#tkatb theory

[playerprincess]

Why the Sol Soulmate Theory SUCKS

I‘m kidding (sorta), this is clickbait.

But let’s actually talk about it!

Disclaimer: This is no hate to the people that came up with the Soulmate theory, it is in fact a very good theory! The title is really just clickbait and I thought it was funny. English isn’t my first language, but I tried to explain everything well. If something is hard to understand just ask and I‘ll try to explain it differently. Contains spoilers for the tkatb game.

For those of you who don’t know the theory: It‘s kind of hard to pinpoint the exact post everybody is talking about since there’s more than one, but if you want to get a feeling for what it‘s about I‘d recommend reading this or this.

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"Well, if the theory doesn’t suck, then what even is your problem??"

While the theory in itself doesn’t suck, I do have a few issues that I would like to go over just in case anybody feels the same way. There is a lot of indications that this theory is true (see the links above for more), and obviously if something is hinted at this much there will be some truth stuck to it.

I personally feel like the theory that MC and Sol are actually soulmate kind of defeats the purpose that Sol is supposed to be a delusional Yandere. It gives him an actual "reason" to obsess over MC, because in the grand scheme of the universe, MC is actually connected to him in a way. The soulmate troupe is generally used for romance after all, wich kind of goes against what the visual novel is supposed to be.

I enjoy Sol‘s character as much as the next person, but from what I‘ve gathered from fantasia-kitt and the information that were given, tkatb is not a dating sim, but rather a horror visual novel. At least that’s how Fantasia wants us to see the game as. And again, while I believe the theory in itself fits into the story perfectly fine, I think fantasia didn’t really intend for it to be taken the way that it is.

"My game is not a romance game, it's a thriller/horror game." - Fantasia

When I first played it, I only had the free version downloaded. After enjoying the story however, I decided to go back and pay for the additional nsfw version (for educational purposes of course ;) ), and I feel like the games’ horror aspect shines through so much more because of those few added scenes. Obviously part of me enjoyed the spice, I‘m not going to sit here and lie in your faces, but the information that was added with this specific version also helped me see Sol in the way fantasia initially intended us to; a fucking weirdo.

Take the highly controversial infamous 🍇 scene for example. Of course it’s already weird enough that he breaks into MCs house and drugs them in the sfw version, but to me it really conveyed the type of yandere Sol happens to be. The lengths he is willing to go to satiate his delusions, how deranged and mentally unwell this guy actually is. People tend to forget that yanderes aren’t only obsessed jealous people, and I think fantasia did a fine job at conveying that. Sol is in fact not a good person.

What does this have to do with the soulmate theory?

Like I said before, Sol is highly delusional. And not in a "I‘m so delulu I‘m just a guy" way, but he is actually delusional enough the believe that MC is in fact his soulmate.

You know how people for example take everything as a "sign" that something is supposed to happen? Like when you see your initials next to the person you like in a TikTok post and think "damn, this can’t be a coincidence", or when a horoscope gives you advice that perhaps fits your current situation perfectly well. Those are delusions. You’re being delusional.

Sol is obsessed with the MC to a degree he actually believes that they must’ve been together in every lifetime. That just has to be it, there’s no other possible way. But MC knows nothing about this guy. They didn’t even realize they shared a class together. Sol stalks MC probably every day, drugs them, and sneaks into their house to live out his weird ass fantasies for a reason we don’t yet know. He‘s deluded himself to a point that he actually thinks that it’s fate, that it must be destined by the universe.

Fantasia says themselves that Sol is narrow minded and deranged. We know he’s a virgin with no former experience in romance and dating. Perhaps he’s never even had a crush before. Maybe his first reaction to all these new feelings that he doesn’t understand is that this must be sent by the universe. The pull he feels towards MC must be something out of this world, it can’t just be normal romantic attraction. I mean, he asks Hyugo to kill him after MC dies in ending 1, this guy is absolutely fixated on the MC to a point where it’s just plain psychotic.

I‘d also argue that Sol‘s feelings towards MC can be described as "Love", but we won’t get into that now.

"The yandere is not in love with you, they lust after you, they are delusional enough to believe that what they feel is genuine love when in fact, love like that is never real nor to be accept in the first place. You should feel repulsed by their actions." - Fantasia

And while he does feel all these strong feelings, he can’t even explain why he views them as a savior/angel. He might be MC‘s stalker, but he doesn’t truly know them. He just idolizes them.

"[…] that I finally got to write down what he is capable of, that he is irredeemable and having Crowe as his source of hatred just because he is close to the MC shows his narow-mindedness, he is sick in the head. Sol is not mild, he is on the EXTREME level of yandere, he is DERANGED and I will keep writing him like that." -Fantasia

"The way Sol sees MC is special, he sees them no one else can, just like a lover would. A lover would see their significant other that other people don't understand." -Fantasia

The soulmate theory is good. But I feel like because it is so good it would be so much better if it wasn’t actually true (or if it had some sort of twist to it). Everything aligns perfectly. Sol used to be the executioner in a past life and couldn’t be with the MC, so naturally he’d try everything to get them to love him in this life right? Except there is no past life. Sometimes coincidences line up so perfectly that we actually believe that there’s value behind it, a greater meaning. The bruise on his neck, his tendency for violence, it just has to mean something right?! Maybe he can make MC see, make them realize that yes, Sol is absolutely right with his Soulmate theory, they’re meant to be!

"He says that you're the one even though you've only met him once." - Fantasia

It feels like such a perfect theory to make the MC believe that they’re really destined to be together by the universe. The perfect theory to manipulate a naive person into thinking that their hearts beat as one, that their Soulstrings are carefully tied together by fate‘s own hands. Except they’re not. It’s all made up. A well conducted story to lure MC in and make them believe they’re his.

It’s easy to slip into the "Oh, but we’re actually soulmates so he can’t really help it" in my opinion, so I‘m not really fond of this theory. MC is just a normal person. They’re not special, not tied to him in any way. He just let’s himself believe it. And he wants you to believe it too.

"[…] I don't want people to excuse Sol, I don't want people to develop an unhealthy relationship and idea with a yandere." - Fantasia

"You could already tell he's trying to charm you (and its working) to get you to trust him so he can do all the nasty stuff. […] Not only he got to fool the MC but YOU, the player, as well." - Fantasia

Maybe I‘m just biased since I don’t particularly enjoy the amnesia and/or reincarnation trope very much, I feel like it has a lot of potential that never gets fleshed out in a satisfying way. In the case of tkatb, I think I wouldn’t really enjoy the reveal of it if it were the case. But at the end of the day fantasia can do whatever they want with it (as they should), and if that’s the course they want to take then that’s perfectly fine.

What kind of stops me from having a strong opinion is that we don’t really know what Fantasia’s understanding of Soulmates is. Maybe they have a special way of viewing the trope, maybe they don’t even believe in it at all privately! Some people for example think soulmates are always romantic, while others think they can be platonic as well. How do they categorize its meaning? Does their personal opinion influence their story?

But that’s just my opinion. It’s totally fine if you have a different theory or if you don’t agree, it’s just a game after all!

I think the idea that they’re soulmates in itself isn’t bad. It could be a device to show the player that even tho there is a soul connection, it doesn’t justify Sol‘s behavior and he’s taking it way too far. And if the reincarnation theory is true, maybe Crowe could be our true soulmate. He serves as a direct counterpart to Sol after all, so why not? Sol says "It‘s always him", in regards to what he thinks about Crowe. Maybe he’s trying to convince himself that it’s not Crowe who is MC‘s soulmate, but him instead. Because in his mind, that makes much more sense.

Conclusion

I think that the theory in itself works in the world of tkatb, however I feel like the issue lies more in the way that people receive it. It gives the player a reason to sympathize with Sol, after all he "just wants to be with his Soulmate", right? But I think Fantasia wanted to implement this trope to empathize how selfish Sol is, and that he doesn’t actually care about what his Soulmate wants. Personally, I believe that if you’re someone‘s soulmate, you should want to see them happy. And Sol clearly isn’t happy with MC when they pick Crowe over him (wich results in Crowe‘s brutal death). It’s something that he‘s using as an excuse to justify his obsessive behavior and should perhaps be treated as such.

"You hate him? That's good! That's the whole point of his character! You're SUPPOSE to hate him!" - Fantasia

And again, we know way too little of the worldbuilding and plot to actually know for sure. I think it’s way more likely that I‘m proven wrong in the future than the others. I just wanted to share my thoughts hihi

Pryn out.

[nagaytoe]

THE KID AT THE BACK

-theories

(- Posted before the new version of day 1 and day 2 -)

Did i sit down and analyze this game for 3 hours straight because I'm hyperfixated on it? Yes, yes i did.

This isnt proof-read and long as hell so buckle up for a joyride, y'all (by the way, there's another TKATB fanfic in the works as we speak and also some fanart, though I'm not sure wether to post it or not... well, we'll see!)

Some of these might not seem all too thought through (??) Since i was kind of grasping at straws here (and it was like 2 a.m. lmao), so if y'all have questions/need me to elaborate or have theories of your own feel free to share!

(There's some inspiration here from other people in the Fandom, most of them from the community section on itch.io which isnt available any more)

Sol knows the player longer than we think

My theory ->

-Fantasia stated that one of her 3 biggest inspirations was the game AMNESIA

-In amnesia the mc loses her memory in an accident. One of the love interests is her childhood friend and also the only yandere in the game (at least from what i could find out)

-She already drew Sol with Forget-me-nots and in the valentines day special the boquet sol gave us also contained Forget-me-nots

-In the book (this gallery thing with all the cutscene images) on the top of sols page is written 'Remember Me' which implies we forgot about him

-Annabel Lee Poem:

+The poem contains the line 'I was a child, she was a child' which furthermore implies that Sol and MC knew each other as kids

+Except for the last two paragraphs the poem is written in past tense, which could be talking about sols POV with us

Perhaps MC had an accident, as mentioned above, and MCs father (highborn kinsmen) tore MC away from Sol to the countryside

+The poem mentions angels killing annabel lee which could also mean something like this: MC doesnt die but, however, gets amnesia. That way, the MC sol knows and loves is dead because MC no longer exists the way MC did before (also the fact that she forgot him)

Some people theorize MCs farm is near the sea and that is the reason why sol hates the sea (i believe the city is near the sea and that's where MC 'died' (maybe MC almost drowned and got Amnesia that way?(apparently its possible for people who almost drowned to get amnesia)))

+"The speaker loves annabel lee to the point of death and even after death" (MCs view how to interpret the poem) (-> Sol loves MC to 'death' (the day they got amnesia) and even after 'death' (after MC got amnesia and 'died' in a sense, as a person))

-sol says he thinks death is beautiful, i didn't really know what to make of that, the only conclusion i came to would be: If MC actually did drown and lose their memories due to that, sol might have been involved in MC drowning (or at least blames himself for that) but viewed MC losing their memories as a 'second chance' with them, since they can start from anew (perhaps he made some mistakes with MC in the past which all eventually built up to MC drowning (it could be that we were already teens at that point)

-sol states afterwards: "But people refused them to let them be together, as if fate refuses them to die together" which supports my theory that MC was taken from Sol by someone (most likely the father after he witnessed Sols behaviour and his final straw was MC drowning because of him) the 'let them die together' could mean something like their relationship 'dying' and then starting over again or perhaps he tried to die with them, who knows (all this is really far fetched i am grasping at straws here lmao)

-in a really quick scene right after he mutters "I'm won't let it happen to me... not again" (some people view this as Sol already lost someone he loved dearly but it could also be the MC who was taken from him

ANOTHER THING I COULD IMAGINE -ABOUT DYING TOGETHER COULD BE:

MC almost died, Sol went after them but they were already saved, Sol just didnt witness that and almost died himself/wanted to die but was saved from that by someone (maybe hyugo? Though, he is an exchange student)

-Another theory on hyugo. It's canon that he is an exchange student, however i do believe he is from this city (since he knows about the hierarchy and his brother Geo apparently is no exchange student), moved away and is now back for business (relating to his 'mafia schemes' but under the disguise of being an exchange student)

Maybe he moved around the same time MC left or some time after that

-Hyugo mentions on the rooftop that we remind him of someone and the pronoun of the person he refers to changes based on the one the player picked for the MC in the beginning. It could mean we remind him of someone else entirely, someone maybe not even related to sol (though i doubt that) or to the MC and he knows them from back then but maybe thought MC died as well and cant believe they actually survived (maybe he want to spike MCs memory by doing that)

-A dream within a dream: MC mentions that this poem, at least to them, talks about the uncertainty about something, like life (which could also imply that they might be uncertain about some things in their mife because they simply forgot them due to amnesia)

-THE SECOND DAY 'THE KINGDOM'

+some people think the kingdom (by the sea) refers to MCs farm and implies its near the sea, however in day 2 we find out about the hierarchy in the city and considering my theory that MC actually is from the city and almost drowned there, i believe the kingdom by the sea is the city. MC does mention in the beginning that they lived on the farm ever since they were a child, however, it could very well be that we moved there right after the incident that caused MCs amnesia (if MC was akid when it happened it would really matter because then it would still fit with the fact that they lived there since theyre a child, however if they were already a teen, perhaps the father moved there immediately to cut off all ties to Sol and told us we have always lived there on top of that (considering the previous theories)

The father also didnt seem fond of the idea that we go to the city (the fact that he is is indebted to someone from high class could imply he might be from there), that could be because he knows how dangerous the city is (and how we could potentially meet sol again)

-maybe the reason for the debt is that MCs father suddenly bought the farm land to get us away from the city as soon as possible and had to take on a loan from one of his contacts in the city

-we know that this is MCs last year at the university, if we say shes minimum 22, and was already in the school for 4 years that would mean she got there at 18. If the 'drowning theory' events took place when MC was a teen (like 16 maybe) it would explain why the father was indebted (i also think 2 years is an believable timeframe a higher class person would give someone to pay off their debt)

-at the end of day 2 sol says he's sorry for leaving us and "i dont know what I'll do if..." which supports my theory that he lost us once (and he blames himself as the reason (again, MC drowning?))

-inspirations:

+ https://www.tumblr.com/sweet-herbal-peach-tea/746168072919023616/tkatb-theories?source=share

+ https://itch.io/t/3749638/whats-the-secret-between-hyugo-and-sol

Another theory:

Sleepy Hollow and The kid at the back

-In the nicknames the boys have for MC (fantasia released that on twitter and tumblr) sol calls MC pumpkin (like the pumpkin of the headless horseman (also in the gallery there is a pumpkin above the book)) and Crowe calls them '(star-crossed) lover'

Star-crossed lovers are people who love each other but can't be together

I believe this might imply that, even though Crowe is the second romance option, MC can't be with him no matter what they do

I also found out that the nickname is a phrase from romeo and juliet (which furthermore implies crowe will die)

We know what romeo and juliet is about: romeo and juliet cant be together because their families are enemies (some people believe Crowes father might be them man MCs father owes money to(i personally doubt thah though but it would support this romeo and juliet situation)) and at the end romeo thinks that juliet died, kills himself and then juliet turns out to not be dead but kills herself after seeing romeo dead

-Jericho Ichabod is a character from Sleepy Hollow, along Katrina (the FMC who owns a farm (what a coincidence)) and Brom Bones (its implied he is the headless horseman). In the story, jericho courts Katrina at a party, she rejects him and on his way home the headless horseman kills him (in the scene where Sol accompanies MC to class he says 'it's always been you ichabod' which could furthermore imply that crowe or his family have something do to with the fact that Sol and MC arent together)

In the library scene with Crowe he asks MC about their opinion on marie Antoinette and when MC says something negative about her, his reaction seems kind of strange. MC also brought a book about torture devices and execution methods and in that book is a picture of 'The Executioner' and he has scars on his arms, wears a mask and a chained collar. This correlates with some of sols features. He has scars on his arms (as seen in one of fantasias drawings), wears a chocker (he also wears a mask when he breaks into MCs room but that's really something anyone who does that would do). This implies even more that he will kill crowe.

[specteroli]

Hi, I’ve just read your posts, specifically the ones where sol kidnaps the mc for whatever reasons. I do agree that would happen but I simply can’t imagine where he would take them. Like I feel like sol lives in an apartment not a whole house with a basement available to keep mc in until he can trust them enough to let them roam freely. So can you do like a little head cannon about it? What do you think happens after? Like what measures would he take to keep them silent and compliant. I assume he has neighbors so he can’t have them making a fuss. Like I don’t know I just want a second opinion:)

I'M GLAD YOU ASKED, because I've been thinking about this for a while, and I have a small theory about that:

I'm like 100% sure that Sol's parents are deceased. So while I do believe Sol indeed lives in an apartment, as you said, I also believe he wouldn't take MC there in an eventual kidnapping.

"So, where would Sol take the MC then?" My guess is: his old house. The house where he used to live with his parents.

"But Sol has burn scars, doesn't that imply the said house was set on fire?" Maybe, BUT, here's the thing: I don't believe this house was completely destroyed in that fire. Maybe it's abandoned, and Sol might use it as a "hideout" for the MC.

Because think with me: Sol couldn't take MC to his own apartment and leave them there. That can possibly raise suspicions. And it might be easier to MC scape. So Sol must have some kind of "hideout" somewhere. And I believe it's his old house. In other words: the house that used to belong to his parents.

Final thoughts: I'm insane.

[playerprincess]

Idk where else to ask this since Fantasia has asks turned off but I'm very new to the game and seeing everyone's theories about?? Past lives?? Is very interesting! But why is everyone talking about Sol having a guillotine scar beneath his choker? I don't recall seeing it in official art or in the game?

Sol‘s "Scar"

I’ve asked myself this question plenty of times as well, so I decided to try and collect any information on it I could find for you.

Firstly: Personally, I don’t really think he has a guillotine scar on his neck. I think that people just say that he has one because it fits the past life theory.

CONTAINS SPOILERS

I think that people mostly take the evidence from this cutscene from the Bad ending where Sol kills Crowe:

You can see that he’s not wearing his Choker here, revealing some sort of bruise that wraps around his entire neck.

But I don’t think that’s really a scar? After all MC chokes him with his choker prior to this, so I think it’s much more realistic to say that it’s the bruise from it. It also doesn’t really look like a scar at all.

It’s also the only picture I‘ve found drawn by fantasia that shows Sol without his Choker. So we don’t have anything for comparison to show. Maybe that bruise was there even before MC‘s attempt to choke Sol. We can’t really say.

All we really know is that Sol doesn’t really take it off. Ever.

Even if it’s kind of played off as a joke here, I think it underlines that he’s very reluctant to take it off or let MC see his exposed neck: Evidence

He doesn’t like being choked, or having hands anywhere near his neck. This could be an indicator for a scar, but it could also be because of some sort of traumatic past. Maybe he has trauma regarding being choked, and thus prefers to keep his neck covered with a choker.

"In return, just don't wrap two hands around his neck, he isn't fond of getting choked with the use of hands." - fantasia

But again, it’s never stated directly that there’s a scar present. It’s just a theory, and it could be true, but we don’t know for sure. I only mentioned it in my little essay to back up why people might compare Sol to the executioner. If we take the past life theory at face value, we could also theorize that he doesn’t like his neck being exposed because he was killed by a guillotine. He doesn’t really need to have a scar or bruise in order to be uncomfortable with it. Maybe it’s like phantom discomfort, that he feels like his head might fall off his shoulders if there’s not something constantly "keeping it in place".

[playerprincess]

be honest do u think it’s the past life theory?? for tkatb

I personally think that it would make sense for Fantasia to incorporate it into the story, since Crowe has acknowledged it himself as well (and he’s very clearly not delusional). I just believe that Fantasia will handle it differently than most people anticipate.

The thing that I don’t like about these tropes is that people tend to mischaracterize them because everyone views these things differently. People give their own twists to the Soulmate and past life trope, and I believe many decisions can also be influenced by your personal interpretation of Love and romance.

I don’t think that it’ll be a cute 'Soulmate' lovestory. At least I hope not, because it’d defeat the entirety of Sol as a character to me.

(I also doubt that it’s Sol who is MC‘s soulmate, I think it might actually really be Crowe, but that’s just a personal theory.)

The past life theory has potential, I hope Fantasia uses it well if they end up writing it into the story.