#analysis and theory

[lostsoulaltair]

OnS Analysis - Everything connects. The final spiderweb.

Hello everyone. On the last post I updated, I mentioned I'd talk about certain topic regarding the story along how Yuu might actually underestimate Guren and company but at the end of the day, this is merely an analysis and a theory to some extent.

P.S: Analysis are held within a neutral view

First of all, to some degree it was rather special that Yuu was the first to take independent action regarding his fate along what he wanted to achieve, which of course lead to the Shinoa squad take a path on their own as well.

But now. The first point surges

1. The proof of the spiderweb

To begin with, it is evident that we have had several schemers within the OnS Story, those schemers being: Guren, Mahiru, Rigr Stafford, Ferid Bathory and Shikama Doji.

In the LNs of the Resurrection at 19, it is stated that Shikama Doji or Sika Madu was well known for being someone who could command which empires would rise or fall, leading to having control of "Fate" itself. Of course this changed thanks to Rigr Stafford after he made the Ichinose branch split or distance from the Hiragi Family.

But let's get closer to events that affect the characters.

The fateful encounter

The very first element of this spiderweb between Guren, Yuu, Mika, Mahiru and Ferid lies in the very encounter between Yuu and Guren.

At the beginning, the story itself felt like coincidence but further events proved that the whole meeting and arrival of Guren was planned from the get go which is revealed after 109 chapters, leading to chapter 110.

In chapter 110, Mikaela managed to rewind the events that took place when Yuu and him were children, given that their memories were quite the same and his status as a demon allowed him to spot anomalies, he managed to see who were their schemers along realizing that Ferid organized everything so Yuu could leave along making Mikaela turn into a vampire.

Reunion

The next element to the massive spiderweb is the very fact that the reunion between Mikaela and Yuu once they turned 16 was planned very independent from Guren activating the Seraph within Yuu for the first time.

Of course at such time, such point could easily be misleading given that it was more aligned to human experimentation than what Guren truthfully sought.

But what was the real reason?

Correct. Guren needed Yuu to actually erase his humanity given that at the beginning of the story; among the three wielders of black demon series, only Yuu had the special drugs to trigger the Seraph trait. This eventually would lead for Yuu to lose his humanity due to the abuse he gave along finally touching the trumphet.

Within this, it also played the role that given the love Yuu felt and the signs of Yuu's bonds with the Hyakuya Sect, specially with Mikaela; this lead to the first awkward statement from Yuu.

Purpose

The next part that follows up is the fact of the purpose or reason. Guren never lied in the fact that he needed to use Yuu along Mikaela.

The very first time Guren opened on his use for Yuu given that he was the vital piece for the Resurrection was back in chapter 59.

Now, this might feel like a disconnection but actually, it connects to the fact that in chapters 113-114, Guren explained briefly the requirements for the Resurrection but of course, that wasn't the real plan at all.

The beginning of the battle against the First and the birth of Demon Mikaela.

Now, following up with this, Mikaela's transformation as a Demon wasn't just something that was within sight from the First Progenitor but also a plan from Guren and Mahiru. But what was the whole purpose for it?

Truth to be told, there is actually a purpose but just like the other points, it was made from a finite spiderweb as well.

Given that Mikaela was a test subject for carrying the Michaela Trait and the Seraph Trait, he was bound to be special and among the abilities he had, was the fact that in contrast to the other demons, Mikaela was able to see through Yuu's memories into more depth.

And this of course, eventually led to something Mahiru aimed from the get go, since in chapter 110 she suggested they needed to figure out who they were millenia ago.

Back in chapter 120, Yuu and Mikaela finally chose to discover who they were but, the question might pop: If the purpose was for them to see their memories and identities, was there a need to split them?

This connects to the next point.

2.Is Yuu in control of his own fate or is he actually dancing on Guren's palm?

Answering the question in point 1; there is actually a reason as to why Guren, Mahiru and Ferid needed the Squad to split but this is divided in two points.

1. Adquiring the remaining sinful keys.

First of all, way back from old chapters, it was known that there were seven sinful keys, but so far, we were able to see in total 4 within the manga, one being held by Yuu in chapter 139 making them 5, and lastly the mystery of the remaining two as shown in the same chapter.

(Side note: I know that in the LN of the Resurrection we see Mahiru getting one on her neck...though, as to why now there are physically 5 in the current manga, I don't know, perhaps that sinful key Mahiru got had its use or was more akin to a prototype. This is mere speculation)

Given that Shinoa was aware that Guren and Mahiru along the aid of Ferid were pretty much planning things without letting vital information float for the whole squad, and considering the lack of power at that time. Shinoa's squad pretty much stayed like lambs, taking in consideration that Yoichi and Kimizuki never got their Seraph trait exploited like Yuu. This left with the consequence of an umbalanced Squad and any hope of fighting against Guren would be a complete loss.

But given the new events of Shinoa finally analyzing everything that has happened so far along gaining coinfidence, this led for her to finally have a vast amount of power along ensuring her friends and family aren't deceived any longer by fake promises.

Along this, she is aware Ferid is stupidly smart, she was aware that Guren's team made Ferid keep an eye on them hence why she spied on them back in chapter 139; this of course led for her to know that within her squad there are two sinful key sources which of course are Yoichi Saotome and Shiho Kimizuki.

2. Divide and Conquer. Dancing in the palm of Guren

While it's good that Yuu and Mika chose their fate to their own hands; Mika and Yuu are pretty much dividing and conquering but there's one issue here. Which is it?

Correct. He's not the only one using such tactic. The second one using them from the very beginning was Guren's team.

But why?

Back in chapter 130, there was a flashback showing Ferid, Guren and very likely ghost type Mahiru to check the memories of Yuu and Mika, leaving an open ending about such events.

But why do I state they're still dancing to someone's tune?

Given that Guren exploited the nature of Mikaela's distrust towards humanity along having the knowledge of Mahiru of how perceptive he was; Guren knew that if the Squad along Yuu and Mika, there would be a difference in terms of power given that the squad would have played the role of supporters in a real combat.

Hence why instead of making such scenario, the best one was of dividing and conquering while making certain Yuu and Mika would dive into their pasts along ensuring to get one special thing Guren needs. What could it be?

Correct. The three spells and power of the First.

But how can I state this?

This follows up by the nature of the First. He was secretive always evading and making his web to counter possibilities but what he didn't have in sight was the very issue that Guren was one of the few that could go against such flow along the inclusion of Ferid Bathory to such team.

But in order to trigger such massive miracle, they need power of an equivalent force for such miracle.

Yuu and Mika so far have joined with the progenitors but at the same time, those progenitors are the very target of Ferid Bathory. Quite ironic isn't it?

At the end, it is possible that a decisive battle between Guren and Yuu takes place and this time won't be about letting win someone but rather defeating and proceeding with their agenda.

What do you think guys? Let me know !

[twilightofthesandwiches]

What's really evocative to me in all the new revelations and hints about Kris' true nature and intentions in Chapter 4 is the impression that... Kris is never free.

When they are free of our direct control, they are still not acting 100% of their real desires, they are following the orders of some evil Voice(s?) on the phone.

The ending seem to imply some sort of emotional conflict between them wanting to help out Susie, who is very dear to their heart, and following this plan which is probably not beneficial to her. A plan that they have to follow cause...

When Kris is not controlled by our very literal puppet-strings, they are instead controlled by the coercion and emotional manipulation of their mysterious benefactor. No matter which option they go with, Kris just cannot be free.

[eagans]

ether as severance + “the courtship of kier and imogene” (relationship parallels)

(just so we’re clear, while the kier-imogene dynamic is clearly paralleled with helena and mark, it is also reiterated in cobel and mark, dr mauer and gemma, and even burt and irving to some extent; season 2 has also made it a point to show us that helena and cobel are both victims in their own ways while being perpetrators. it is not a black and white situation and misogyny will get you blocked.)

original threads: (x), (x)

[bi-for-vi]

I don’t see anybody talking about this, but it hurt my heart

[pheracy]

Jinx's traces of make up after she has cried looks like Vi's face tattoo but backwards and they both have it in their left cheek.

Besides, her final look and outfit resembles her sister's in S1 and S2. The bandages covering her chest and the new hairstyle with the shaved undercut on the same side is also similar to Vi's.

After all it seems like Vi and Powder cannot coexist in the same timeline or dimension. When Powder lives, Violet doesn't. When Vi lives, Jinx decides not to. "Always with you, sis".

The parallels, the attention to detail and the design for each character in Arcane is insane. I can't believe this amazing series is over. I'm gonna miss these sisters like they were my relatives.

[stil-lindigo]

the vulture.

a comic about cycles.

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creative notes:

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[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

"it's not that deep" not yet but I've got a shovel and fan theories and digging makes great exercise!

[ratvic]

Havent seen anybody talk about this frame (yes this literal less than one second frame) I love it so much, it's so cute.

[cookie-lore-keeper]

One thing that struck out to me when I saw Sugarfly Cookie was the armor on her legs

They don't seem to match anything about her at all. She's very delicate looking with a lot of yellows, yet there are steel boots on her that clash against everything.

And that got me thinking: she's a butterfly, right? She can fly, like Pavlova Cookie and Eternal Sugar Cookie. But, her wings seem droopy. From what we've seen, she hasn't spread her wings yet. Can she even use them? And that got me thinking again.

She's so loyal to Eternal Sugar Cookie. Like... weirdly so, considering Eternal Sugar's other minion seems quite rebelious and doesn't want to be there. And she's so weirdly peaceful, too. What if Eternal Sugar did something to her? Maybe Sugarfly Cookie tried to escape one day and, instead of turning her to stone, she took away her ability to fly by adding weights to her legs and messing with her wings? Maybe she even went so far as to mess with her emotions, which is why she seems so peaceful.

This is also backed up by how scared Pavlova Cookie was when Eternal Sugar Cookie mentioned "re-educating" him. He's probably seen what she did with Sugarfly Cookie. We know he's afraid of becoming a statue, but what if he's also afraid of not being able to leave the Garden at all? Despite being stuck here, he still has the option to leave the Garden and explore a bit. What if Sugarfly Cookie doesn't have that luxury? What if he's scared he'll become like her, in that, even if he doesn't become stone, he won't be able to leave the Garden at all?

[lucanderie]

Still need to mull this over some more, but it's very intriguing how much player-defying Kris proves themselves physically capable of this chapter.

They maliciously comply with our exact wording when asked to turn a doorknob. They cover their mouth midway through a sentence. When asked to say Berdly's name, they repeat themselves loudly in shock. They do PLENTY of physical actions or gestures unprompted, such as kneeling down and touching Ralsei when only prompted to talk, pushing Susie out of harm's way for the second time, giving her their knife with a flourish, laughing or nodding to clarify a statement... as well as their unprompted hijinks at the church. They act by themselves both in the spur of the moment and premeditated, in both low-stakes interactions and highly emotional, instinctive reactions. It seems like they're capable of doing any emoting, physical gesturing, or creative prompt interpretations they so desire apart from a) speaking, b) when directly commanded to do something else and c) in many weird route sequences (will circle back to this). They know entire commands word for word before they execute them, and they are aware enough of the fact that we have goals and what those goals may be to actively conspire against us. Kris knows our "rules".

This is extremely interesting because we saw very little of this in the previous chapters- leading us to believe Kris had basically zero input on Dark-World happenings, and had less understanding of their own situation then say, Ralsei did. But here, Kris isn't just getting more clever about or more accustomed to defying us- they're proving progressively more capable of just doing things of their own volition that any possessed kid who was randomly dropped into this situation with no warning or context would not wait two days to try.

Combined with the fact that from the beginning, they defy us to limit what we see long before they defy what we actually force them to do, (even when they clearly don't like doing it!), and that there's precedent for a character's mindset determining the player's level of control with Susie, it's seeming more and more like Kris is purposefully limiting themselves in earlier chapters. They have a vested interest in "playing the part", coming across to either us or someone else like they have less agency than they do, and they get progressively more open about the amount of defiance that they are capable of.

This is just, a fascinating jump in Kris's amount of agency! At the very least, they may know a similar amount of meta-info to even Ralsei. It changes some of their earlier actions from purely-forced to compliant. And there's a lot of (non-evil, you guys) reasons they would do this- they're probably at least, (at this point), afraid of some kind of retribution from us or their co-conspirators. They want to stay ahead of us by hiding their agency, they may not be comfortable enough with themselves to show express in certain instances... And this changes their defiant actions from things that they are allowed to do into things they are willing to risk doing- saving Susie twice, not hurting Ralsei's feelings, comforting Noelle, slorking down those juice cups like they're NOTHING- all little risks they're willing to take.

This just leaves the weird route- which may either be a route where the player simply gains more control over Kris, or maybe the "proceed" commands could be more general and therefore more inclusive. Or Kris could be initially, willing to play along with freezing the Darkners in order to achieve their goal, to bide their time, and once they realize how fucked up we can get it's too late.

I don't know. I'm definitely missing things, but I just love how much more Kris we have and are eventually going to get.

[midnight-in-town]

Martha really said "no hating on another nice woman just because of a man we both love". If that’s not about educating little girls like Becky to fight against internalized misogyny, I don’t know what is.

A true icon. Bless Endo-sensei for giving her and Henderson such a compelling love story and emotional flashback.

[duxarcana]

You know how people have been theorizing that the "love" that finds its way to the girl might also be "LOVE" on some routes?

The Japanese version of this prophecy interestingly is not a direct translation of the English line. Instead, it reads:

"The girl finds out the true meaning of love."

[eagans]

aggregation of several threads w/ similar observations

[impossibleanimegirl]

[pheracy]

After being shot by Jayce, Viktor's eyes turned the color of the gear.

I CAN'T NO MORE FORTICHE 🤸🏼