#sheldon.pdf

Let’s talk about these framed photographs in Ammo Knights.

In Splatoon, there’s a photo of Ammoses on the wall of Sheldon’s shop- a very old, sepia-tone personal photograph of his grandfather. Vintage. One of the few things decorating his shop, which otherwise resembles a dank basement, detached from his peers and shoved into a corner. Sheldon speaks very highly of his grandfather, with a lot of tones of reverence in his reminiscing.

Ammo Knights is given significantly more character, color, and stock in Splatoon 2. His store is notably much more high-end, with significantly more funds to pour into it. He’s undergone a notable burst in confidence, and while he suspiciously does not mention Ammoses at all during any of his speeches, and even taking credit for weaponry his grandfather had designed- unheard of behavior, in comparison to the first game- that personal photo remains, though nearly out of frame. It’s in color now. Modernized. Less of a distant memory.

Now, in Splatoon 3, Ammo Knights is as full and gorgeous as it could possibly be, a far cry from his shop in Inkopolis Plaza, and even Inkopolis Square. The Squid Research Lab notes that he’s a respected member of the community here in Splatsville, also a far cry from how he was treated in Splatoon and Splatoon 2. The photo has been replaced, interestingly, with what appears to be a monochrome newspaper clipping, Ammoses barely in frame. Impersonal. Article date unknown, but it’s impossible to argue that there’s a stark difference in tone between a lovingly framed family portrait, and the documentation of a historical figure.

secondly you have totally opened my eyes to marie. she was never my favorite and i could never put my finger on why i didn't like her- your posts about how mean and hostile she is to callie (not to mention the casual octo racism, guess she kinda takes after cuttlefish there if im remembering OE dialogue correctly) really made it set in. callie deserves SO much better good lord

Oh, hi!! Thank you so much, I’m glad you’re enjoying your time here so far!!

It’s my pleasure!! Sheldon has been my absolute favorite character since the first game, and my love for him has not relented once!! What sucks the most about him being so violently hated during the first game is that that was textually a pretty low point for him mentally… The first step to really liking him is realizing that he’s a bit of a mess. His self esteem was pretty low at the time, and he was very much so a social outcast- made distant from his peers and lacking any friends or seemingly any real comfort outside of his interests. He was just as disliked in universe as he was out of universe, it seems. It’s really saddening… He literally didn’t do anything wrong other than be autistic as fuck, I guess. :/

And, with Marie… Yeah. She’s not a very pleasant person. Between her being mean to an uncalled for extent to Callie on Live TV, to her ego, to her extreme racism, and just being kind of a freak unprovoked to a 16 year old… I can’t say I’m fond of her! She’s an interesting character, but she’s undeniably a Vriska to me. She has done so many things wrong.

Was prodding around Google trying to figure out the roots for some specific quirks in Sheldon’s speech in the Japanese versions of the Splatoon series, only to be greeted with a top result being a native speaker asking the same question regarding real people they have encountered, and the top response opening with something to the effect of “Are you from the fucking Edo period?”

Oh, if I were to share all of my thoughts on him right now, we'd be here for hours. Fitting!! I'll provide a nice little overview, though, just to sloppily cover the main bases.

Sheldon is a very positive, very energetic, and very chatty guy who wants nothing more than to share his passions with people. Though he is relentlessly mocked and disliked for this rather openly- apparently being from a very well respected family does not make you at all immune to bullying- it doesn't seem to particularly deter him... At least not on screen, anyway. Nothing seems to deter him from both sharing and relentlessly pursuing his interests, not even the fact that that same relentless pursuit lead him to becoming legally blind, and thus was the direct cause of him being rejected from the actual military.

Canonically described as a "Military Otaku" who has had an incredibly intense fixation on weaponry since he was a small child, his penchant for gathering any and all information even slightly adjacent to his interests and absolutely burying his entire life and self in it has led him to be a little socially awkward and stuck in the past, with this trait being highlighted best in Splatoon's first entry in its series. At the time, he was openly lacking in self esteem, and quite loudly idolized his grandfather, Ammoses Shellendorf, to the point where he wore a near exact replica to the Squidbeak Splatoon's uniform, most likely in an attempt to "live up to his image."

Over the course of the current trilogy, he's built up a lot of confidence in himself and his craft, gained quite a lot of power and respect, and has seemingly gotten over his reverent feeling towards Ammoses. He's definitely, undeniably grown a lot since the first game, with this being reflected not only in his speech, his surroundings, and his appearance, but also in the progression in his shop themes- a note I've never seen anyone really point out, but one very much so worth making. Then again, there just generally aren't many people paying much attention to him... I cannot fathom why.