mini) shows up and they start talking about the fact that Systemzee (hereafter called Zee) locked him in a basement for two weeks because he’s in the mafia. Pearl is disbelieving, saying she doesn’t think Zee has the heart. Mini concedes, joking he wanted to be locked in the basement. Mini punches Pearl’s cat and then attempts to recruit her into the mafia by giving her a silk touch diamond pick. This is ineffective. They visit Netty’s flower forest on the way to a nether fortress, though Netty isn’t there (😔). Pearl doesn’t show them in the Nether fortress, but he probably figures it out, idk, I haven’t seen his POV.

Episode 4: The episode starts with Pearl mentioning that she’d just graduated from university, god damn. She has also amassed many more cats in between episodes, as well as another set of signs, this time from “Pete Bills” (Jimmy) warning her not to join the mafia and to “stick her head in the sand”. Jimmy has also given her some assorted wool. Grian has put up a LARGE sign on the back wall of his base, facing hers, that reads “THE EMPIRE NEEDS [image of a pearl that looks like a snowball]”. Pearl decides to give her response (a yes to joining) in snowballs to make fun of it. She says that she might be biased towards Grian when it comes to making a decision on who to join, but she feels bad that Grian is lonely without Taurtis on. Pearl’s comments have been complaining about the fact that the back of Grian’s buildings are terribly bland (yeah), and Pearl offered to decorate them since Grian won’t. Grian agreed, and she asks the commenters for ideas. She continues to work on her base and then builds a sheep walking up the walls of a building in downtown Evo. Pearl leaves her “yes” to joining the Grian Empire at his building in downtown Evo.

Episode 5: Zee and Pearl are now collaborating on part of the back of Grian’s base, so Pearl’s plans for the episode have changed. Taurtis’ house has been destroyed and walled off (Pearl suspects a meteor hit it). Pearl’s gift for him is still there though. Turns out it’s part of a Watcher quest. In attempting to follow the clues, she accidentally finds a Watcher's message for Taurtis. However, she gets lost trying to figure out the second clue in the quest, so she returns home to continue work on her base.

Episode 6: Netty has left Pearl a rainbow trail of wool to follow. It leads her to a large wool tower and platform with a chest containing a lot of gold as a gift. It’s lovely but she does fall off and die, so. Someone has set up a sign at spawn for “EVO PRIME”. You can leave a request for… something and when it is fulfilled you can head to a locker at the coords listed to retrieve it. Pearl goes to check out the locker, and when she activates the dispensers, she is dropped into a lava trap and loses all her stuff. She dies in lava again while on a mining trip to restock.

Episode 7: Pearl adds an Evos logo to the back of Grian’s base to make it less of an eyesore. It’s really cool especially considering the limited build pallet. The Watchers have built a large flower in front of it in the MIDDLE of her path. It is surrounded by her cats and has a set of coordinates on it. Netty was apparently the person behind the locker, so she has given Pearl an apology gift of diamonds, gilded melons, an eye of ender, and many fire res potions. Pearl starts her quest at spawn, where she finds a hole leading down to an area filled with bedrock and an unlit nether portal. There are directions on how to light the portal and move to the next version- for Pearl, her starting clue is the flower. She finds the location the coords lead to and there finds a long clue.

It reads: “A good builder must understand all aspects of Minecraft. Challenge your survival side and discover your clue. Below you will find a maze inhabited by Skeletons, Zombies, and Creepers… OH MY! There are also 3 rooms containing coordinates. In order to see them, however, you must first find the heart of the empire and use it to unseal the three rooms. Once done, XYZ will reveal your clue.”

Why is it not rhyming? Dw about it (seriously). “The Heart of the Empire” is three TNT and a flint and steal, which tracks. She remarks that “as a builder” using TNT is painful which I think is very funny. She collects her new coords and moves on. This leads her to the clue she's meant to put at spawn, four dashes, and she returns to spawn to replace her name on the clue board with the dashes. The video ends with Pearl returning to the now completed clue board and the lit portal below spawn, finding that the rest of the Evolutionists have left without her. She jumps through the portal, and the moment she is in the next update she gets a horse. Finally. Transportation.

Episode 8: Pearl relocates her sheep prank so they are no longer in the way of her base. She works on it some more, and she has a skin now! Jimmy, AKA Pete Bills, has come by to steal some wool in exchange for five diamonds. Pearl is concerned by how much he must have taken to deserve that much payment. The group gets together for pig racing and it’s a good time for all involved (also crumbs of BigB and Pearl interactions let’s go.) Pearl wins the race and wins some diamonds and a lot of other stuff.

Episodes 9&10: Pearl’s episodes 9&10 are spliced together for some reason. She starts the episode enchanting all her diamond armor in preparation for her Ender Dragon fight. The Evolutionists gather together at spawn to prepare, and Grian gives everyone a ton of materials (he over prepared, he and Tom are the only ones who had never fought a dragon). They enter an edited stronghold with a completed portal (thanks Watchers). Despite everyone entering the same portal, they fight the dragon individually. Pearl’s fight is uneventful, and then the Evolutionists all get the same message from two Watchers in place of the end credits. I really recommend watching this yourself, it starts at 14:39 and is very interesting. Pearl does cut the credits themselves, though. Instead of the actual Minecraft creator credits, the Watchers have added all the players, including Grian, who’s name is grayed out like he’s in spectator, BUT NOT INCLUDING JIMMY LOL. Pearl then has a montage of her and Grian hanging out with Grian slowly fading from each moment because she’s MEAN TO ME.

Everyone, sans Jimmy, Mini, and Zee, falls into new spawn. If you want to know why Jimmy isn’t there- go watch his Evos EP 98 for context. Zee and Mini eventually show up at new spawn, but later than everyone else for some reason. They figure it out dw. The group starts to go back to old spawn to get their stuff, and talk briefly about the fact that Grian is a Watcher now. They all agree that he’s not necessarily the best choice, but whatever he pulls as a Watcher will probably be par for the course.

They find old spawn- and all their builds- ruined and broken by time, and a structure from the Watchers is there for them, alongside a book called “The Future”, reading: “Our meeting was short and your victory grand. Now 10 become 9 and you must leave this land. Our reasons are just though you won’t understand. Your actions have caused this, accidental or planned. Tread now to your homes, carry only what you can. Any more will be frowned on and the sentence, a ban. We The Watchers Have Spoken.”

The Evolutionists are… kinda upset! They all return to their homes to collect their things, and find that anyone’s houses that were a good distance from spawn (including Grian’s downtown area) are untouched.

They all find ender chests that they didn’t have before as well, which contain a book titled “Greetings” from the Listeners. The book reads: “There are some who watch. We are those who listen. And we do not agree with their most recent decision. “Carry only what you can”, what you deem here is best. We grant you more space by making use of this chest. SHHHhhh…..”

To be clear: THIS IS NOT THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE LISTENERS. As Martyn tells the group, the Listeners previously contacted Martyn and Jimmy and said they would give them a mission soon. Martyn didn’t hear from them again until this moment, and Jimmy received his first mission from them when he returned from the end- to deliver everyone their ender chests so they can bring more with them. Everyone agrees the Watchers have been kinda rude, so they’re willing to disobey with the ender chests. They all collect their things and reconvene at old spawn before heading out.

Episode 11: Pearl begins by collecting items for her brand new base and starts it. She also builds a Mumbo Jumbo certified redstone contraption. Thank you Mumbo for your service to the “bad at redstone” community.

Episode 12: Pearl continues work on her new base and makes a guardian farm. She builds a chicken bomb at Jimmy and Martyn’s place and has her Poultry Woman moment. The group meets up at spawn and finds the community billboard has a set of coordinates on it, so off on an adventure we go. Martyn and Netty have set up a game show- called the Double Deity Dummy Dash. They’ll be put in pairs for two challenges where they use their eyes and ears to recreate some art. It’s a fun game but it’s not important so you can watch it for yourself to enjoy it. However, Netty says it was designed with the idea of “the Watchers and Listeners working together” in mind, so, there’s that. Pearl also sings a bit in this episode and she has a very nice voice :)

Episode 13: The episode opens with Pearl receiving an invitation to the mansion of Alfred Bottomsworth for a dinner party. The Evolutionists arrive to the party and meet the butler- note that the Butler is the only NPC that talks, and only talks in the chat- and they all enter and take their seats at the table. The butler begins screaming for help, and then runs downstairs and announces that the master of the house has been murdered (who could’ve seen this coming in the murder mystery episode). Salem, BigB, and Pearl split off to investigate with the gardener. They eventually find a letter from the gardener to their lover, Alfred Bottomsworth’s daughter, and learn that they had a forbidden romance. Intrigue! The group reconvenes to discuss who the murderer could be, and decide on the gardener. They successfully solve the crime, and that’s it, lol. This episode is entirely irrelevant to the rest of the SMP and and I’m obsessed with it. More SMPs should do this.

Episode 14: Pearl’s episode begins with a sign from Jimmy reading “What’s that sound at spawn?” The sound in question is a strange ticking and music, and the Evolutionists all gather to see what it is. They find a piece of glass in the center of spawn, and they break it in order to drop down into something resembling the area the Watchers used under old spawn to give clues and portals. However, it opens into a labyrinth, and the Listeners symbol is there in white bedrock. Zee received a book when he got down there because he was the first one down, and he gives it to Jimmy, who then gives it to Martyn because he’s laughing too hard to read.

It’s titled “Freedom” and reads: “There are some who watch. We are those who listen. If you flee, you’ll be free, and complete your recission. Single versions are slow. New adventures in store. Come with us and we’ll give you lots more to explore. Make haste through this maze, as a portal awaits. Make the choice quick, and take control of your fates. SHHhhh…..”

The Evolutionists split down the tunnels to try and find the end of the maze, encountering many mobs and more symbols of the Listeners. Netty quickly finds a large nether portal, and they all meet up at it. Martyn takes attendance to make sure everyone is there, and is the first to run into the portal. Pearl cuts it very quickly after he runs in, and then cuts to her, BigB, and Jimmy alone in the room, which implies, but does not state or show, that the other members followed Martyn through. Pearl then runs into the portal as well. As we can see in most other POVs of this scene, everyone eventually runs into the portal.

Episode 15: Pearl’s next episode starts with her absolutely struggling with Australian ping. Pearl explains that the Listeners brought them from 1.8 to 1.12 (hence “single versions are slow”), and unfortunately her Minecraft is struggling with the new version (and the 900 chickens in her basement). She updates her base with another tower with all the new blocks as well.

It should be noted- this is the second to last episode of Pearl’s series, and the next episode is Evo’s official finale. Most of the server is empty, at this point. Taurtis hadn’t logged on in months, Grian left after the dragon fight, BigB, Salem, and Tom all unofficially ended a few episodes after that, Zee ended around Halloween just before the Listeners' portal, Martyn’s ends with him jumping into the Listeners' portal, and Mini’s ends with a farewell episode after the jump to 1.12. The only people who are still on are Jimmy and Netty, who both played with her to the “finale” of the server around Christmas.

Episode 16: The episode opens with Jimmy, Netty, and Pearl celebrating Christmas and the finale of the series. The three of them spend the finale playing games and enjoying themselves to end the series. At one point, all of the snow golems they’ve summoned start fighting a random skeleton and then each other, and Jimmy makes a remark about how they didn’t want to end Evos with a war. You can make angst out of that if you want, kings. Pearl’s finale ends with an aesthetically pleasing series of shots of the sever overlaid with happy memories from the server, including clips from other people’s episodes to tell the story properly. It’s very bittersweet.

#evolution smp #life series #traffic smp #pearlescentmoon #eyesandears #for the sake of all you martyn watcher lore fans out there #here. eat up. understand the watchers better.#and understand the listeners at all. please god please.#very excited for whatever pov i watch next evos is genuinely really enjoyable you guys

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sybeez · 2 months

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theres magic in splatoon?

oh HELL YES i get to rant about splatoon on here instead of on discord :]

@anemonequeen hey u can add on too 👀

So what i call magic in splatoon is less 'high fantasy bullshit' and more 'its all around and you don't notice it' like the post said (my example was electricity irl and how we use it rn for mundane stuff). It's all headcanon also btw but very supported by stuff from the games themself

List of stuff thats magic in splatoon in no particular order (ill go over these after): music, technology (human made especially), DNA, ink maybe?, salmonids migration, probably more but thats all i got (infodump under the cut)

SO music has been canon magic since splatoon 1 and actually its linked to the DNA part!! ,,,I probably need to explain human technology part first to understand that but it's basically all the Alterna logs basically.

Quick recap tho: the earth is fucked > some humans go live underground in giant domes all over the globe(unsure) > in one of them they devellop crystals out of molluscs like squids n octopus ability to change color based on emotions and use those to make giant LCD screens to line the dome > fast forward 2 generations of underground humans > the next gen scientists who want to go out even if thats a fucked up idea > rocket go poof n destroys the screen > the squid LCD crystals seep into the ocean n evolution happens for every creature to turn into anthros

also most impportantly the crystals retained the hopes of dreams of all of humanity down there* (important)

now fast forward 10 000 years and we find this scroll in splatoon 1

and that melody famously created a revolution by every single octarian realising they actually have free will at once (it did NOT break any kind of mind control they just lived all their live in an authoritarian society) so already we can tell theres something up with.

another time we find that melody thats important is the end credit for splatoon 3 (wave goodbye) at around the 3:00 mark

youtube

,,,now im realizing this isnt exactly what i had in mind but the first time i heard it i thought the voice had no gargling like inkfish voices n instead it was the voices of all humanitys ghosts coming together to sing that part. But if we still go with that then (my headcannon) that means that melody thats been etched into sea life DNA was actually a human anthem that was kept in the memories of the LCD crystal

Now in splatoon 3 theres a lot of magic anyway lol but idk how to even explain that (the 3 lights, lil buddy becoming a kaiju, big man making ink) so use ur imagination for that lol but its there.

other human technology that's also magic: the machine to keep judd alive that somehow made him immortal AND clone him

There's more magic hidden in the game (like however the ink from the ink tanks fuels our weapon via bluetooth and how some non-inkfish characters can somehow use ink for turf wars) but thats why i tagged sasha lol

oh yea for the salmon migration bit i'm specifically talking about the 7 rings when a big run happens. idk how to explain that so therefore its magic

#sy.op #sy.asks #splatoon #i get very scattered when i have to explain stuff but i swear the threads are there

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pelman · 2 years

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i love the way that sheldon has grown up between all 3 splatoon games tbh. like

splatoon 1. hes just a Little Guy. looks likes hes fresh out of high school with a baby face. literally selling weapons out of his basement. has clipping issues with his goggle strap into his face but i still love him. look at the life and vibrance in his eyes

splatoon 2. older, wealthier, somehow more autistic. i think its the bright orange plastic rims on the goggles? i dunno. has moved away from the military uniform copycat into his own, with an apron for tools, a cute little squid nametag, merit badges, even annie made him a cute little splattershot badge! still seems like a young adult but hes definitely older and more knowledgeable at this point, including the fact that hes making his own advancements in the weapons industry by now

splatoon 3. mans got fuckin drip bro. hes got the chain, his little fishers vest with the buckle, stickers and extra graffiti on his shell (which is either rusting or changing colors, i cant tell which is more likely but its probably the latter), either way at this point he knows wtf hes doing and isnt afraid to show it or tell it. also he doesnt get frustrated when you interrupt him after telling him to hurry up anymore so hes more emotionally mature now too, though hes also more unhinged. also he does still get frustrated with the same animation when you beat him in tableturf so theres that

no matter what iteration it is i love him but its definitely cool to see his evolution. idk. bye

#splatoon #splatoon 2 #splatoon 3 #sheldon splatoon #sheldon shellendorf

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clannfearrunt · 6 months

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the octopus is the most flexible animal on earth due to having one thousand bones in each arm

vote team skeleton. for Bone Octopus

#casually chucks the splat bio paruko into the bones comic #splatoon #splatoween #TECHNICALY...#splatoon oc #octoling #inkling #Squid 2 the evolution of the squid #Thresher Lagan #Rill Nykur #Conarts #Thresher calls Rill ''Nyk''. it's a Nykname. you see.#fun game Can You Spot Every Easer Egg

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aeriona · 1 year

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Inkling growth chart! (Look at how ugly they are lmao)

You might notice the lack of a siphon (nose) on the younger babies’ faces, it actually starts out on the backs of their necks! As they get older it moves to the face, with the windpipe fusing into the oesophagus.

This means that the larvae actually can’t breathe through their mouths until they’re around 4-ish, where until that age, they are completely incapable of making any noises at all using their mouths. Instead, they just make really obnoxious beak-snapping noises, or a huff/hiss noise through the siphon.

An inkfish’s swim form usually comes in at age 11-13, that’s when young adults start participating in turf wars and paid jobs. Sounds really young from a human perspective, but these guys do indeed get older quicker than humans do so naturally they’d get jobs earlier.

Unlike non-evolved cephalopods, inkfish undergo metamorphosis where baby inklings (paralarva, or just “larvs” as some call them) start with five limbs and a mantle. Upon reaching adulthood, they will have eleven, and the mantle would have retracted into the head as the organs migrated into the torso as it formed years prior.

I didn’t go too much detail into it on the chart, but larva have significantly less chromatophores/colour changing dots on their skin. They gain more as they age, giving them better control over their colour!

this timeline is a little different for Octolings, they take an extra 2-3 years to reach maturity.

#There’s probably a lot of errors on these i am sleep deprived rn #My art #splatoon #xeno tag #xeno inkling #inkling #squid #splatoon 2 #splatoon 3 #cephalopod #speculative biology #speculative zoology #speculative evolution #spec bio #spec zoo #spec evo #splatoon lore #splatoon inkling

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infodumpingaboutnature · 5 months

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This year has gone by fast! There are only 44 more days left of 2023 so to celebrate I’m gonna make a post about five extinct animals that were described this year!

1. Bos primigenius thrinacius n. ssp.

(Bos primigenius thrinacius n. ssp. Size estimate of a bull, cow, and calf compared to a human and an adult Palaeoloxodon falconeri. Art by Joschua Knüppe)

This new sub species of Aurochs lived on the Greek island of Kythera during the Late Pleistocene. The sub species was probably present on Kythera while it was still part of the mainland, but became trapped when it was separated sometime during the Middle to Late Pleistocene and their small size was a result of insular dwarfism. Insular dwarfism is a common phenomenon in evolution where a population of large animals becomes trapped on an island and slowly evolve to become smaller over time to better adapt to the reduced space and resources. The opposite, insular gigantism, where an island-bound population of small animals grows larger than their mainland counterparts also occurs regularly. During the Pleistocene, the various islands of Greece were full of giant swans and miniature elephants but now we know they had tiny cattle roaming about as well.

2. Garumbatitan morellensis

(Size comparison between Garumbatitan morellensis and a human. Art by cisiopurple on Deviantart)

Meaning “Garumba Giant”, Garumbatitan morellensis was a species of sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Cretaceous period in what is now Spain. Its remains were first discovered in 1998 at the Arcillas de Morella Formation near the city of Morella, however, they would not be excavated until an expedition in 2005. More material would later be discovered in a 2008 expedition and a paper would be published on the findings in 2016, but it wasn’t until this year that the species was officially named and described. Its genus named is a mix of the name for the tallest mountain in the region it was discovered in, Mola de la Garumba, and the Greek word “Titan”.

3. Nihohae matakoi

(A pair of Nihohae matakoi hunting some squid. Art by Daniel Verhelst)

Nihohae matakoi was a species of dolphin that belonged to the now extinct Waipatiid family and lived during the Oligocene in the waters surrounding what is now New Zealand. It possessed a bizarre set of tusk-like teeth that protruded from its beak. It is thought that this dolphin used it’s strange teeth much like a sawfish to stun their prey before consuming them. The holotype specimen was discovered all the way back in 1998 in Awamoko Valley on New Zealand’s South Island. The specimen consisted of a nearly complete skull, a single atlas and axis, eight vertebrae, and seven ribs. However, Nihohae matakoi would not be officially described until 2023. Its genus name combines the Māori words “Niho”, meaning “teeth”, and “Hae”, meaning “slashing”. The species name is also derived from Māori and comes from the words “Mata”, meaning “face” or “point”, and “Koi”, meaning “sharp”.

4. Perucetus colossus

(A pair of Perucetus swim together in the shallows. Art by Gabuded on Deviantart)

Another cetacean, Perucetus colossus was a species of early whale that lived during the Bartonian age of the Middle Eocene and was found in Peru (obviously). The remains we have or Perucetus are pretty fragmentary, but it has an estimated length of around 55.8-65.9 ft and was probably just as, if not heavier, than the modern Blue Whale. Due to the density of its bones and its absolute chonkiness, Perucetus likely was not a fast swimmer and likely lived in shallow waters and fed on crustaceans and mollusks. However, this is just speculation as very little about its ecology is known.

5. Vectipelta barretti

(A pair of Vectipelta barretti graze near a stream. Art by Stuart Pond)

Vectipelta barretti was an ankylosaurian dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous in what is now England. It was discovered in the Wessex Formation and it’s genus name means “Isle of Wight shield”. The holotype specimen of Vectipelta was originally discovered in November of 1993, however, at the time it was believed that the specimen belonged to the genus Polacanthus. In May of 2021 it was discovered that the specimen was in fact a new genus and in June of 2023 it was officially named and described. Funnily enough, fossil evidence suggests that Vectipelta might be millions of years older than Polacanthus, the genus it was originally thought to be a member of.

I hope you all enjoyed reading about these recently described prehistoric species! I LOVE dinosaurs and other extinct animals and can’t wait to see what new discoveries 2024 has to offer!

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