#splat song tournament

[mid-episodesongshowdown]

ROUND 1B: Into The Light VS Cara Mia Addio

Into The Light: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVLrp8m_-dc

Cara Mia Addio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kPyGvqNn4Y

[toasteraaa]

It's been so long...

Not the fnaf song lol...

But genuinely I haven't posted in a long time. I adjusted my profile a bit, and I've also got some splatoon ocs to share!

Meet this gang!

A kind of messed up height comparison. Next time I'll do better, I promise!

Alrighty, let's start with the basics. A basic introduction. I will post more about these fellas when I do more art of them :>.

The events with these fellas happen in Splatsville tbh!

♤Mia♤

Mia is a popular make-up artist in Splatsville. Owns a make-up salon that's visited by many on a daily basis! If they are not doing someone's make up, they post make up tutorials. Outside of the fashion and make-up industry, Mia loves hiking and nature. Her salon and home are filled with many exotic flowers and plants, and they take a great care of the plants! Mia dates Ivy. During battles Mia can be seen using Dynamo Roller or Flingza Roller.

♡Blaise♡

Blaise is the least popular of the gang, but that doesn't mean he is a less of a member than anyone else! He is both a traditional and digital artist, he mainly draws fan arts and secretly works on his own projects. Blaise is a sucker for comics, he has a huge collection and dreams of creating one in the future. His boyfriend is Dash. Blaise is a charger main, but you'll see him play with the Snipewriters often.

◇Ivy◇

Mia's sweetheart! But also Ivy is a writer and a journalist in a popular Splatsville magazine for health and fashion! In her articles, Ivy gives good advices all the time! Ivy is also the reason why Mia's salon has so many clients. Ivy often advertises it in her articles! Outside of writing, Ivy loves doing photography, especially of nature. She often joins Mia hiking in order to capture really good photos of the breathtaking nature! Ivy is a Tri-Slosher main, but she can also use E-liter if she desires (Blaise taught her).

♧Dash♧

Blaise's darling. Funny enough when the two first met they had a rocky start. They barely got along, but with time and patience they became closer and closer and now they are together! Dash is a very popular influencer and a competitor in tournaments. Dash is admired by many, he loves the fame, but what he loves more than that is his boyfriend's love! Dash loves playing video games too! He likes streaming gameplay from time to time, but he enjoys multi-player games more so he can play together with Blaise and his friends. Dash is a strong Nautilus player.

☆Iris☆

Iris is Ivy's roommates. They met in Inkopolis years ago and decided to move to Splatsville together after the Splatocalypse. Iris is shy and timid. She isn't very talkative, but when she talks she scolds someone or give a scientific fact. Iris is a programmer and creates games that are loved by many! Her trustworthy tester is Dash. He gives an excellent review and promotes Iris' games on his social media. On the battlefield Iris can be seen using the two pairs of Splat Dualies.

Alright everyone, that's all I've got for today! I am going to post more about them in the near future!

Stay safe!

[vocaloidsongtournament]

November 2024 Vocaloid Song Tournament

Round 1, Set 3, Match 6: splat by SLAVE.V-V-R vs. Snow Rabbit by OSTER project

Please listen to both songs before casting your vote! And please reblog for a bigger sample size!

[tazmilyxfamily]

Random Callie headcanons

As a side effect of being forced to speak in Octarian for large interludes (as well as for the occasional song), she learned the language subconciously. So learning it was quite easy and she now knows it pretty well!

Callie is personally descended from a giant squid, hence the ridiculously long tentacles (that she refuses to cut, of course, because they’re so fashionable and oh-so-fun to style)

As a result, her kraken form is one of the most like the stereotypical kraken; big, multiple long tentacles, and terrifying. Hence why her second favourite weapon (at least it was before the Kraken became illegal for use in tournaments) is the Krak-on Splat Roller.

Her (and Marie’s) golden eyes are contact lenses specifically commissioned for the Squid Sisters. She only ever doesn’t wear them when in disguise.

She’s pretty good with a Killer Wail due to being rather screechy/squeaky when she needs to be.

Crush on Pearl? Nah... That’s just ridiculous....

She likes Agent 4 more than 3. 3 just became too serious for her liking after Splatoon 1.

[agent-7-at-your-service]

Future Plot: Here Comes the Next Gen (Reboot) - Chapter 1 (Part 2)

(( Camille belongs to @inklingleesquidly

Celeste and Willow belong to @alpinesquid

Nebula belongs to @myzzy and @agenttwo / @nyanamo

Agent 7 and Telemachus (Neo-Agent 3) belong to me

Nova (mentioned) belongs to @tentamissile-rush / @splat-tendency and @marchant-girls / @eiden-squid ))

Camille noticed Celeste and her friend about to approach her and Nebula. She has kind of expected Celeste and her friend to be around Arowana Mall. She also noticed the unknown Inkling boy in the Hero suit replica that arrived through a super-jump. This Inkling, she has no idea who he is or what he’s doing here.

Celeste’s friend is your usual squid, wearing the freshest fashion of her choice. She’s an inkling that’s 3 inches shorter than Celeste with light brown skin, light green eyes, and purple ink-hair with dark purple spots. Her ink-hair is tied back into a braided ponytail similar to Camille’s, but this tail is shorter. She wore a white sailor suit, a straw boater hat, and blue lo-tops.

Camille was familiar with Celeste’s friend. Her name is Willow.

The unknown inkling was light-skinned with long, ashy green ink-hair, green star eyes, and a familiar mole on his left cheek. Camille has seen the inkling’s suit before, and it was mostly from a few inklings from Inkopolis; it was something called a “hero jacket replica”. He was also armed with this circular shield with a blue swirl on it.

This one, Camille isn’t familiar with.

Celeste just gasps in amazement as she saw the unknown inkling land. She recognizes the attire and ran up to him with her friend following. Celeste and Willow were just two steps away from where Camille and Nebula were sitting.

The inkling in the hero jacket replica jumped off the beach rocks and landed in the sand. He approached Camille and friends. Celeste was the first to run up to him with Willow following her.

“Where did you get the jacket?” Celeste awed. “I really like it!”

The inkling didn’t respond. He gave this neutral stare, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“Uhm, forgive Celeste, she really likes these things,” Willow explained.

The inkling then spoke, “It’s alright. I get that a lot whenever I wear this.” He adjusted the collar of his jacket. “I heard my dad was in Inkopolis. I decided to check the city out.”

“Do you have a name?” Willow politely asked.

“You may call me Neo-Agent 3,” the inkling boy replied.

It was obvious to Celeste that Neo-Agent 3 won’t give out his real name. She knows it would blow his cover. She has her hand out, offering Neo-Agent 3 a handshake, looking eagerly nervous.

“M-my name’s Celeste,” she began, “I think you already know because Willow mentioned my name to you.” She gave a little giggle. “It’s so good to meet an agent in-person.”

Neo-Agent 3 nods and shakes Celeste's hand. Celeste actually decided to bring Neo-Agent 3 to Camille and Nebula, much to Camille’s lack of interest. Nebula found it a bit sudden for Celeste to introduce someone new, but she went along with this event.

“Hello there, my name is Neo-Agent 3.” Neo-Agent 3 began.

“If there another name we can call you?” Camille asked, not liking the Agent name.

“Telemachus.” Neo-Agent 3 then narrows his eyes at Camille and Nebula. “You two look familiar. Have we met?”

“If you recognize us as the Neo-Squid Sisters, yes, we are them. We’re just not in our outfits.” Camille leans back a bit. “The name is Camille, and this is my cousin, Nebula.”

“Cousins, just like the original Squid Sisters.” Telemachus gave a slight smile, though his eyes were a slight glare. “They were Callie and Marie.”

“Those are our moms’ names,” Nebula pointed out, “Marie is my mom, and Callie is my cousin’s mom.”

“Coincidence,” Telemachus replied, “You know a friend of mine in Alexandria district had most of your songs, mostly your music, Nebula. He always boasts about how he’ll win your heart one day.”

“Your friend really said that?” Nebula wasn’t that surprised, thinking it’s just another big fan.

“Yeah really.” Telemachus flips his long ink hair. “He’s a musician too. One time he tried to send you a letter, requesting a duet.”

“I…. never got the letter.” Nebula was a bit surprised that she has a fan this devoted to her.

“Wow, Nebby, I guess you’re the one in the Neo-Squid Sisters that attracts all the weirdoes.” Camille gets a slight glare of embarrassment from Nebula. Camille chuckles. “And I don’t think there’s a chance that your friend will get her.”

Telemachus folds arms. “Figures; is there a something in the way of my friend’s love for Nebula?”

“There’s our friend, Emerald.” Camille pondered a bit. “I can tell that she has a crush on Nebula.”

“Camille!” Nebula is already blushing, covering her face.

“Nothing to be embarrassed about,” Celeste assured, “Many of us have a secret crush.”

“Yeah, many of us do,” Willow agreed.

“Does that include you, Camille?” Telemachus wondered.

“Pfft. Please, I not gonna slow down for lovey-dovey stuff.” Camille sticks her tongue at the idea. “Besides, who needs love.”

Telemachus smiled. “I guess this will be the start of a new friendship.”

“We just met,” Camille commented, “But I guess it is… for now.”

When the sun was setting, Willow had to leave early along with Nebula. They had things to do with their parents. Camille, Telemachus, and Celeste still had time at the beach near Arowana Mall.

They all hung out at a pier, watching the sunset.

Telemachus had a lot to say about the Agency to Celeste. Camille was uninterested, and she was mostly pretending to listen and be amazed by the stories he told. But inside, Camille found Telemachus boring.

“And that how the supercomputer and I got along and cooperated.” Telemachus showed his shield. “This shield here is what houses Xenia. Currently, she’s back in Alexandria district, getting updated by a friend of mine.”

“Will she get along with us if you bring her next time?” Celeste wondered.

“She gets a bit shy, but she’ll get used to new faces.” Telemachus looked at Camille. “You seems quiet.”

“Oh, me? Oh no, I was listening to every word,” Camille replied with a smile.

Telemachus sighs and continues watching the sunset. “I can tell you weren’t listening. It’s alright.” Telemachus sighed in disappointment. “You’re not like others, I guess.”

Camille rolls her eyes.

Telemachus did realize he was talking a bit too much about his profession and himself. He should be talking about Camille and her friends, so he decided to do just that.

“I hear you’re called the Fasted Squid Alive,” Telemachus respected, “how did you get that name?”

Now there was a topic Camille is willing to talk about. “I race a lot. I’ve been racing ever since I was young. I outran every squid on my go-kart, and...”

Telemachus looked at her with a wink and a smile. Camille looked away.

“And I did win most of the race tournaments,” Camille continued, “And no other race was able to challenge my speed, even Nova always ends up second.”

“Nova?” Telemachus raised an eyebrow.

“He’s a friend and rival of mine,” Camille explained.

“And I’ve seen her out race everyone at that raceway.” Celeste has seen one of the races before. “And she hopes to one day be known far and wide as a Racecar Champion in history.”

“Oh please, Celeste.” Camille expects to get that title already.

Celeste and Camille laugh a bit and then sigh.

“And how about you, Celeste, why do you like the Agency so much?” Telemachus wondered.

“Because one day I want to join their ranks… if they have ranks.” Celeste scratched the back of her head. “It’s my dream to become an agent.” She gave a grin.

Telemachus knew Celeste has a lot to learn. He nods. “I’m sure you’ll be able to join some day. But enough about the agency for now, what do you usually do for a hobby?”

“Soccer….. or football.” Celeste shook her head. “Or whatever they call it nowadays. I play really well in the sports. There are sometimes I can end up with scrapes on my knees and a few aches, but that won’t stop me from playing.”

“Then you’re a trooper,” Telemachus declared, “Then again, watch your health, but still you’re a trooper.”

The sun is now sinking into the horizon.

“Camille, Celeste, I’m glad to end this beginning of our friendship on a good note.” Telemachus adjusted his ink hair.

“You can say that,” Camille smirked.

“Yup.” Celeste stretches her arms a bit.

This kind of friendship might as well be established.

Camille, Nebula, and Celeste were back in school, meeting in Agent 7’s Biology class. He was lecturing to them an introduction to Biology, starting with defining science, refreshing the memory of last science class, and giving a brief lecture on the chemistry.

“And make sure these are in your notes. Some will be crucial to your first test,” Agent 7 reminded.

Camille was doodling while taking her notes; she was using an erasable pen instead of a pencil. Nebula noticed her doodles but didn’t say anything.  Yes, they were mean in nature, but they didn’t seem that offensive to Agent 7.

Minutes later, Agent 7 standing over Camille, arms folded.  He finally noticed the doodles. Camille knew she was busted.

Agent 7 took a closer look at the notes along with the doodles. His reaction was unexpected: he sighed and smiled, commenting, “I get that a lot from my trainees back in Alexandria District, these doodles are far better than what my trainees say about me.” He walked away from Camille.

Camille rolls her eyes. She erased the doodles and actually focuses on taking notes. At least she didn’t end up in detention, she thought.

Agent 7 then continued his lecture. He didn’t even say Camille will be in detention. “As I was saying, the scientific method is going to be very important in all of our experiments, and one day each of you will be making their own biology experiment for the finals.”

The bell rings and everyone in the biology class leaves. Agent 7 stops Camille.

“One moment, Camille, there’s something I want to talk to you about.” Agent 7 had her waiting at her desk. “There’s something I want to offer.”

“Pass.” Camille wasn’t interested, but Agent 7 kept her in the class.

Agent 7 took out a late pass and signed it just in case with Camille’s name on it. It was just in case.

“Just hear me out, Camille. I’ll make it worth your while,” Agent 7 convinced.

“The only thing worth my while from you is not seeing your face in the halls, goodbye.” Camille headed toward the door.

“Can’t you at least spare sometime after school to come back to this class to hear me offer?” Agent 7’s talk with Camille was urgent.

Camille stopped. She sighed and turned to look at Agent 7. “Afterschool, I promise.”

When the last school bell rings, Agent 7 was back in the biology class. Camille did return as promised, but she had a look on her face that said she would like to be somewhere else. Agent 7 acknowledged this and started.

“Here is my offer: I want you to join this special program in Alexandria District on Winter Break. It will be worth your while as it includes things from the automotive tech class.” Agent 7 was aware she didn’t get that class.

Camille seemed interested, but she doesn’t seem convinced enough. “’Doesn’t mean I’ll join. What’s the catch?”

“There is some training in addition to the class you want.” Agent 7 confessed.

“What training?” Camille narrowed her eyes, stepping closer.

“It’s just some special training meant for kids like you,” Agent 7 answered, “I assure you that if you do this, it will help you with the career you want.”

Camille was almost convinced, but she still isn’t sure about this “training” that came with it. Then again, she didn’t see it as a problem as long as she gets into that automotive tech class. She decided to take that chance with caution.

“I’ll consider it,” Camille replied before leaving the class.

As Agent 7 watches her leave he sighed. “Just like them.”

[czaros-mooncat-blog]

[Review] - Splatoon 2

Same old fun, same old flaws

(Note that this was originally a script for a video review, not a written one)

The original Splatoon was easily my favorite and most played game on Wii U. It wasn’t perfect. In fact, if it was any other shooter, it would probably get torn apart due to its really bad design choices and abysmal online play quality. However, the original and fun gameplay as well as the style of the game made it a massive success. So how is the sequel?

Presentation

Visually, Splatoon 2 is slightly better looking than the original, with the lighting and ink looking much better for example. The difference isn’t too big though but the game still looks very good. One thing I noticed however is that sometimes the anti-aliasing is very bad. I also personally think that the multiplayer stages don’t look as colorful and unique as the original, but that’s just me. The game runs at a stable 60 fps (with the exception of Inkopolis Square which is locked at 30) which is always a great and appreciated thing to have.

When it comes to music and sound, Splatoon 2 continues what Splatoon 1 started by having an awesome soundtrack with many new, great tracks. The multiplayer tracks are in my opinion slightly less memorable compared to the original, but Salmon Run and Hero Mode songs are where the soundtrack really shines.

Gameplay

I’m going to talk about each mode individually. Please note that I was unable to test the local multiplayer mode, as that sadly cannot be played on one console, which actually made me quite disappointed before I even opened the game.

What can be said about all modes in general is that the controls are great and I’m especially impressed by the motion controls. Shooters are in my opinion one of the few genres where playing with a controller is terrible. Motion controls are the closest to being as good as keyboard and mouse, but the Wii U Gamepad’s motion controls weren’t too great and required recalibrating every 10 seconds or so. The joy-cons don’t have this problem at all. I can play for a long time without having to recalibrate. The only problem I had was at the very beginning due to the infamous controller desync. But as long as I sit quite close and without anything obstructing the dock at all, the desync problem is solved.

Amiibos can be once again be used, with three new ones added just for Splatoon 2. They unlock a set of clothes, a song for the rhythm mini-game and you can also take a picture with your inkling and the amiibo character.

The rhythm mini-game I mentioned is Squid Beats 2, which is a much improved version of the original. You can play all songs in the game in two difficulties in what is now pretty much a fully-fledged rhythm game.

Hero Mode is this game’s single player campaign. It’s in many ways similar to Hero Mode in original Splatoon. Your goal is once again to go through numerous stages to get a zapfish at the end of each, defeating enemies and overcoming obstacles on the way to the end. After completing all levels in each area, you fight a boss and can proceed to the next area afterwards. Each level contains a sunken scroll and an item used to upgrade your gear. Hero Mode is equally as long as the original, but there’s added replay value thanks to one pretty big change from the original Hero Mode. Throughout your adventure, you’ll unlock new weapons to use and each level can be replayed with every weapon you unlock. Completing all levels with one weapon unlocks it for multiplayer.

Gameplay-wise, Hero Mode is wonderful, if not still too short. Story-wise, Hero Mode isn’t that great. I wasn’t expecting a great story mind you but with all the pre-release build-up and Marie’s appearance, I honestly expected more. The original had quite some interesting lore behind it and a stunning final boss battle. Without spoiling anything, I’m just gonna say that they missed an opportunity for something quite good and instead with the easiest way.

Salmon Run is a brand new PvE game mode and is easily the best addition to the series and the most fun game mode in Splatoon 2. There’s only one thing that I just can’t understand what the developers were thinking. The game mode has opening hours which means that it isn’t playable at all times. The mode is available for 24 hours and then closed for somewhere between 20-28 hours. Why would you limit the best thing in the game?

Anyway, Salmon Run is a mode where 4 players fight waves of Salmon enemies and have to gather a number of golden eggs by defeating Salmoid bosses. Each boss requires a different strategy to beat. This mode requires team work and the only thing that drags it down is the lack of proper communication, which ironically the game itself mentions is a key element. Another issue with this mode is that if your friend is on a higher rank, they will not gain experience when playing with you, but will still lose points if you’re defeated, discouraging playing with friends.The mode can also sometimes get way too overwhelming with enemy waves that are pretty much impossible to counter

PvP Multiplayer

The main attraction of the game is the Player vs Player battles. Turf Wars is an unranked match all about inking in the most turf. Ranked Battles are competitive matches in three modes: Splat Zones where you have to control a zone of a map, Tower Control where you control a tower as it moves to a goal and Rainmaker which is like Capture the Flag if the flag was also a weapon. Then there’s League Battles where you team up with friends and play competitive modes in a more tournament-esque fashion, without ranks. You can also play Private Battles with friends: any mode, any map and any number of players. Last and definitely least is Online Lounge, which is private battles with voice chat using the abomination that is the Nintendo Switch Online app on smartphones.

So let’s start with the good things. The online match quality is quite a bit better: there’s less lag and disconnects happen quite rarely though matches ending in 4v3 and never ending lobbies due to communication errors for other players still happen quite frequently. The gameplay is just as good as in the original with some tweaks. In fact it almost seems like most of the game was just copy pasted from the Wii U game. The new things are a new weapon type: the dualies, new secondary and special weapons and new maps and that’s pretty much everything that’s new.

Now onto the bad things and there’s quite a few, ranging from minor annoyances to big issues. The map rotation system is still a bad system that should not exist, you cannot group up with friends before a match. You have to join after one of them enters a match, in turf war, whether you’ll play with or against your friends is purely random. You cannot play ranked with friends, even though you could in the original. Voice chat not only requires usage of an awfully designed mobile app with terrible chat quality, not only is it friend only… It also is limited to private battles only (and private Salmon Runs), making it completely useless. The previously mentioned disconnects leading to uneven teams do not affect your matches so you’ll still lose your rank in ranked battles.

And that’s all the problems. Most of them aren’t game breaking, but are still pretty big for an online game, especially considering we are supposed to be paying for online soon. It kind of feels as if the developers never played an online game before.

Verdict

Overall, Splatoon 2 is a really good game with a lot of lost potential and bad design decisions. Aside from the new Salmon Run mode there isn’t really anything new aside from new maps and gear. Asking $60 for it is a little much, but the game is definitely worth getting even with its big flaws.

Splatoon 2 gets a 7/10 and a GOLD Czaros’ Seal of Approval (More about it in a separate post). The latter is based on the amount of fun I had with the game while the standard score is based on the quality of the game.

[stormcaster08-blog]

Song Lyric Pranking Austin

What to do, what to do...?

We all know those remarkable days we have, when you get so bored out of your mind that you think you'll go nuts? Yeah, well that's​ the situation I'm in at the moment. I've been here on the couch pondering what I could do. But nothing worthy has come to mind.

I mean, I could go to my sister's and my shared room where she's currently at. But she's no fun, not one bit. A party pooper at that. My brother... Nah! He is too busy playing on his Switch 24/7, to even spare me a glance. My siblings suck! Besides, getting to them requires much needed energy, it requires me to get off the couch and walk to them. Something I'm not about to do, I'm too lazy to get up. But enough about them, I've already tried watching TV, but after surfing every possible channel out there. Nothing catches my interest.

Picky, I know.

And the sad part of it all, is that it's barely 2 in the afternoon. Someone might as well kill me! I could call up a friend to do something, but the majority of them are like either working - and get off late - or they're busy with their lives. Wait a minute! There's some wrong with that sentence! Rereading the sentence, I soon noticed the mistake. I saw the problem instantly. 'Lives'? These morons, as much as myself, don't have a freaking life. At all! Okay, so I take back the part about them having lives to be busy with, they're probably taking naps.

About twenty minutes of sitting on the couch while munching on chips, I get the greatest idea ever.

"Of course! Why didn't I think of this sooner!" I grabbed my phone out from my pocket.

"Shut the fuck up, Gabby!!" Both of my siblings roared from the two different rooms they were in.

I shrunk down into my seat. "Sorry," I whispered. "But not sorry."

Regaining my confidence to open the messages app, I instantly search for Austin's contact. "Ah-ha!! Found you, my soon to be victim!"

"GABBY!! SHUT UP, I'M TRYING TO TAKE A NAP/TALK TO MY FRIENDS HERE!!!" The two cranky siblings boomed for another time.

"Then close the shucking doors or something, you shanks!!!" I had the tendency to use vocab from The Maze Runner at times. I'm such a loser in so many levels! But I embrace it fully!

"I WILL!!" Seriously!? What are these two, are they like capable of reading each other's minds or something? Whatever the case might've been, two doors slammed shut just right after. And if I had to guess, my sister might've put ear plugs in while my brother turned the volume up to it's full potential in there.

Okay, ignore them. They're just a bunch of meanies anyways. Concentrate. Focus on the task at hand.

After giving myself a much needed pep talk, I start to think of a song I could use on him. One he didn't really know the lyrics to.

Gabby: I'm tired of everything I called mine. I'm sick of trying to find a word that works.

A few minutes later my phone dinged, indicating that the brunette has responded.

Skittles Boy: Wait?

Skittles Boy: What's wrong?

Skittles Boy: Is everything okay?

I can tell I had already worried him, and it's only the beginning. I apologise man, but at the same time, not really. Cruel. I know that already, but this is payback for that time pranking me back in my sophomore year.

Gabby: And I'm so sick of watching the minutes pass by as I go nowhere.

Skittles Boy: Okay Lyric, you're really worrying me right now. You can talk to me, you know that right?

Skittles Boy: I mean what other reason would you have to message me? It's rare for you to do so.

It's true. I rarely go to him for things, only times I do is during emergencies. Emergencies that I couldn't afford to tell anyone to help me with. He's like my anchor during rough situations. Love him for that, but ya know, I need to be entertained at the moment. And his responses are just doing the trick.

Gabby: I got a ticket to another world.

Gabby: Some day I'm sure we'll pass each other by.

Skittles Boy: OH MY GOD GABBY!!!

Skittles Boy: Don't tell me... Oh god!

Skittles Boy: Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't do it!

"He's literally freaking out." My sister's voice called from behind me.

"GAH!!!" I jumped in my spot on the couch, my phone flying from my hands. Splat! My phone had made contact with the edge of the side table and onto the floor. "Where the hell did you come from!?"

"I've been here for like a few minutes to read the last few messages between the two of you," she shrugged as she handed me my phone.

Luckily my phone has a really good case that protects it from getting a cracked screen. Along with a screen protector. Otherwise I would have been more worried about my handheld device.

"Well you can't just come in here and snoop through my messages!" I pulled my phone to my chest. "Some older sister you are."

"Whatever." She sat herself on the opposite couch, "and I think you might want to respond to those texts, your phone is going crazy."

I only rolled my eyes at her before glancing at my screen. 37 new texts in less than ten minutes! My eyes must of widen in shock, because my sister then asked me, "what does it say?"

"I believe that Austin, Manny, and Lucas are on their way here." I slumped into my seat once more.

Veronica, only groaned. "I'm so glad, that I'm leaving at the moment. Please don't make a mess, I really don't want to face mom's wrath."

In that instant I realized she was dressed up. "Don't worry, if we do, I'll make them clean up." I leaned over, "and where's lover boy taking you to, on this fine day?"

"Eh, just out to eat and then maybe to watch a movie."

"Fun, fun,", I bobbed my head. "But don't have too much fun."

She was about to reply when she got a message indicating lover boy is outside. "I'm leaving, and remember what I said." She grabbed her purse and left.

Seconds later, my brother comes out dressed up as well. "Heading out for a COD tournament with the guys. I'll be back before ten!"

"Now wait one minute mister!" I sat up, "come here."

"What!?" He came into the living room and he seemed rather in a hurry. I swear this guy and his gaming. "As I'm the oldest one left in the house.. and you, the younger one, will have to inform me of your whereabouts."

"What is this.. an interrogation?"

"Yes!" I stood up from my seat and glanced up at my brother. He may be younger, but sadly he's taller. "So I would appreciate the names of those who you will be with, their numbers in case of emergencies, and the location you will be at."

"Fuck off!" He proceeded to exit the front door.

Oh no you don't! Using some strength on my toes, I leapt from my standing point and managed to successfully get on his back. "You won't be leaving until you tell me everything I demanded!"

With a good struggle and a couple of curse words, he finally gave in. Although it was forced, I had to admit, for being smaller and weaker than him, I put up a good fight. "There! You're so damn annoying!"

"But you know, you love me!!!" I yelled out to him as he left my line of vision. Without much to do until these idiots arrived, I decided to take a shower. After a short shower, jamming to All Time Low, and getting into some comfy clothes, I decided to head back to the couch.

"Ah yes," closing my eyelids shut, I snuggle into the pillows. "Might as we-"

"LYRIC!!!"

"AAAAHHHH!!!!"

Three males jumped on me. Crushing me underneath and blocking​ oxygen to my lungs. They instantly unattached themselves and began to make sure I was okay. That I hadn't done anything. It took much convincing that there was no fatal injury on me. Love them, but they can exaggerate.

"For the tenth time, I'm fine!"

"Then what's the meaning of the texts you sent me!?" Austin shoved his phone into my face. "You have some explaining to do!"

"Yeah!" Lucas and Manny interrupted, "because of this, we had to forfeit the Pokemon gym we were about to claim as ours!"

I roll my eyes. "It was a lyric prank. Those lines were from songs you dorks."

A chorus of 'ohs' erupted.

"Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to my nap."

The three looked at each other in a way that I hadn't ever seen them do.

"Hurry!" Manny picked me up and set me on his lap. Restraining my movements.

"How many did you take!?"

It all made sense now, they thought I had taken pills.

"None!"

"Looks like the hard way fellas."

And the next few minutes consisted of me running away from them and calling Hailey to back me up that those were indeed lyrics

[rhapsody-crossing]

S2: IYHO Tournament - A Reflection [Part 3]

PART 1 is here. PART 2 is here. This written series now has a tag #iyho series

7) Unexpected Champion of the Loser Bracket

If Ink Your Heart Out event is a anime, I would dedicate an episode or two to SST (Sotong Serba Tahu). Their captain, Riderman, used to be an active player but stopped due to university and life. Dinie is one of the rare badass female gamer who shows her skills with action instead of bragging. Jazmi was a skilled A ranker brush user (probably an S now). Three of them, along with a few others from the OC, were part of MAWS-- a team created for a SEA Tournament held on April. Malaysia did not do well on that tournament, but their bonds held strong and true. As such, Riderman’s return is equivalent of seeing a retired yet respectable general picking up his blade again and called his companions to arms for this upcoming war. They took in a newbie name Heraan as their fourth member.

SST lost to littleSOTONGS in the winners’ bracket, most likely due to the lack of coverage or connection issues. They tore through the loser bracket by defeating EPDS and INKvaders with a brilliant display of skill and team synergy that was almost touching to watch. It was unfortunate that they encountered an obstacle in the form of member disconnection, which led them to forego the match against Avengers...

On the other hand, Harapan’s experience was the opposite of SST. They encountered disconnect issues when battling Avengers in the normal bracket, which landed them on the loser’s bracket. Nevertheless, they powered through their opponents, beating Team 7, Gugu Team, Avengers and littleSOTONGS with a clean 2-0. It is also well noted that the teams they defeated contain at least one OC member, so my OC group chat was filled with awe and surprise of their skills and victory.

From surface, Harapan seemed ordinary: only their captain najmuddin and Afif were level 50s. syamin is in his late level 20s but is amazingly good at slaying. Rais was the last and latest addition, and he’s only ONE week into the game. We would later learn that captain najmuddin is actually part of the police force in real life. What happens when a police officer coins strategies in Splatoon 2? Apparently, it results lots of victory in a form of team synergy.

Harapan was like the black horse, the unexpected final boss. True to their namesake, waiting for them to start was akin to waiting for Malaysia’s GE14 votes to be tallied (their matches were delayed for an hour due to prayers, and was again further delayed due to connection issues). And yet, true to their namesake, they defeated almost everyone in the loser brackets much to everyone’s surprise.

If Avengers had won, we would expect a tough fight with some confidence that we could win. But Harapan threw every prediction out of the window, so the only way to find out who won was through the battle itself.

8) Finals - First Set

When the time came, Low was suffering from disconnect issues. As such, slap, louhai, Furi and I proceeded ahead.

It was terrible. I felt as if I was locked by their range. They were never alone, and the missiles kept coming. The whole match resulted in our first tournament loss:

Our team went on a state of panic. Everyone demanded for Low to come, poor connection be damned. Furi and Low were the pillars of slaying, so if both of them were on, everything should be okay, right?

What resulted was a close match but a loss: 

Harapan won.

9) Finals - Second Set

What almost everyone had forgotten is that this tournament runs on Double Elimination format, meaning everyone gets a second chance, also meaning Tofu team had one more attempt. NCY and I had to stop everyone from dispersing in order to proceed to the Final match.

However, Tofu took a hit in the morale: to louhai, Furi and Low were invincible, and he felt like the weakest link. He wanted to be subbed out so that slap could play and turf, but the four of us rejected that idiotic and paranoid notion (”because bby”, I wanted to tell him, “one does not turf with Dynamo”). For the past week, we have seen louhai worked hard, and we trusted louhai with our backs. If we were to compare to ink brush’s sneakiness and Dynamo’s AoE, we needed the former more. Even slap could see that.

(At that moment, I took an internal hit in my weapon choice and skills as well. I chose NZap to better support my teammates in turfing as well as to give louhai and slap the freedom (hah, pun unintended) and pressure to kill, but this comes with an exchange on my ability to aim and kill more efficiently. If I had stuck Tri-Slosher, would things have changed? If I had more practice on aiming, would we not have suffered those loss? If I had took ranked more seriously, could we have won...? 

Unbeknownst to my teammates, I was really conflicted, but louhai was freaking out, and that itself gave me the strength to be strong.) 

Except, we were unfortunate to have gotten Walleye Warehouse as our next map. Walleye Warehouse is a narrow place with tons of alleys and tight spots, and very little place to run. In short, it was a terrific place for Tenta Missiles and long range users. I tried to sneak, but my poor judgment and aim got myself killed. louhai managed to snuck past last minute, but it was too late:

The second match would be the decider. If Harapan won, they would be champion. If Tofu won, then we may have chance to win the overall tournament.

“S’ok let’s do our best.” was what I imparted. 

As if they took it literally, Low changed back to his main weapon Dapple Dualies Nouveau. Furi and louhai returned to their Octobrush Noveau and Inkbrush Nouveau roots respectively. If Nouveau is a real brand, they ought to sponsor us as their spokesperson. 

Moray Tower is one of the oldest maps, appearing in both Splatoon 1 and 2. It is an interesting map with two tall buildings with narrow paths and a rather tight middle. It is by no means as constricted as Walleye Warehouse, but it allows for a lot of ambushes and backdoor attacks, and with harder-to-aim Tentas. 

In a sense, the map was advantageous to us: Low charged forward as if he owned the territory, louhai followed behind and did what he does best-- sneaking and ambushing unsuspecting peeps, Furi was a mixture of defensive and aggressive play (while assisting me with Tenta), and I did what I usually do best a.k.a support (except with much more confidence as Moray Tower is a familiar territory). It also helped that one of my favourite songs, Riptide Rupture was playing, so I was especially pumped.

The middle was controlled well, with Low and louhai invading their tower and slaying most them. Harapan was thrown into a disarray as they were not able to charge their specials fast enough. All in all, we secured a victory in this one:

At long last, the final match. If everyone was sleepy beforehand, they were definitely awake after this match. Whoever wins this would be crowned champion. 

When Manta Maria was chosen, I was relief. The ship is spacious with plenty of place to climb. It will be hard to aim Tenta Missles in this one, but it will also be easier to charge them. it also allows a few opportunities for backdoor attacks, which Low and louhai could use.

With well wishes from the OC, and an encouragement threw to the team... we proceeded towards the final battle. 

Unlike other teams, Tofu Team did not do voice chat during matches. This was due to a majority of us using hotspots, and we wanted the connection to be fully utilised in our matches.

And yet, during the penultimate and final battle, it was as if there was an unspoken agreement between us. That Low and louhai would charge forward, that Furi would maintain a defensive position in the middle, that I would be entrusted in the turfing of our base.  

The final battle that felt as if all gears have connected, a continuous dance between us where everyone watched each other’s back. It was our unspoken synergy against their trained synergy. 

We pincered our enemies and got pincered in return. I aimed my Tentas at them, and was aimed in returned. We killed our teammates’ slayer and got slain in return; an endless cycle of reacting, splatting and turfing...  

Three minutes flew, we got our results:

West Mountain Tofu is the champion of Ink Your Heart Out Tournament!

P.S. Full recording of the both Final Sets can be seen here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/268577433

9) Overall Results

10) Aftermath

I woke up the next day with a huge migraine from the lack of sleep. I was also greeted by tons of positivity and congratulatory messages by others.

Yes, Tofu team received much congratulations, mostly thanks to the goodwill that louhai garnered with the community as well as my subtle connection with the OC.

Speaking of louhai, he made a HUGE heartfelt thank you Facebook post to the OCs and quickly befriended every other players on Switch. This man has continued to form connections and hone his skills in hopes to become a role model for the players of his state. He has big dreams for Johor community, so I doubt he would stay as a Tofu... Or perhaps he would make a Tofu Team version 2? Regardless of his choice, I wish him best of luck, as it may be a little hard to get us “past champions” together.

For one, slap is not a dedicated player. He has moved on to Detroit: Become Human as soon as the tournament ended.

Secondly, it would be difficult for Low to join due to some complications.

With Low gone, and the fact that the OC actually needed more assistance, I would like to focus more on assisting in the development of Splatoon 2 Community and its events.

On the other hand, Furi was in for a long haul. louhai’s heartfelt post made her admitted that she had been a solo bird in Splatoon 2, that she was so close to quitting yet decided to give the tournament a try. She was tremendously glad to have found us, and we were tremendously glad to have adopted her. It was without a doubt that Tofu team was happy to have her, that I was happy to have gained a friend in her! The fact that her workplace is 10 minutes away from my house means meeting up with her is relatively easy, heck, we actually met up for dinner that Sunday evening to celebrate our victory.

The group chat for Western Mountain Tofu remains for a more Spla2n-centric discussion, group-play invitations and Salmon Run hostings. 

On a final note, I made a plea on the rewards towards the OC-- as all five of us had done battle, everyone in the team deserved a prize, so could the OC kindly request an additional eshop card from the sponsor...?

The request was approved by the sponsors, and our Splatoon 2 life continued oh-so-peacefully.

END