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lady0lunamoon · 7 months

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Theory : Agent 4 In Side Order

With the announcement of the Splatoon 3 DLC "Side Order", many people in the Splatoon fandom either suspect or internally demand that Agent 4 appears in the upcoming DLC — and for good reasons!

But HOW would Agent 4 fit into the story of the DLC?

What would their role be?

Well, I have an idea!

So get some snacks and a drink people, cause this will definetly take a while!

So that you will not loose the sight of where one point ends and the next one beginns, I will mark the beginning of all the points with heart emojis!

And to top it all off, because I'll be talking about Agent 4's involvement as a whole and not just WHY or HOW they could appear in the DLC, but infact ALL these topics at once, I will also divide the different topics through lines! ( "____" but longer )

Here's a base to get a better idea of what I'm talking about :

At the very end, I will also add a quick summary of all my conclusions, incase you won'tbe able to follow all the points, loose sight or it is just too many ideas and conclusions at once for you to process! _______________________________________

First, I'll beginn with the reasons why Agent 4 definetly MUST appear in the DLC:

💛 Reason one : They're the ONLY member of the Squidbeak still missing!!! Agent 8 has been confirmed as the Player Character for Side Order and the rest of the Squidbeak — even Octavio — were all in "Return of the Mamalians"! The only one still missing in this game is Agent 4!

💛 While we're at the topic of other characters, every recurring Character that has appeared in the trailers until now first debuted in Splatoon 2, but none of them have made any onscreen appearances in Splatoon 3 yet — in other words, until now they've been Splatoon 2 exclusive characters! Agent 8 and Dedf1sh never appeared in Splatoon 3 up until the trailers came, and Off the Hook's only appearance until now was through artwork and music! Pearl and Marina haven't physically appeared yet, but are all but confirmed to do so in the actual DLC! Infact, Pearl seems to be controlling a little flying drone that seems to be "Side Order"'s counterpart of "Return of the Mamalians"' Lil Buddy! Pretty much the only significant Splatoon 2 character that has yet to appear in Splatoon 3 is Agent 4 — except for commander Tartar, but that guy is dead so he doesn't count!

💛 Also, Agent 4 is actually mentioned in the Official Splatoon 3 World Map!

Therefore, it's clear Nintendo has not forgotten about 4, but wouldn't it still be weird to mention them here if they were not important to the game in some way?

Infact, Agent 4 was the ONLY other Agent appart from New Agent 3 that was mentioned on the map and the ONLY ONE who was mentioned DIRECTLY! For New Agent 3, the map just said "You Live here" but for Agent 4 it says "Agent 4's home"

💛 Also, Lil Judd is implied to be the new boss of Grizzro Industries after you complete "Return of the Mamalians" — a plot point which should probably get resolved in the DLC, considering the implications that cloning is involved! And it's confirmed that Agent 4 did or might even still work at Grizzro industries!

☝Keep this point here in mind, cause I'm not done with this yet!☝

💛 Also, if you didn't recognize the location in the first trailer, the Official DLC's Webpage read : "See what has happened to Inkopolis Square from the Splatoon 2 game, and what would've happened if Order thwarted Chaos to rule the city!"So this confirms, that Side Order indeed takes place in Inkopolis Square — the setting of Splatoon 2!

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Now that we got the connections to Agent 4 and reasons they should definetly appear in the DLC out of the way, let's start on my theory what their role might be in the DLC!

🧡 Well, Remember what I said about Lil Judd being implied to be the new boss of Grizzro Industries? Considering the recent theories about the DLC involving Cloning, it's very likely that Lil Judd is involved in the DLC, Considering he is a clone on Judd! But what does that have to do with Agent 4's role in the story?

......Remember what I said about Agent 4 and Grizzro industries?

Well, I purposefully said that they might still be working there!

Am I saying that Agent 4 is a villain in "Side Order"?

I sure am!

I know what you're thinking now...... "But why would they be evil?"

To better understand that, I first wanna adress another theory I have on the DLC:

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🧡 Because I am very much convinced that the Final Splatfest is directly involved in the DLC!

Because..... how else could you interpret the title? Even if the central theme truly is order, the DLC is not just called "Order"! It's called "Side Order"! And there are always more than one sides — mostly opposing sides! And what were the two opposing sides in the final Splatfest of Splatoon 2? Team Chaos vs Team Order!

Which means to me that, whoever is pulling the strings — be it Agent 4 or someone else — is on the SIDE of ORDER!

The title is suppose to tell us that the Final Splatfest is the conflict of the DLC! The antagonist is upset over what has happened to the world after Team Chaos won! So now, their goal is to create a new World ORDER!

Infact, maybe the final boss fight — or at least some level in the DLC — will be based after a Splatfest battle! Like a Tri-color turf war! I mean..... in Octo Expansion we had multiple levels with Rank battles and the Final Boss fight was based after Turf War!

All that we're missing here would be a Splatfest battle! If the main conflict really is the "Chaos Vs Order" Splatfest, then one of the best ideas for the final battle would be a repeat of said Splatfest!

_______________________________________🖤 This theory might also provide an explanation for why Agent 8 wakes up in the bleached Inkopolis Square and Marina also appeanantly vanished!

Eight and Marina were both on Team Order! Wouldn't it make sense wanting the help of other Team Order members for this plan?

To get them on your....side?

But of course, 8 and Marina refused, so the antagonist resorts to kidnapping (at least in the case of Marina)!

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🖤 But that still doesn't explain why Agent 4 would be an antagonist right....?

Why would they Support Order?

Weren't they on Team Chaos for the Final fest?

Yes!

Yes, Agent 4 Indeed was on Team Chaos for the final fest!

WAS!

Take a look back at the post from the DLC's Webpage : "What would've happened if Order thwarted Chaos to rule the city?"

Many people interpreted this part like that Side Order is actually a "What If?" Alternate Universe!

However, I don't think that is the case.....

Do you honestly think we'd get a plain, over-perfectionized and colorless town as the main aesthetic for a game like Splatoon?

Instead, I believe the "What would've happened if....?" ect. part is from the perspective of a character!

You know what I think could be Agent 4's reason for suddenly being on Team Order?

Infact, what might be a central theme in the DLC as a whole?

Regret!

Have any of you guys ever felt doubts about your Splatfest choice? Maybe even regretted them?

Maybe even regretted picking Chaos instead of Order? Because the end result was NOT what you expected?

Well I have! And it lead me to think, if maybe other players felt the same way..... and if they did, wouldn't it be interesting to discuss this topic in the actual game? Considering the Final Fest always has such a HUGE impact on the next game in the series, it might feel natural to wonder if maybe the opposite team should've won! Because maybe the result is different from what you expected?

And you beginn to wonder "What if I picked the other team?" "What if the other team won?"

🖤 Imagine following scenario: Agent 4 was on Team Chaos for the final Splatfest and team Chaos indeed won!

At first, they were happy, just like everyone else......But then, things started to change — like Pearl and Marina said the splatfest result changed the world.... but it didn't change in the way that Agent 4 had hoped! Perhaps the changes that followed after the events of the Chaos vs Order Splatfest were different than what 4 had imagined!

.....Or perhaps Marina was right to fear what might happen if Team Chaos won,

....only wrong about who it applied to!

What if the Splatfest somehow caused some dissonance in the Squidbeak for some reason? And Agent 4 was somehow involved!

What if the other Agents left to go to Splatsville/Alterna and Agent 4 was left behind?

It would add up with the fandom's opinion that the character of Agent 4 is just being forgotten! Because I often see the fandom portray Agent 4 as being left behind by the rest of the Squidbeak!

And just like with the Splatfest Teams, acknowledgement of the fandom in such a way would be an interesting concept to touch uppon, because the fandom would relate to it!

And IF the final Splatfest really is a central conflict in the DLC, then the idea of regretting your team decision would be a very interesting thing to discuss!

Regardless of how it might've happened, the idea is that, after some time, Agent 4 started wondering

"What if I had fought on team order?"

"What if team Order won?"

🖤 Another thing that tipped me off about the concept of regret is the appearance of Dedf1sh — or "Acht" as she called herself in the DLC trailer!

Acht is an Octoling who willingly got sanitized due to "doubts and conflicts about production"!

Also track #8 in her list of songs in called "Regret", possibly showing that she regrets letting herself get sanitized!

There it is again! Doubts and regreting your choices!

And we all know that 8 is a very Important number in regards to the octarians! To hammer this point home, even Dedf1sh's nickname "Acht" is the german word for "Eight"! So, the fact that her 8# track song is called "Regret" feels to me like it is important.

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🖤 Also, side note : It wouldn't be the first time a member of the Squidbeak Splatoon became antagonistic! We saw it in Splatoon 2, with Callie and the Original Agent 3/Cap'n!

And considering the repeaded use of the number 3 in this game...... It seems like a golden opportunity (and a good excuse :3) for the devs to pull that trope a third time!

They already did it with the "Great Zapfish gets stolen" plot!

And considering the rest of the Squidbeak is busy in Alterna, Agent 4 is pretty much the only option available! _______________________________________

🖤 But even IF they want to reverse the events of the Final fest, WHY would 4 go so far? They are a hero, are they not? What happened to them that would cause them to do.....all this?!

Well, I suspect that, IF Agent 4 really is a villain or even THE villain of the DLC, they will not be in their right state of mind!

And no, I don't mean mind controlled and puppeteered by somebody else like Callie in the Splatoon 2 Hero Mode or the Cap'n/Original Agent 3 in Octo Expansion!

Like I said, the developers have the opportunity and the excuse to pull the "Member of the Squidbeak turns evil" trope a third time, but that doesn't mean they couldn't add a little twist to it, to keep it interesting!

You see, throughout both Trailers, there is a repeaded use of imagery that is reminicent of actually organic bodies, like the veins and corals that are oddly reminicent of veins!

Also look at this picture right there and tell me it doesn't look reminicent of a brain to you!

While mechanical and robotic stuff is definetly present in the trailers too, so is organic stuff!

However, the hints of natural organic things are much more suddle! It kinda feels to me like there is something intentionally being kept secret in relation to it!

Like for example....maybe the root of everything bad happening in the DLC is more of a root than we might think!

Maybe the origins of everything behind the events of Side Order is not some AI or a scientific experiment, but it's actually something natural!

Something that wasn't directly created by human hand or tentacles, but by (what remains of) the planet itself!

Remember this part from "Return of the Mamalians"' Alterna Logs: "Spurred by these impulses-and whatever else may have been floating in the polluted waters-the sea creatures began to evolve rapidly."

The important part being "Whatever else may have been floating in the polluted waters"! Implying that something other than the crystals infused with humanities desires have been responsible for the evolution of marine life!

What results would we get from the crystals mixing with different things?

For example, Mr Grizz combined some of those crystals with his own furr to create the fuzzy ooze! Although the golden fisheggs were also involved, the game even calls out that it is unknown HOW the fisheggs were used in the creation of the fuzzy ooze!

And it's said that if an Inkling or Octoling comes into contact with fuzzy Ooze, they lose their sense of self!

Loosing their sense of self..... Sound like a good trigger for someone to turn evil?

And if it were either the crystals or the golden fisheggs that are responsible for the "Loosing their sense of self" part...... Well, as an employee of Grizzro's, Agent 4 would have access to Golden Fish Eggs!

And like I said, the ocean is full of those crystals' pieces!

After all, who ever said that the effects those crystals are ALL good?

🖤 Remember, these crystals were infused with Humanity's thoughts and desires! And I doubt that the remaining humans in Alterna have been thinking happy thoughts 24/7!

Because 1 : It was basically the end of the world and their kind was going extinct!

And 2 : They're humans! It's as easy as that!There must've been some hateful thoughts at some point!

And when Alterna collabsed, causing the crystals and thereby also humanity's thoughts to seep into the ocean, nature saw what it would do with it!

Because remember: Those crystals originated from the bodily fluids of squid! The origins if the crystals lied in nature!

The positive feelings contained within the crystals allowed marine life to evolve and become the new dominant species, but what about the negative feelings? Cause I'll be damned if the remaining humans didn't have any bad thoughts or feelings! Especially considering it was the end of the world at that time!!

What if nature did something else with those negative feelings?

And if it did, what would happen if a living organism came in contact with them.....?

What influence could it have on them?

This would be far from the first time nature somehow influences the minds of living creatures!

The two most intense examples I know being Rabies and (Say it with me "The Last of Us"—fans!) Cordyceps!

My point here? If 4 goes rogue, it's possible that the cause of it is not mind control but more related to nature! _______________________________________

🤍 To sum everything up once more :

Agent 4 definetly 10000% MUST appear in the DLC!

The main conflict is not just the concept of "Order", but specifically the Chaos vs Order Splatfest!

After the final fest, for multiple possible reasons, Agent 4 ended up regretting being on Team Chaos for the final Splatfest and wanting to reverse everything! Maybe even start a second "Chaos Vs Order" splatfest!

And they wanted fellow Team Order members Agent 8 and Marina on their Side Order, but that didn't go so smoothly!

However, some outside force might be responsible for them taking it to dangerous extremes!

Though it doesn't necessarily have to be the work of another villain, but maybe, for example, coming in contact with Alterna crystals that absorbed humanity's negative feelings or whatever nature did with said crystals!

#splatoon #splatoon 3 #splatoon side order #agent 4 #side order #theory #dlc #chaos vs order #splatfest #agent 8 #marina #off the hook

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avatar216 · 7 months

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When I was outside the other day leaving an offering to the gods, I started really thinking about why I personally don't like/subscribe to thinking about the Æsir's conflicts with each other or the Jõtnar as order vs chaos or good vs evil, even though the former is a commonly accepted rebuttal to the latter in arguments. I've accepted that order vs chaos is still just another way to hold on to Christian dualism in some way and the classical model as @skaldish says in one of his posts. I agree with him that the Norse gods are characters first unlike the Greek gods in many ways. I usually look at Loki and the others as beings whose actions are just that actions and beings who have events happen in their lives rather than actions being viewed as aspects of the gods, like Loki's so-called world breaker aspect. I personally feel like this type of thinking can diminish Loki's reasons for leading an army of the Jõtnar and/or dead humans against his fellow gods. I don't think one can really compare Loki to say Eris or Seth who both really embody chaos in the sense that they love to confuse and make discord but yet are measured counter points to positively chaotic beings like Apep and Typhon. I know I'm not alone in thinking this way. It's just not something I see too often in online groups.

To me, Loki in the myths (and in my UPG) comes across as stubborn, impulsive, mischievous, easily made angry, willing enough to fix his or others' fuck ups, cunning, deceitful, a bit foolish, self-confident, down right brazen, quick on his feet, serious when shit gets real, and may be kinda lonely or at least he likes attention a lot but not praise. He doesn't seem to want power much either. I try to avoid using God of x terminology in describing him because for me it doesn't answer the who in the question but rather the what of the question. I could describe him as a god of theft/plunder, war, leadership, deceit, cunning, slander, treachery, and betrayal among other things but that doesn't really explain what he acts like in myth or in my experience with him in dreams. In those he's blond and weirdly serious. The reason I'm explaining this is because I don't think labels and categories like order vs chaos really fit deities like Loki who are complex, confusing, and nuanced and whose actions can't be neatly sorted into boxes. Labels don't seem to stick for very long, I've noticed, when it comes to Loki. A lot of gods could be associated with these same things but that doesn't mean Loki is an equivalent to them. I would say Seth is a chaos god through and through but there's a lot more to him. However, he loves to do the things that fall under the definition of chaos like being confusing and random hence why I and others call him a chaos god. The Ancient Egyptians also did have a clear concept of Order vs Chaos. This isn't a modern projection of dichotomy.

I think we're really influenced not by Christianity, but Greek mythology in the way we approach understanding the gods and myths so far as thinking of gods as having governing domains rather than as beings with certain interests, lives, likes, dislikes, and jobs they do voluntarily. I also wish there was more out there talking about Norse mythology's big thing with the physical and biological sides of things like the world being made out of the body. Different body parts representing the cosmos. Body parts and trees being used for divination purposes etc. I think I agree with Dr. Crawford that a lot of certain concepts probably wouldn't even make sense in Old Norse, because it's a strongly concrete language.

#ramblings #heathenry #loki deity #norse myth #order vs chaos #chaos vs order #norse paganism

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