hi hi i was about to go to bed but i started thinking about chibi luke in the new lounge and
this specifically makes me think luke would have been a marine biologist.
like early on in the game we know that luke is actually pretty good at swimming. take lost gold, at the end of the event luke is diving down into a cave to retrieve the mask,, almost as if someone had been trained to retrieve samples from the ocean floor, huh luke??
'but sam', i hear you say, 'u could argue that artem knows how to swim, would that make him also a candidate for this theory?' and to that dear reader i say no, not really. cuz surface level swimming like artem does would be wildly different than diving super deep with an oxygen tank. and then there's also luke in his new anni summer outfit. he has a snorkel and some goggles. u know what those are good for? observing the ocean.
i'm also gonna go out on a limb and say that he was entirely passionate about marine biology if he chose to write about the pea crab, which a quick google search will tell you is a parasite. this man was in deep and it's so cute.
anyway it also got me thinking of how luke is good with animals (re: peanut, peter pearce, ban ban), not as innately good as disney princes vyn, but up there. and i think you need to at least know what animals you're working with as a marine biologist,right? you have to make sure they're relaxed and you don't hurt them while taking samples and measurements. it then spiraled into thinking that because luke always wanted to be a hero, he could have wanted to be a marine biologist with a specialty in the conservation of species. and honestly? it checks out. why? because of animal testing or unethically acquired ingredients that could mess up the ecosystems of animals.
'sam,' i hear you say, 'what the fuck where did that come from'. and to you dear reader i say think about it. the nxx drug has human trials and one of the cases, specifically the one luke was in charge of in episode 5, had pollution of water that genetically altered the fish in the river.
so, in his great selflessness (or his martyr complex) luke left behind his passion of marine biology to enlist in the nsb after he found out stuff during his research so he could protect both the people of the world and also it's animals. and if that ain't the most luke pearce thing he could do idk what is.
Parallel theory? I'm listening, go on ahead and ramble :D
hECK YEAH IM GONNA RAMBLE!!!!!
Okay so I noticed this pattern where we as a fandom tend to group the bois into groups of two in different combinations. It seemed really interesting to me and I started to pay attention to the combinations and why people did them. Then I started to pick up on a pattern that later became the Parallel Theory! So without further ado:
Parallel Theory: All Good Things Come in Pairs
(~800 words)
When you look closely, you find two main patterns in terms of characterizations and/or facts.
If one thing applies to one protagonist, it applies to all (ex: they’re all into doing a type of sport, they’re into charity work…)
If one thing applies to one protagonist, it applies to one other (in varying degrees) while being false for the remaining two boys
The Parallel Theory (bc they’re like parallel lines, two different lines that never meet opposite of each other) is the second bullet point that, in my opinion, keeps getting proved time and time again. It applies to both their characters and, interestingly enough, sometimes their clothing. I’ll give three examples that each increase in specificity.
EXAMPLE 1: Watches (Permutation 2)
In each of the standard outfits, both Artem and Vyn wear watches. Inversely, Luke and Marius don’t. This is something that can change because it’s aesthetic, and it has. Marius wears a watch in his Suit Outfit and Luke wears one in his RRG outfit. But in terms of when we were first introduced, there is one pair that regularly wears watches, and one that does not.
EXAMPLE 2: Harrowing Past (Permutation 3)
Now let’s get a little more specific. Thinking about the past of the NXX, we have two members that we… really don’t know much about. Luke and Vyn’s past are shrouded in mysteries. Luke spent 8 years away from Stellis and aside from the little tidbits he lets himself share, we know nothing. And even then sometimes you have to weasel it out of him because he’s just that much of a closed book about it. Similarly, we don’t know much about Vyn’s past in Svart until he tells us. I haven’t really looked at his 3rd birthday card, so I don’t know how much he reveals, but he’s also a closed book regarding his past. Artem and Marius aren’t so much. We know much more specific events about Marius’ life because he’s been in the public eye for longer and is happy to share. Artem (and his mom LMAO) are also happy to share their past and are a lot more open about it.
(There’s also a sub-point to this that’s pretty shitty but,,,I mean I’m right. Artem and Vyn both have their full set of biological parents while Luke and Marius don’t,,, I’m sorry)
EXAMPLE 3: Reluctant Heir to the Throne (Permutation 1)
Segwaying a bit on Vyn’s past, from what we do know is that he’s the son of a duke. It’s not a spoiler anymore since his 2nd birthday card’s whole plot is about this. Anyway, that stands to reason that he is next in line for that particular title should his father pass away (or abdicate… idk maybe he wants to find love again). But we know that Vyn doesn’t want that life, we know that Vyn hates the hypocrisy and stuff back in Svart. Marius’s throne isn’t much of an actual throne, but the position of CEO. We know that the only reason he even is CEO is because Giann is missing. He’s implied he doesn't want the position and is ready to bounce the second that Giann is back. Artem and Luke don’t have that, they had to work for what they had now and very much wanted their positions.
There’s obviously more things (such as Luke and Vyn wearing 3 layers in their sprites, Marius and Artem’s secret identities, Artem and Vyn being guest lectures at Stellis U) but I just wanted to highlight that this theory applies to all combinations of protagonists. It's also the type of thing that when you look at it, it’s hard to ignore.
It also makes theorizing/headcanon-ing super duper helpful. So, back to last night’s thought and following the parallel theory: if Marius has piercings, there’s a non-zero percent chance that one of the NXX members also has piercings. Artem, in 6.2, recounts that he’s worn earrings to costume parties before but made no remark about if they were clip-ons or not. There’s still a chance they are, but there’s a non-zero chance that they’re not. It could be that he’s let them close but it still counts because he, at one point, had the piercings.
Obviously, the theory doesn’t apply in certain instances but 8 times out of 10 there's a chance that it does if you look close enough.
And yeah! That's the Parallel Theory!
also nonnie that's so pure and cute, we love experimenting in this household. actually, it reminds me of this guy on tiktok who rolls dice and has a numbered list of ingredients that he then takes and makes into a sandwich. it's called roll for sandwich and its so interesting!!! i think you'd enjoy it nonnie!
Thank you for asking Galena and nonnie ily! (platonically ofc)
Hi Sam! (｡･♡･｡) hope your doing very well! Cause im not hahah ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ im doing some very tedious work here, i feel like my feet are gonna explde hahhaaha Do you have a theory/interpretation on tot's prologue or have u already talked about that? Always here waiting 4 watever fic u write!♡ have a good day!
CUTE NONNIE HELLO!!! im sorry you're having a bad day hopefully this'll make it better! because holy shit you got me hella thinking about the prologue. honestly i've done stuff alluding to things in the prologue like how i thought vyn could've been the most likely candidate to betray the nxx (which, honestly, i also need to revisit bc i don't think so anymore) or maybe in the theory chain relating to artem, but i haven't properly introduced my ideas in a singular post. and now that it's been a year, let's dive back into theory city, shall we? i, for one, haven't thought about the prologue in ages so i am so ready to revisit that. put on your tinfoil hats, cuz here we go!
sam's prologue theory extravaganza
1.2k words
okay so the first thing we see is Rosa. they are your stand-in for this universe, the person you control. there's this chime we hear at the beginning when the camera zooms in which i'm attributing to entering a state of hypnosis. because that's what's happening IMO, rosa is in a hypnotic state. u know how some hypnotists go 'now sleep' and snap their fingers? that's what that little chime is to me, a kind of trigger that makes rosa fall asleep.
the first person we encounter is luke who is surrounded by the fog and shadows. this is literally so indicative of what's happening with rosa, especially in this event current event (entwining hearts). this is a person rosa knows but because 8 years have passed, do they truly know who he is? luke, being hidden in the shadows, represents that duality of 'i know you, but do i?'. luke drops his key once he disappears with the ravens (which, you know, ravens are omens of death but also of wisdom). this key is incredibly important to him as it opens a box of treasured memories he has. i don't know if i recall this correctly but didn't rosa give him the box (and by proxy the key?) either way, rosa opens the key at our choice (but is it really a choice when it's the only option?) this segues to the next male lead and then to the next, but let's take a detour to what vyn says at the end when he was holding luke's key.
"The key to the chest of memories... Did you see the answer inside? Was it what you wanted?"
in the end of his chapter 4 we actually do see (or, well, read) what was inside of his chest. and it was right, it did hold memories. so why is he pointing this out to us? here's my (new) interpretation of this.
each male lead represents something within the hypnotic state. luke, obviously, is memory. marius is the image you give to society (or the mask), artem is career, and vyn is the self. why is vyn the self?
think about the standard types of hypnosis for a second. there are two ways to take you out of a hypnotic trance: the hypnotist slowly rouses you out of your state of hypnosis or you get the classic 'wake up' with a snap. what i'm arguing is that rosa, when they wake up, wasn't really out of the hypnotic trance. this is purely my own experience with hypnotism (yes, i have been hypnotized before) but i wasn't... that receptive to it. i 'woke up' mid-session and kinda just walked off stage.
but here's why i'm saying this: vyn may have put them into an inception-esque hypnotic trance. some people just have a natural resistance to this, so why not go deeper and deeper until there's no way you can resist to it? it would explain why vyn knew about the chest and was able to materialize it, same with the other mementos the rest of the male leads had. its why we don't hear another chime as rosa wakes up, and why they're being hypnotized again. but why is vyn the self? because vyn is known to analyze situations. in this case, vyn is the representation of analyzing rosa and their attachments.
now, let's move on to another male lead: marius. marius' whole thing is about painting rosa as he sees them. i couldn't really,,, find what flower rosa is holding in the painting but i'm going to go on a limb and say that they're lilac bushes. lilac bushes represent spring and renewal, which seems about right as marius sees rosa as something new and, frankly, refreshing. he doesn't have to hide his 'true' nature around them, he can just be himself. but why the change to the crying picture?
i dont think that you have to interpret this literally, as like luke's introduction. i think that the painting, as much as it represents rosa, it also represents marius. you have to peel back into the layers in order to get to the trauma/the thing people don't want you to see.
"Using a painting to conceal the truth? Perhaps you can fool the eyes, but not the heart."
honestly, you can kind of see this in marius' personal story 4 with the cautionary tale marius' uncle. the guy tried to shield his wife from the public because he truly loved her. in the end, marius followed his heart even tho he tried to contain the truth.
artem's is... one i really like for theory stuff, mostly because of the graveyard. if we keep following the pattern, artem's gravestone isn't really in regards to a person, but rather a thing. i honestly think this one is about the fears of losing a case, or maybe the career rosa has tried so hard to obtain. it's also very linked to artem's second story and beyond. artem, in the beginning, and overall as a character, is a very rigid person. he's a very black and white person, right? that's why the balance fits him so well as a character, his whole shtic is learning how to be in the grey. no one is truly black or white, you know? but it also ties into his indecisiveness regarding rosa in the entirety of the year before he confessed. in his phone call before anni he's like 'i don't wanna live without regrets', tying back to the what-ifs and how in that instance, that was a moment where he had to choose. the flowers themselves represent abundance, elegance, and royalty, but focusing on abundance here. if the flowers that represent abundance are left in a grave, what does it mean?
"Ironic, is it not? Adhering to your convictions but betraying your heart... In the end, it was all for naught,"
in the end, it means indecision leading to regret. something happened that rosa now regrets, and we know that happens too in episode 6.3, who's to say something similar in regards to a case that hasn't happened?
and then... vyn also analyzes himself, why he is there.
"Even if the world were against you... Would you still stand by your choice?"
honestly i think vyn's is the simplest to explain: do you trust yourself? because vyn represents the self and reflection of actions, he is able to pinpoint and ask questions about the things he is able to materialize. vyn is there to ask 'why do i feel the way i do'?
tl;dr and as a recap to yall at home:
rosa is in an inception-like hypnotic state
each boy represents a part of herself
marius represents the way people perceive rosa
luke represents the memories that make rosa... rosa
artem represents career and opposing forces
vyn represents the self and analyzes all the boys + HIMSELF
now, that's just what i can gather through the video itself. if i want to start going into why rosa is in this state, that's a whole other post if yall want it. i do have theories for that! they have to deal with repressed memories and stuff, possible betrayal, and other stuff that involves theorizing about the future of the main story :D
i wanna talk about artem's R card for rrg can i talk about artem's R card for rrg? i'm gonna talk about artem's R card for rrg
this is more of a quick lil theory but!
we can narrow down artem's taste for ice cream (bc mc had to have asked for one ice cream, maybe) and artem either like strawberry or vanilla ice cream (or it could be butter pecan or any vanilla based flavor)
but we can narrow it FURTHER bc take a look at these two pictures. notice that one ice cream didn't undergo an almost drop from artem. the strawberry one. that's bc that one is for mc. not only is he holding it on his right hand (bc you give people stuff with the right hand most of the time assuming he's right handed or favoring his right hand) but bc he doesn't let anything happen to that ice cream. we know that he'd rather keep stuff for mc safe than his own stuff
oohhh i'd love to hear more about your "giann is a filthy mastermind" theory only if you'd like to elaborate on it, of course! (also, this might have been sent to you at a very random time, since timezones and everything. if i've caused any inconveniences, i apologize)
oH HELL YEAH YOU UNLEASHED A BEAST NONNIE JBVJBFV its not an inconvenience at all!! im happy to ramble!!
now, i'm p sure most of this will be proven false by the game, but nothing bad ever comes out of a theory! :D
without further ado:
giann is a mastermind: a theory on giann's disappearance
wc: 550
so, uh, i have lots of theories regarding what goes on in the nxx, but one thing that got me thinking was 'why did they come up with that narrative for pax?' you know, how pax is saying giann is on vacation? but wouldn't it had made sense if they shared his disappearance with the world regardless of public opinion? why are they hiding him? which is obviously explained with 'the nxx is a secret project and bc his disappearance could have something to do with it, they have to keep him being gone on the down-low.' but how did he get in/create the nxx in the first place?
so that's the basis of this theory, the idea of giann creating an organization so secret that his literal disappearance wasn't outed to the public. with that, i'd like to focus on gianns disappearance itself.
it said that giann got an email (that was later deleted and no trace was found), went out without his security or a tracker that he had just in case, and then was never seen after that. how does that make any sense? i'm assuming the GPS giann has is physical and has to be with him at all times, like maybe in his car keys or something, so him leaving the GPS behind is very suspicious. the email is also suspicious, not bc he could have deleted it himself but bc at that point I'm assuming medilla had something to do with it. we know medilla died before the events of sotn or while the events were taking place at the latest, so it could be that gainn just,,, asked medilla to make a fake email and he could, essentially, fake his disappearance.
'but sam,' i hear you ask, 'why would he fake his disappearance?' oh well there's tons of reasons! but the main one is that he was being targeted or, like chess pieces, needed to be taken off the board as a sacrifice play. only without dying bc giann seems like the type of person to value his life lmaoo.
'and where would he be hiding?' i hear you counter. tell me, what is a building we know giann owns and is on pretty good terms with the co-owner of the establishment? you know, a building with his name on it that no one would think to check. the giannovyn research center. we know from certain aspects of the story that vyn was the first nxx member aside from neil to work with giann. we also know that the research center does house patients (re vyn's ssr near and far) and some patients can be very hostile that they can only be treated by vyn himself. vyn could just,, fake paperwork and giann could fake selective muteness (add in wigs and like,, let him grow and dye a beard) and he could look like someone completely new. more importantly, its a place with constant surveillance, so it's safe.
and yeah. giann could be hiding there bc he needs to get off the radar for some reason, and he has the mind to do so since no one really new about medilla and he's always one step ahead of the competition. but that's all just a theory! :D
Luke Pearce, Finance and Technology Expert sent by the NSB to the NXX, code name Raven. nothing out of place there, right? WRONG. the finance part of that title is fishy fishy and i’m gonna deep deep dive into what i think that singular title implies for the rest of the game going forward. take a seat and kick up your feet, its time to go.
hello internet, welcome to game theory the show-- lmaoo jk hi! its me again back at it. but today we put on the tinfoil hat and read into something that was probably a translation error but at the same time could have been intentional and what that means for the game itself.
luke, when he introduced himself to the nxx, said he was part of the finance and technology division of the nxx. though we know through his lil davis blurb that he has a masters in bioengineering. also, given his training, we know that he has the capabilities and skill sets to be a field operative. what kind of training is required for financial crimes? the actual apprehension of those committing crimes gets rallied off to other departments. why the hell would they do that? because they had to get someone from the government into the nxx without rousing suspicion.
thats right folks, im presenting you with this theory: lucas pearce may be a nsb mole for the nxx. let me walk you though this theory.
for one, we know some of luke’s skill set though the shit he’s done in events such as sotn, lost gold, and hell skadi too. let’s list them out
has gone undercover for missions and information recon (alluring gaze, a star in the palm)
has diving experience (lost gold)
uncanny strength (sotn)
hacking prowess (main story 5, sotn)
astute analytical skills linked to detective work and able to identify chemical compounds (skadi, main story 1)
some of these skills can be attributed to training with the nsb and his own prowess, especially with the chemical compounds since we know he has a masters in bioengineering. but not once in his skillset does he have anything relating to finance. so, what gives, luke?
see, luke is no stranger to lying to other people or reading people so he can get the information he needs. its brief, but we do see him actually lie to the whole of the nxx in lost gold. its more lying through omission but he does say he has ‘work to do’ but he doesn't say that he was sent by the nsb to do so up until the end of the trip. hell, he popped some joints from a guy in lost gold to get his info. see, this makes me think luke is more of a information gathering agent. in a star in the palm he couldn’t really lie to rosa (as a weakness) but he tried. he tried denying that he had been in stellis before they reunited. thats what makes luke a ruthless agent, he’s willing to do a lot to get to his objectives. we know he does engage in combat (re his 2nd birthday art, i haven't read it) and it would be wise for the one gathering info to be trained to fight and be deadly, right?
but okay, if luke is a mole, what’s the point? what does the nsb want? because we know for sure that luke was assigned through the nsb (i think the last part of chapter 4 alludes to this where aaron gives luke his assignment.) so we know that the nsb is the puppetmaster to luke’s puppet, right? is luke even aware that he’s a mole?
i can answer one of the questions, but the rest have two different possibilities. the first one is what the nsb wants. they want information on the nxx drug and when they find the samples of it. we know through the tidbits given to us that the nxx was created out of sampled from flora x, which has some type of gene repairing properties even though it caused a pandemic and the drug itself has effects on the body’s hormone production that can ultimately lead to someone’s death. the samples used to create this drug were supposedly destroyed, but we know that’s not the case. i think the nsb wants whatever they can get their hands on (the drug, the samples) so that they can start their own research when it comes the gene repairing properties. the properties flora x, and by proxy the nxx drug, have can essentially provide the nsb with a hail mary- a way to keep agents for longer.
with the nxx group going around and sticking their metaphorical noses into the blunt of these cases, its safe to assume that the nsb wants to be kept informed about whats going on and their progress regarding how close they are to closing herrison down. all so they can swoop in and start where herrison left off. but what’s their end goal? i don’t know, actually. i’m going off on global server knowledge (and a bit on cn server, but we get parts 1&2 on chapter six soon so i don’t think it’ll matter anyway) there’s no real indication of the nsb end goal. we don’t see luke reporting back, we don’t see him communicating with aaron about this.
next question: does luke pearce know he might be a mole for the nsb? this one i don’t have much of an answer to, but i can give you my opinions on both.
i think the most probable one is that he does know he’s a mole. one thing that clues me in on this is that luke does an alarming amount of undercover work, or at the very least is comfortable with undercover work. i know i mentioned this before but luke has no qualms about lying to people if it means getting information from others. and then theres alluring gaze and a star in the palm themselves where luke has gone undercover to find out information. it would make sense for him to be aware that he is a mole. that would technically explain his reaction when it came to mc being in the nxx. when he found out about them being in the organization his first reaction was to ask them to leave because it could be dangerous. i believe that luke wanted to shield mc from any of the things he has to do in order to get all the information and dip. it would also make sense for luke to know and come up with his own cover. in alluring gaze we know that luke is shit at coming up with names for his undercover-sona, who says thats where it stops? the finance thing could have been his idea.
theres also the other school of thought- that he doesn’t know he’s a mole and that he genuinely thought he was there to help. this makes sense with luke’s personality itself. luke often sees himself as someone who is not worth it and, to be frank, a bit disposable at times. this sentiment has to be a product of his surroundings, both growing up and his time at the nsb. for him to be used as a puppet for the nsb makes sense.
there’s also a bit where luke’s sickness comes into play: a theory i have is the nxx drug/exposure to flora x caused the illness he faces, and the nsb is holding that over his head. if he’s aware that he’s a mole, he could be dong it because the nsb offered to save him using their research on flora z/the drug. if he isn’t aware that he’s a mole, he could be motivated to do this particular mission because it deals with the thing that made him ill.
but what does that mean for the rest of the story? what’s the point? as of right now, there isn’t one. this is just a rabbit hole, but if you stick with me for a bit i can tell you my last theory: luke is meant to go rogue from the nsb regardless if he knows he’s a mole or not.
see, mhy has been doing things lately that deal with AUs a lot, and i think its more to test where the stories could be headed. and i think that one of those ‘ideas’ they’re testing is luke going rouge. we know from the ancient china and ancient egypt cards (that i have only the vaugest understanding of, i don’t really like spoiling things for myself) is that luke is a mercenary that somehow turns on the government, or at least has some disdain for the government. so, what can the government (nsb) do to luke to make him go rogue? simple, withhold the cure to his illness or withhold information from him. if he’s aware he’s a mole, all they have to do to get on his bad side would be not tell him what they’re doing with the drug and not giving him the cure. same for if he doesn’t know, only with the additional revelation that he’s been the mole the whole time.
but yeah. that’s how one simple title can lead you through the rabbit hole that is theoryland. thanks for reading! :D (yall can send me asks about this if you have thoughts about this too!! :DD)
also, big inspiration from this came from the theory chain i had with lukepearcing, if you wanna read that you can do so here!
i was about to fall asleep but i was making up scenarios™️ and i was thinking about how to make vyn and celestine meet (coming soon to a theater near you) and i was like 'why wouldn't vyn go to rosa or artem for legal council' and it hit me
conflict of interest
that's why von hagen didn't get artem to represent him. at the time mc wasn't in the nxx, so he could ask them to be their lawyer but couldn't get artem because they were part of the same organization.
it's a conflict of interest to artem because they're in the same organization but also marius and artem have it out for each other (in terms of thinking their lost person betrayed the nxx) and while i'm sure artem could separate the personal from business, it'd still count.
