#cause I genuinely feel that the loop is a metaphor for mental health?

[randaccidents]

I wonder why Soul doesn't ever stop events in the loop from happening? Like, if he remembers the loops, he should remember the events. And if he remembers the events, he could stop the more serious ones like our dearly named Juno Incident. So why doesn't he?

One reason I've seen flying around is that its set in stone always. That one way or another someone will shoot a gun. That ones fun, but its also pretty limited by true time loop variants of HMS typically. Also I have a personal distaste for deterministic worldviews lmao I want them to have some free will.

A second one I've seen flying about is that putting off certain events results in worse ones. Like if Heart doesn't shoot at the Sun with a gun, something worse will happen during the loop to make up for it. This one's also fun to play with but uhhhh tends to be really really deep into torture porn territory if done wrong.

Third one is pretty limited to Souls deep in the loop soup. Tried and true "He's just given up it repeats anyways even if he changes things". I like this one. Very nihilistic. Typical for Souls that have been Through the Horrors for thousands of loops and are now just Going Through The Motions.

I've also seen some analysis that claim that Soul ALSO forgets the exact events of the loop after a certain point in the album. He only remembers their existence, and not the events contained inside. This one, very fun, very rarely used, truly people need to get on this train more you could so easily make him blame himself for not remembering what might happen and being unable to stop it. So much Soul angst potential.

Anyways that was a really long way to lead into what I think is why. I commit the Unholy Combination of "fuck it multiple". Ehhh people who read my fics might have seen me describe it a couple of times already.

Basically I think that he starts of only remembering the existence of the loops, ala option 3 mentioned above. But as events happen he Remembers every looped version of it happening post-event. Not before it happens, not as its happening, after its already happened and nothing can be changed, and suddenly he can remember the times upon times that the same event has happened before. Also entirely viable in a "the loop is just a loop of mental health" versions where time does not truly go backwards.

So much space for Soul angst potential. He doesn't know its coming so its a surprise every single time and the reaction is his natural first reaction. He remembers after and hates that he didn't know early enough to stop it. He knows every slightly different way an event has gone. As the loops pile up so do the number of memories he regains each time and isn't that just fodder for Soul being Too Tired the longer a loop drags? Weight of the world, weight of ever-increasing memories.

(ALSO as a side point please play more with the "The brain is not made to hold this many memories" concept please please it is so easy to make him Tired and Old and Nihilistic and not doing anything anymore, but way more fun to have him actively fight that mindset and try so hard to stay optimistic. The optimistic one especially is so fun.)