🦇 Poison Paradox 🦇

bonus:

#1) Pink & Seam: Roles & Reflections

For the sake of communication, we'll call the Flower Kingdom Darkners who have Card Kingdom counterparts, a "mirror", due to be a reflection of the original. Darkners such as but not limited to Jigsawry, Malius, Rudinns have their Flower Kingdom mirrors (aka. Doubter, Ferroll, Floradinns, etc). Even the song/area itself, "Field of Hopes and Dreams", has its mirror, "Garden of Hopes and Dreams".

In a way, the main flower cast are mirrors due to being the "leaders" of the kingdom. Though we don't see it, darkners in Card Kingdom is implied to be ruled under their respective kings, in a similar light to how each darkner "looks up to" a specific flower. In fact, if the Kings weren't locked up, we might've had a similar experience to the main flower cast, engaging with their unique personalities and jurisdictions.

Even Flowery parallels King's role in some aspect. Instead of being a classic JRPG antagonist, he's the "protagonist" archetype (down to the "win with the power of friendship), and both wear a mantle (i.e Toby's "nice mantle bro" comment for King & Flowery's "petalmantle" when checking his stats). Flowery also function as the lead "bad guy" similarly to how darkners were described in Chapter 1. Susie even notes how difficult it is to view the flowers as such, due to how well-intended they are. They're supposed to be the classical "bad-guys", but subvert the title's common expectations in a unique way.

Curiously, Pink is also a mirror except instead of mirroring main antagonists or general enemies- she's specifically reflecting Seam (and partially, Jevil).

She is the first traditional shopkeeper we encounter, sitting in the "transitory" space between two areas (Garden of Hopes and Dreams -> Cliffs). She's the only non-flower in the "bouquet" of Flowers, but is still welcomed as a one regardless. Pink's shop hosts the key used to open a locked gate where the "secret boss" is located. Coincidentally, you can find her Cat bells by doing a similar maneuver to "walk where the stars don't shine". At the end of her battle, Malius' mirror (Ferroll) shows up and locates all remaining coins- which are used to obtain her secret item(s). She is also a cat girl, and isn't truly "from" this Darkworld.

(*Definition: Traditional shopkeeper in Deltarune is a shopkeeper with custom shop sprite, dialogue tree, often paired with their own themed music. Non-traditional is a shopkeeper that disregards this. Green and Gerson use non-traditional, whereas Pink and Seam use traditional.)

By now, you should see how Pink is mirroring Seam in many ways. Despite being a non-card, Seam is welcome as the magician in the royal "deck", and is the exclusive cat darkner in their world/ Royal Court. Seam's shop exists in the transitory space between two areas (Field of Hopes and Dreams -> Checkerboard). They provide the key piece used to open a locked gate where the "secret boss" is, which requires fixing from Malius. If my previous theories are right, then they're also not from Card Kingdom).

They also contrast each other's mindset. Pink is optimistic, looking towards a bright, meaningful future. She tells us to go outside, enjoy the sunlight, and appreciate the world. Seam is pessimistic, looking towards a dark, meaningless future. They refuse to go outside, staying in their shop for as long as possible. They tell us the world will end and find our actions futile. They're also both magical cat Darkners, with Mew Mew Kissy Cutie or "Pink's" design being inspired from a real life magical girl show, Tokyo Mew Mew, and Seam being a mage/magician.

NOTE: Seam's "Seap" has a faded pink and yellow color scheme, in contrast with Pink's purple, black, pink (& a bit of blue) shop colors. Despite being the "pink & yellow" cat-girl, and them being the "purple & orange" cat-thing, their shops somewhat reflect each other's color palette- instead of their own. During her battle Pink states, "that bug said it was FUCHSIA!". The flower Fuchsia is both pink AND purple, which coincidentally is Seam and Pink's primary colors. Though, it's mostly just a Muffet reference.

This mirroring isn't unintentional. Seam's non-crystal dialogue shows their desire for "stronger opponents" to face, implying someone akin to Jevil's power level or higher. So far, the only recruited Shadow Crystal holder we've faced is Pink, implying these two are fated to meet. ............ In terms of Jevil mirroring, Pink is the shadow crystal holder and secret boss. Her door is located at the beginning of the "Top of the Castle" location, only accessible via backtracking and going downwards. She often comments about her "knives" (an iconic weapon from her Ghost's UT counterpart), and frequently uses bombs in her battle. Instead of using the flavor text, "the air crackles with freedom", Pink uses "The air swirls in rosy chaos". When leaving her respective area, the room closes exactly how Jevil's prison disappears. To access her battle you obtain Cat Coins to purchase a key from a cat shopkeeper. If you cannot find every coin, then Ferroll (Malius' mirror) is mandatory to obtain her items.

Note: I'm differentiating her pre-battle shopkeeper appearance and her post-battle appearance, as during that time you wouldn't know it's Pink and could assume it's a different character.

Jevil is the shadow crystal secret boss of Chapter 1. His prison is beneath the Castle, only accessible via backtracking and going downwards (in an elevator). He has an iconic "knife" weapon and uses bombs in his battle. Known for his constant "chaos" remarks, even his flavor text states, "smells like chaos". The only way to access his battle is by obtaining one of the key pieces, from a cat shopkeeper, and fixing it via Malius.

Therefore, Pink functions as Jevil and Seam's mirror- with emphasis on Seam. Whilst this doesn't mean much and mostly serves to add emphasis to the "nostalgic" nature of Chapter 5, I do wonder if this reflection says something about Seam.

For example, her being accepted into the Flower's bouquet could possibly parallel an earlier Seam and their arrival to Card Kingdom. We know that they changed due to Jevil's words, so perhaps they used to be hopeful and full of energy? Till now, they maintain an interest in battles and being the only other character with the Rude Buster motif. They also seem to take pleasure in giving others a little "scare" and battling/sparring. Its possible Pink could reflect a past Seam to some regard. Though this is pure speculation as these are two completely separate characters with their own individual personalities and experiences. If anything, Pink's character is made to parallel Kris and the Soul, so I don't want to muddy that by trying to fit Seam into these connections. Though this is interesting to point out nonetheless.

#2) Games, Knives, Chaos!

Chapter 5 introduced Aqua, the knife wielding, chaotic and mischievous little blue kid. Each flower is seemingly influenced by Asgore's life and experiences, rendering Aqua as a likely parallel to a younger Kris. Since Aqua has many "Jevil-isms" that intrigued me- I looked into it.

Here's a list of all the things Jevil, Kris and Aqua have in common:

Blue character with iconic "knife" weapon (DevilsKNIFE, AquaKNIFE, Kris' knife) - Despite being a scythe-axe, The Devilsknife is called a "knife". Though Jevil's skin is gray, he actually falls under a blue/cyan hue when color picking him. Also, Card Darkners are also capable of "fading", seen by the green Castle Town Rudinn turning blue. So his colors could've "faded", hence the grayness. Since this is a technicality- you can ignore the "blue" comparison, if you wish.

Is (or was) a chaotic and mischievous gremlin-type character - In their younger years, Kris was known for their pranks on Noelle & mischievous behavior (swapping Noelle's eggnog with mayo, hiding under her bed to scare her, etc.) Since Jevil and Aqua are already known for their chaos- I won't explain it.

Short / smallest of the cast - Kris is constantly referred to as "short", whether by Queen or through ERAM's game showing how Hero_Sword (a depiction of Kris) can't reach the box. - Jevil is referred to as "little man" by the King, and under pixel comparison is...shorter than Ralsei. Generally, the smallest of the main Card Cast and court combined. - Aqua is small because she is a child, like Orange.

Gamers with a violent nature (malicious or not) - Mantle game, a violent zelda-like, is implied to be the dark world version of the "original game" that Kris used to play with Asriel as a kid. They drop the green dinosaur into "the pit" on purpose. Kris played Cat Petterz (implied by Noelle in Spamton Sweepstakes), and the flavor text for Berdly's fight implies they play video-games with him. TLDR: they're an avid gamer with a penchant for violence (non-malicious). - Aqua's wish is to play a game. She plays "knife game" and even considers being attacked/pain as "funny". She likes to make things red like "blood", but doesn't know what death is. Her violent nature is non-malicious, but might get out of hand if no one keeps her in check. She loves playing games and is friends with Seth- who is obsessed with Berdly, whose "gamer-isms" is 80% of his personality. - Jevil's whole introduction and what we know about him is his penchant for gaming. He plays games with Seam, and wakes up during Tenna's fight just to gamble. His entire motivation is to play a "game", despite the violent nature of it. Its unknown if he was always violence-inclined or if it's a symptom of his insanity. Though considering Seam is violence-inclined (they love battles), it's likely he'd be kept in check by them, if he was always somewhat violent.

Has a purple colored companion - Susie, Seth and Seam are purple. Coincidentally, they all start with S. Susie and Seam even share the Rude Buster motif- and as of Weird Route, have the same "what ever we are" type friendship. Despite the completely different personalities, they're all purple folk and friends with the short blue chaotic gremlin gamer, who wields or is a knife.

Furthermore, Kris is our primary source of information. They provide flavor text, check text, etc. During Chapter 4, the Soul is unable to interact with any item, implying Kris is the narrator. In the secret boss fight with The Roaring Knight, the flavor text states, "Your vision narrows. // ...The world revolves around you." and "Your vision narrows. // ...Your head is spinning." In context, it's about Kris being hit on the head, thus the spinning/revolving is literal. In Jevil's battle his flavor text is, "the world is spinning, spinning". Aqua loves to spin, described as her "spin dance". If she's supposed to represent a younger Kris, then perhaps the "world revolving" may just be a Kris-related statement. Perhaps it's something they used to say or currently think about. After all, they made the fountain and numerous darkners are asking how the world revolves, or determining what it revolves around. Blue asks "who revolves- the world, or I?" and thinks the world revolves around love ("sword clashed with pen" references Susie and Kris), Leaflings believes its freedom, and Aqua doesn't know so she relates it to spinning. These are all things that have some association with Kris.

Also, due to Toby intentionally writing Jevil's dialogue as a reference to mistranslated Japanese in RPGs- Jevil has a few characteristics and lines that re-interpret his character.

Note: All JP information is taken from this post as I haven't learned enough Japanese to properly translate/explain this myself.

Firstly, he speaks like a cutesy, energetic child. Despite using elderly pronouns ("washi", indicating his real age), he also uses pronouns of youth, "boku" or politeness, "watashi". He uses "ネ/ne" and "サ/sa", giving him a playful vibe, and has odd pauses between his sentences. To quote OP directly, "He's also a bit more manic and/or excited maybe, perhaps a little more aggressive, and sometimes makes odd pauses between words, like you would if were trying to correct yourself or elaborate after saying something."

Note: Perhaps this childish energy is the reason why Aqua and Jevil speak similarly.

Interestingly, a key piece of lost information is his line, "“頭もキレる。頭が回る。// Atama mo kireru. Atama ga mawaru" which translates to, "The head is sharp. The head spins." There's an implied disconnect between his mind/head and body. As Velvetstrings points out, "kireru" is a double entendre for the phrase, "to be disconnected/broken/to be split". The katakana is exclusively used for "snapping" or "losing temper/control", implying he's aware that his mental state/head is broken or split. This could just mean his head is detached from his body, but I believe it's about his mental state. The second phrase, "頭が回る。// Atama ga mawaru", or "the head spins" is similar to the Knight's flavor text "Your head is spinning". Aqua associates spinning with "the world revolving", and Blue being a ballerina who constantly revolves- meaning being "dizzy" or having a head that "spins" makes the world literally revolve around you, hence the term. It also works as a double entendre, as "revolving" can mean spinning and being the most important piece/core center of a topic. 

(Example: if the world revolves around love, everything in life is about love. If its freedom, then life is about being "carefree". If it's games, then life is about playing and fun.)

"The world revolving" and Jevil "seeing the world as a game" can be reinterpreted as him both feeling dizzy, the room actually spinning, and believing life revolves around games- regardless of its consequence. Furthermore, if the world is a game, it renders him the "player". Everyone else becomes a stat, or a play-thing. This viewpoint likely stems from a level of dissociation (hence "the head" vs. "my head"), and mental anguish caused by the strange someone's words. Even then, Jevil still tells King about future events, implying that either the info was extracted out of him somehow, or he still cares enough to warn King. JP dialogue implies his intentionality and fluctuating emotions, so perhaps the real him is still in there, somewhere...?

Note 1: In the English version, he is fast and clever. In JP, this "head" is dizzy ("spins"), clever ("sharp"). He uses no pronouns for this line despite using one for his body (and feet!). Jevil disowns this "mind" as if it's not his own. Perhaps, he's just acknowledging this mental state isn't how he normally thinks, but to separate the mind and body so subtly.. reminds me of Pink? Body and Ghost or Soul and Kris, both separated because there's two people & minds intertwined. In this case, I don't think he has "another person" in his head (unless he can somehow hear the strangers "voice", like how Noelle hears us in W. Route). I'm stating this because I think it's a nod to Kris' situation, especially when considering Aqua's green bow (dyed red) eerily resembles a heart.. so wouldn't Jevil be a subtle reference as well? )

Note 2: Also, Jevil states, “「けしからん」と　怒ったの // 'Keshikaran' to okotta no.” He uses the "と/to" quotation particle, which implies there was a genuine conversation before he "snapped". Seam details that Jevil "changed", but implies it was a gradual shift in attitude rather than an immediate 180 to HP-Game murder-town. We don't know how long he's been going crazy for or if anyone ever noticed (other than Seam). ..... This is interesting because of how Pink parallels Spamton as the hopeful alternative to Soul and Kris's relationship (aka. communication & care v.s manipulation & abandonment). It's possible Aqua is the hopeful alternative to Jevil. It seems that just as Spamton functioned as a critique of the Soul and Kris' relationship, Jevil functions as a critique of Kris themself.

If fountains are referred to as game-like dreams/nightmares, then opening a fountain would be like wanting to "play a game" (aka. another "fun adventure"). In this scenario, Aqua serves as the hopeful ideal of "harmful on the surface, but genuinely harmless" vs. Jevil's critique of "Innocent on the surface, but actually harmful". It's the idea of Kris (younger version or not) "wanting to play a game" that got out of hand. It's the question of what it means to play in a situation where "playing" can in fact harm someone. It's like... a joke that's not really funny.

Note: Funnily enough, the two both have tired & sleeping themes for some reason, with Kris canonically sleeping in a lot. Though Jevil over-exaggerates his sleep amount, its still worth noting regardless. Especially now, since he's used in Scythemare, a pacify sleep-spell, and it's heavily implied the "Devilsknife" is literally him.

That's the most I could extract from Aqua's usage of Jevil-isms, and the frequent reference to "world revolving".

#3) Jevil or Seam, Whose Crystal Is It?

Some people have said that Jevil's shadow crystal might not be his. In my previous analysis/theory- I've made the claim that Seam was made by Dess, as a gift to Asriel. After she went missing, they became Asriel's "broken dream" due to reminding him of her. Chapter 5, supports this by developing their relationship as romantic and deeply close/personal. Seam is very adamant about Kris obtaining Jevils crystal, and mentions it three times (to varying pushiness). If they know he has it, didn't attempt to retrieve it before or after locking him up, and pretends they were surprised he had it- it's highly likely that they gave it too him or he stole it (ex: Shadow Mantle holder). We know other darkners can steal/use the crystals, as Spamton stole both the Neo Body and its respective crystal. He was never originally intended to have it, so Jevil functioning the same isn't unlikely. Seam also knows who the holder is, their weaknesses (alludes to or has items to defend against them), when we'll meet them, and how powerful they are. They know it's near invisible, but can see it with ease. To say Seam "didn't know" Jevil had a crystal would be a stretch. He's also their closest companion, so he could've been giving information on it, for whatever reason.

To add, it seems that you don't necessarily need to "use" it in order to be powerful, know the prophecy, or be connected to the "strange someone". Spamton didn't have one originally, and Gerson flat out rejects it. All Darkners know they are items, so seeing the general "classroom" wouldn't make them crazy. Thus, there's a specific thing it does to darkners, that currently we aren't privy too yet.

Also Seam is implied to be insanely powerful (desiring to spar with stronger, secret boss level darkners), so even if power level is a factor in having one- then they still apply.

TLDR: It’s likely Jevil is holding Seam's crystal. Whether or not this changes the dynamic of the relationship, or implies something about Seam's nature/intentions is unclear. We don't know what it does to a Darkner. We know so little about Jevil and the reason he was contacted by the stranger, that currently- it doesn't affect him if the crystal wasn't his.

#4) Weird Route Connections

( This isn't exactly one-to-one parallels and the connections are uncanny.. Since I noticed it, I'll address it but personally I'm unsure what to think.)

Seam is connected to the Weird Route in multiple ways. Assuming the "Pure Crystal" is the "entertaining" item Seam creates, then they're linked to the abandoned Weird Route due to the Twisted Sword. They push the incentive for finding the shadow mantle, and are connected to ERAM due to that. ERAM, the main antagonist in the tutorial for the Weird Route, knew about Seam's crystals, stole their mantle, knows if Kris did the Weird Route, and even summons multiple "Friend" entities. This creature has connections to the "strange someone" and the Knight.

*Note: When Spamton talks about himself, he states "Amazed at th5 amazing transformation? You too can HAVE A Communion WITH Unintelligible Laughter". "SPEAKING OF Communion", implies the thing that made him the way he is now, and the knight, are linked together. Even the "un-intelligble laughter" is a trait from both Friend and the Knight. (also, the option: "KNIGHT" turns into "FRIENDS"). This is obvious to us now, but I think it helps establish the modus operandi of the stranger.

Despite not knowing about the future prophecy things (until the stranger contacted Jevil), Seam has a deep knowledge of the shadow crystals. This item shows us negative outcomes in the light world (i.e "Noelle whispering closely" like in weird route, Susie glaring coldly, Kris losing a hand). They're oddly attached to it, with its collection giving them hope. This crystal doesn't directly depict W. Route events (Susie's glare & Noelle "holding flowers" doesn't occur in W. Route), but seems to portray something darker. If Kris loses their hand in this reality, then it's likely something sinister, as Kris' main way of expressing themselves and their autonomy is playing piano.

Note: I recall hearing a theory that the "losing their hand" is referring to the SOUL due to the "severed hand" mentioned in Chapter 4. Noelle and Susie don't realize it’s the SOUL in the basement, but I thought it'd be cool to bring this up. Since losing a hand could mean losing their soul. 

Adding onto this, there’s a few connections to be made between Seam and Noelle (specifically in Weird Route). I'll list them out (w/ elaboration):

Both Noelle and Seam...

Remark about "Never Changing" - Noelle's ordeal in both the normal and weird route is feeling "too weak to change". In W. Route, this issue is accentuated with her associating "getting stronger", mental anguish and physical torture (thorn ring), as a means of changing for the "better". She laments about being stuck in a role as "Noelle", feeling trapped and dissociating from herself. Though her desire to change prevails in N. Route, she overcomes this in a healthy manner. - Seam's ordeal with "never changing" might stem from their self-deprecation and devaluing of themself. To quote the Deltarune wiki:, "Seam appears to have a self-deprecating streak; they state that "neither Light nor Dark hold a future for a Darkner in [their] condition", deride their wares as "old junk" and claim the heroes will have "little reason to return here" as they find stronger items." While the statements are somewhat true, other shopkeepers don't refer to themselves like this. Even if they don't literally sell us something (Jackenstien, Swatch), they continue to "sell" their wares, describe drinks, etc. and do so without attempting to convince Kris of their lack of importance. Seam's ordeal could stem from the "world ending" and "unchanging prophecy" making them pessimistic to the idea of change. However, that issue is more accurately depicted in Ralsei, than Seam.

In both cases, despite lamenting or trying to affirm the notion of "never changing", they do change! In a full recruit route, Seam engages in their hobbies, interests and becomes more outgoing. Every day they have a new set of experiences to talk about. Noelle becomes braver and stands up to her mother. She overcomes her issues with stride, with Susie's help of course.

Are powerful, strong mages - Noelle's ordeal in W.Route is "getting stronger" through fighting and vanquishing enemies. - Seam expresses genuine interest in battles and asks Kris for stronger Darkners to face off against. Seam takes enjoyment from giving Darkners a "little scare" with their gaming prowess, and finds it disappointing when others can't compete with them.

Differences: Seam seems genuinely interested in battling. In contrast, Noelle is coaxed into battling by taking advantage of her lack of knowledge. She doesn't enjoy it, and only seeks it out until after she's convinced herself its "good for her". You could argue that Seam went the same route, but then that begs the question: who and why would someone do that to Seam???

Their "smile" is emphasized as an important detail. In the Weird Route ARG, "Thank You Survey", it emphasizes when and where Noelle's smile occurs. The answers being: "Before the sun went down" and "the Lake". In Chapter 5, you can see Noelle's manic "smile", as Kris and Noelle proceed to drown themselves. Seam's design has a permanently, partially stitched "smile" (which creates an allusion to partial facial paralysis). They have 2 smile sprites: an "empty" smile (as described by King), and a "toothy" smile. Seam continues to “fake smile” despite their depression, nihilism and being capable of frowning or other mouth movement.

Differences: King uses their "smile" to describe Seam's lack of genuine happiness after being forced to lock Jevil up. In contrast, Noelle's smile is more manic, happens while Kris is still around, and occurs due to constant mental anguish. However, both smiles are devoid of genuine happiness, manifesting due to some form of anguish caused from the actions of the other (i.e Jevil & Kris "changing"). Both are forced to complete an undesirable action. Seam is asked to lock Jevil up, presumably because no one else could trick/defeat him. Noelle is forced to "proceed" because no one else has Iceshock. They're both the "key" for that specific event, but the context and motives behind it are completely different.

Note: You can argue Noelle’s “fake smile” is the one we see in home town. That she puts up a facade to mask her inner turmoil and appear “fine” to the rest of the world. In that case, both Seam and Noelle have “empty” smiles, simply putting up a facade to hide inner turmoil. It’s a valid argument, so I won't dismiss it. 

In terms of sprites, 90% of them are her face doing variants of “ =3 ” ..and Seam’s is just “ ;3 ”.

Close friend* changed due to otherworldly forces, effecting them - We, the player, are an entity existing outside the game's universe. We make Kris act out of character, such as being more social/interactive, and we alter their voice. We can force Kris into W. Route, with them showing their resentment and unwillingness towards us. In W. Route, this "change" deeply affects Noelle, causing her to mentally spiral, leading to her (and Kris') deaths*. This is caused by our actions. - The "strange someone" is an entity existing outside the universe's confines. It's associated with FRIEND, shadow crystals, and Spamton's telephone. The entity interacts directly with Jevil, causing him to "change" and mentally spiral. He acts out of character, saying strange things and eventually plans to murder the Kings (the "HP" game). This "change" deeply effects Seam, causing them to mentally spiral and eventually become suicidal. This is caused by the stranger’s actions.

 As Noelle puts it, "(...that if I stayed by your side any longer.) // (You were going to drag me down with you.) // (Drag me down somewhere no one is supposed to go.)" Jevil and Kris both inevitably "drag" Seam and Noelle down with them. Quite literally, as they both end up on the bottommost layer of the area (under the lake, & beneath the castle/ in Prison).

Note: Due to Deltarune’s logic, they don’t literally die, but reset (like in Undertale) or go… somewhere else..? Hence the apostrophe on “deaths”.

Suicidal - Noelle talks about having the desire to "fly away" or "leaving town". When questioned by Susie if she means "running away", Noelle responds, "I guess..." implying that’s not what she really meant. In W. Route, we see her dissociation regarding her and her life. By that time, we've pushed her to the brink, causing her to commit suicide, alongside Kris. - When we first meet Seam, they maintain a nihilistic point of view, believing the world will end. If you don't recruit every Darkner each chapter, they'll continue to spiral. They lose interest in their hobbies and continue to isolate themselves.They state, "I suppose as long as you keep returning here, it's worth staying awake a little while longer..." Similarly to how Noelle uses "running/flying away" as a euphemism for suicide, Seam uses the concept of "sleep".

TLDR: The W. Route kills* both of these characters.

Connected to Dess* / Dreemurrs - December is Noelle's sister, and she's a family friend of the Dreemurrs. She's childhood friends with Kris. - Seam is Asriel's plushie. If my theories are correct, then they were created by Dess as a gift to Azzy.

Connected to outside the universe - In W. Route, Noelle is the key to accessing the backdoor of this world, "SIDE B". This terminal exists outside the natural constructs of Deltarune's universe. - If PureCrystals are Seam's creation, then they're the key to the "TwistedSword", and whatever path is unlocked using said weapon. The crystals they collect are directly tracked in the Chapter Select screen, which exists outside of Deltarune's universe. The collection is permanent, even if you delete a save. This is juxtaposed to in-universe collection trackers, like the EGGs. Seam also directly quotes two lines from Entry 17, and knows how these crystals function.

Noelle isn't aware that what she does will hijack Deltarune. She's acting out of pure self interest- albeit suicidal. While Seam awareness of the "outside" is up for debate, they still refer to their quest as purely self interest- with added benefit and "entertainment" value for Kris. This acknowledgement of self-interest is in Chapter 5, when failing to obtain Gerson's Crystal.

The situations don't match up precisely and I try to argue against every claim, hoping it's mere delusion. However, the more I go, the more uncanny this is... I didn't even address Jevil (as DevilsKnife) being used in Scythemare, Susie's "Sleepmist" equivalent- nor him smiling at Noelle in scythe form. Hell, this spell is described giving others nightmares, which allude to Jevil's "sleeping" dialogue and W. Route Noelle refers to her dream as a "nightmare".

Seam's life sounds eerily similar to W.Route Noelle's experiences, despite being completely different. This short, chaotic, knife wielding, close companion starts acting strange, speaking out-of-character (ex: Kris' "proceeds") and knowing things they shouldn't (ex: Kris hearing Noelle's thoughts). Some things don't make sense, some do, and you're left to ruminate on it (ex: Noelle wanting to talk to Kris). Eventually, you begin to change for the worse. Your outlook of your life and this world grows darker, until eventually suicide is your means of escape.

It's pure speculation but I think Seam's experience is reflective of the Abandoned Weird Route, hence why their item "PureCrystal" creates the TwistedSword. They never fully believed what Jevil was saying until AFTER he was imprisoned. Whereas Noelle believes it after the Soul's voice appears and the thorn ring is equipped. Whilst this happens with Kris alongside Noelle... Seam and Jevil were eventually separated. I do wonder what would've happened if they weren't.

There's a universe in which Jevil never played the "HP game" with the Kings. Therefore, Seam could've kept listening to his jargon till they eventually believed it. If they never had to lock him up BUT he was still insane, at that point wouldn't their life start to resemble Noelle's? Hell, by the time we meet them the idea of Jevil being free and causing "chaos" doesn't bother them. They only dislike their "effort" being undone. Furthermore, Seam was asked to lock Jevil up but describes it as being "forced". Whilst I interpreted this as no one being able to do the task, forcing them to prison their closest friend they clearly cherish- under a W. Route re-interpretation I'll ask: If this "listening to his words" continued until they believed it, would Seam still imprison Jevil? As they say, "After all, it's not as if whatever happens, will matter in the end. Perhaps a little chaos might be fun." What started these comparisons was specifically the scene where Kris refuses to get up from bed. Locking themselves up in their room, preventing us from "meeting" Noelle, til its so late its nearly night. They even fight us when moving and getting up, not even creating flavor text to read. Whilst the situations are completely different, it reminded me of Jevil perceiving being 'locked up' as freedom. As long as he stays in prison, he's free from the inevitable doom or the "end of the story". If something outdoors is so horrible that you feel safer inside, wouldn't being "locked up" in a room feel like freedom? You don't have to partake in the "narrative", you don't have to "proceed". You can skip the cutscene, the event itself, by sleeping until it's over. Everyone can go to the festival, make fountains or continue playing kingdom and court- but as long as you're inside you don't have to do, nor experience, that which scares you. If you know the ending is bad then why partake in it like everyone else? As Noelle puts it, "they'll just keep marching down the same path.. without even thinking where it goes!".

#5) Miscellaneous

This section is to discuss things I couldn't fit above, or it’s too small to have its own section.

1.) During Aqua and Blue's tea time, he states, "Oh, my sweet dear. Love is how the world revolves... // A revolution, written in feathered pen, clashed by feathered sword." Aqua and Seth even reference this pen/sword in their battle flavor text. Susie, as described by Gerson is the "white pen of hope", and obviously Kris is the sword. Following that same logic, Jevil, the knife wielder, is the sword thus Seam is then pen. To say the pens clash with swords, is indicative of what went down with Seam and Jevil - and inevitably might happen with Susie and Kris.

I point this out because of the Jail scene with Susie, Kris and Aqua. All parties are locked up and play a "game" with Aqua in order to get out. Aqua says she knows how to win, calling Seth over to free her. Eventually, she gets Seth to open the door by being unable to decide who to be friends with (because they're both "purple"). At the end, Kris gives Seth the "feather of a true genius" as reward for freeing the fungang (and Aqua, haha). Then Aqua puts Seth in Jail. The scene reminded me a lot of the events with Seam and Jevil. The Fungang go to a jail and play a "game" with the prisoner. In order to open the door, Jevil says "the shopkeeper knows a secret", prompting you to go to Seam for help. After "winning" the game, you (Kris) can give Seam his shadow crystal, an item Seam really, really wants.

For clarity's sake, here’s what I'm comparing: Aqua enters Fungang jail -> Fungang enters Jevil's jail. Susie explains the "jail" game -> Jevil explains the "HP" game. Aqua "knows Seth can unlock the door" -> Jevil "knows Seam can unlock the door". Seth is rewarded with a feather -> Seam is rewarded with a crystal.

In the JP dialogue, Jevil swaps between "you" pronouns, such as "omae" and "kimi". These are referential to closeness and feelings towards others. He starts with "omae", a pronoun with more distance than "kimi", which is more friendly and can translate to "buddy/pal". This implies, much like Aqua, he changes his feelings on the fungang, viewing them as friends- or of similar status to that. She also jumps on Susie's head a lot, reminiscent of DevilsKnife only being equipable on Susie.

Note: This swap in pronouns implies he tends to switch between different feelings.. He has a lot of intentionality within his words, which makes sense for a jester (whose entertainment are jokes and word play!).

2). Noelle describes her life as, "like watching myself through glass", referring to her state of dissociation/depersonalization. Shadow Crystals are associated with "glass" and represent the lost dreams of presumably, lightners. Though there's the glass Blackshard & Prophecy Panels, these crystals specifically refer to someone's broken dream. Paired alongside the book in ROOTs room's stating, "And so wept the fallen star, making rivers with its tears. Then slowly, from the bitter water, something grew. It looked like glass". This description of broken dreams and "seeing the world like glass" pairs well with the fallen star's creation.

3). Chapter 5 adds more evidence that Jevil's elemental pair changed to Death/Scythe instead of Chaos/Chaos shown in the unused recruit text. Shi, whose Scythe elemental, uses a near-identical scythe attack to Jevil. The Devilknife description is a, "Skull-emblazoned scythe-ax." Skulls are often a symbol of death. This lines up with Spamton's animosity when stating, "JUST WATCH OUT FOR THE [$#&*] THAT USE [Death/Scythe]!!! NEVER AGAIN!!!"

4). Jevil has an egregious amount of privilege over Spamton. He's able to tell other Darkners (King and most notably, Seam) about future events, whilst Spamton signs one contract with Tenna and is left for dust. Spamton describes Jevil as someone to "surpass", deeming Jevil's only flaw being a lack of ambition. Plus, Jevil views himself as "free" whilst Spamton still needs to achieve said "freedom" (even in Neo form). Spamton says "WATCH ME FLY, [MAMA]!!!!", but is still tethered to strings and unable to actually "fly". Funnily enough, despite no Card Kingdom Darkners (excluding birds) having this ability, Jevil can fly/float. Assuming both the telephone and the "strange someone" are the same, Jevil met them directly, whilst Spamton must rely on a telephone interface. Hell, according to new Pink dialogue, the entity "Friend" is this "someone's" cat-thing. Its heavily implied they're hunting Spamton, and possibly others as well. Jevil isn't being hunted by Friend. In fact, these "cats" don't even appear in Chapter 1. Essentially he's "surpassed" Spamton in every way and he acknowledges this. He even deems the NEO body, a creation by a Lightner, is needed to surpass him, which says a lot about Jevil's place in this hierarchy of horrors.

5.) In chapter 5, FRIEND changes forms. It takes a similar appearance to our overworld "ACT" option, disregarding the "border" associated with ACTing and our battle UI. Once we activate this "trap", Friend attacks the SOUL based on our first inventory item's selling price. Interestingly, the Friend's recolor and fake "ACT" option is red. This reminded me of Knight's red slash attacks and Jevil's red Devilsknife (...and also Redbuster). Both Jevil and Knight's final attack disregards the UI box, and creates bullets large enough to cover the entire screen. They both use "red" colored attacks (paired with white). Red is a color associated with the Soul.

Though red is used in many attacks, such as Fake Gerson's attacks, Zapper's bullets turning red, or Shi's "target" thing, etc. I find Jevil's red attack unusual. Toby could've used any other color, but chose "red", for some reason. We know green, blue colored attacks exist thanks to Chapter 5. This only puts more pressure on the color "red". It's possible this color refers to “Soul”/RED damage specifically, since RedBuster exists. (I don't recall every single bullet pattern, but if anyone finds a fully 100% red attack, that’s summoned like that (doesn't swap colors), please comment! I'd be happy to be wrong!)

6.) My Seam and Ramb comparisons have new evidence! Seam describes the "secret" item as "entertaining" and specifically calls out Kris at the start of the conversation. This is reminiscent of Ramb's and the original game, which was supposed to be "fun" for Kris. Though, I don't think Seam is outright antagonistic or trying to harm us in a way. If they continue to work in the opposite direction to Ramb, it's likely this is a very positive experience- juxtaposed to the Mantle Game, a clearly disturbing one. However, if the item they make is the PureCrystal, then... perhaps Kris will finally have "fun"...again.

#6) Personal Addendum:

Anndd that's all folks! Thanks for reading this! I want to say I'm incredibly grateful to those who stuck around, especially those who've been reading these since the very beginning. Y'all are awesome!!!!!!!

To be honest, I think this is the most nervous I've been towards an analysis. These connections I've made feel like an impossibly volatile topic to poke. There's so many characters that connect to one another, resemble or mirror each-other (some more strongly than others). But, to quote my friend (and my beta! TY to her!!! <33), "Narrative foiling is more of a web really; Many different reflections connected". So perhaps, these two are another shard in the fractals of a mirror, just coexisting alongside everyone else.

Also, I've been planning to make a video combining & summarizing everything I've learned and analyzed over the years. I don't know when it's coming out, or if it ever will. But hopefully, if it does..? "Stay tuned!", as they say.