#lore theory

As we all know, the name Zandik is a persian name. However, as a history enjoyer, I thought it would be fun to point out a few other things that I found that related him to Persia! Some of these are just curioisities, I wouldn't take them too seriously, but the last one gives me hope that he will come back.

So, I feel like too few people are talking about it and I love myself a good theory, so here's mine:

The purpose of the black tent is to provide our 5 beloved monsters with a human skin. Here the interaction on Day 2 when you visit the black tent for the first time:

Notice 3 things: the black ticket, the people in line assuming that the circus is "hiring", and MC pointing out that all of the people are taller than them. The black ticket is pretty straightforward, it serves the same purpose as the pink and golden ticket: sorting the visitors. The "hiring" aspect makes me think that someone approached them (it may not be even so far-fetched to claim that it was the same person that offered MC the pink ticket), claiming that the circus is "looking for people", and offering them an "interview". The last and most important point is the MC pointing out that everyone was taller than them. You know who else MC pointed out being taller than them? Our 5 beloved freaks.

This has been moving around in my brain for a while, with all the ghost imagery, the offputtingness of Slide to me and after reading @pirate-queen-aurora's Magnificent Post as well as @handlebarstiedtothestars's Fantabulous Post.

This is a theory, halfbaked and follows threads from the above posts which actually helped me to form proper words and not just the screams in my head. Theories are fun and this is what this is, fun.

Ok Ok.

If we look at @pirate-queen-aurora's theory that Yunho is looking for his bother's ghost and may have died in order to find his brother and bring him back. I think that happened. Yunho died and it's his soul/spirit that is looking for his brother's soul/spirit.

Yunho's body is left behind. but his soul goes searching. With his soul gone, his body is left open, for what? Could be sopro, could be another spirit, but something enters him, which then traps his soul in purgatory.

I quiet like the idea that Mingi did chase after Yunho trying to get him back.

I agree that the house in Youth is a purgatory for them, that Mingi manages to break Yunho free from that place when he smashes the mirror.

And I personally believe that the road and the feild is kind of like an Elysium-like place, but they can't escape just yet. The something possessing him is stopping him from re-entering his body.

And we see that fight back in the stage performances that we have had recently. My mind goes to the AAA stage performance with Yunho's little interlude before IYF. He looks...different and then he covers his ears, like he's trying to stop the whispering sounds (the real Yunho and Mingi?)

He them goes from covering his ears and standing at attention within milliseconds. like whatever is in Yunho's body snaps out of it.

He then is transfixed by the table. Does the shrouded candle call to him? he drinks something. Wine? Poison? something to stop the whispers so he can keep control of the body he possesses. Is he the phantom?

I also look at the SBS stage. I made notes:

We also get a bell toll, which usually symbolises the dead.

The part I need to know is where Slide to me fits in the timeline of things. Because I have thought that Yunho seems very different to usual.(I am aware of the rushedness of the MV and Yunho wasn't fully happy with it).

I'm starting to think the feeling of being watched is Yunho looking in, trying to get back into his body. The beginning he looks back at us, but maybe he's looking at Yunho's soul who is looking for a way back in, in a this body is mine now kind of way. And he uses it to do what ever he wants. Drinking, Sex?

And the reflection in the mirror is Yunho watching his body. Yunho's body moves, the reflecton stays and watches.

The bathtube could be one of two things

He goes underwater to drown out whispers (Yunho and/or Mingi if Mingi is still with Yunho's soul)

or

This is Yunho taking over witht e idea that he will need to kill the body again for his real soul to come back.

Where do ghosts come into this - well, ghosts are just lost spirits yeah? Unable to move on.

Is whatever is possessing yunho's body actually his brother who wants to use Yunho's body for another chance at life

The main question is:

Did he die in Ash?

It seems to be the likeliest place, but it feels more dreamlike/afterlifeesque than an actual place of his death. but the clothes point to it being where he dies.

@handlebarstiedtothestars brings up some good points about `yunho (and Hwa) are the only ones wearing white here:

White is the colour for mourning and death in a lot of eastern cultures. In Ash, They are wearing white, Yunho is in the (crater?) in white.

In the SBS stage, the ghosts circle Yunho as oppossed to being behind him like they were with Hwa. With (with woo they lean into him until Hwa comes back), do they know something? and when Seonghwa arrives with the lantern, Yuhno is gone, did he /it sense what was in it to drive away ghosts/spirits?

One last thing I want to bring up is that in their SBS stage outfits there is a lot of symbolism - cranes, clouds, pine trees, dragons and peacocks. Every single person has a peacock on their outfit, every single one of them. Except Yunho. He has the crane and the pine tree, which is mirrored, but no peacock. which strikes me as very odd.

Peacocks have a lot of meaning, in both western and eastern cultures. This site had a quick breakdown of different meanings. Here is a section: It also represents resilience, as its feathers maintain their beauty long after being shed, symbolising the endurance of the soul and the continuation of life.

So why doesn't Yuno have the Peacock? does this mean he is dead and his soul is blocked from returning and that means there is no continuation of his life? If he doesn't expel the spirit (with help from the boys) will he be cut off from his body forever and be trapped in a limbo place?

Again this is a halfbaked theory, but it's been in my brain for a hot minute and now you guys can think about it too!

The Parents (or adults in general) of Burgess put up Easter Egg Hunt banners but forget the eggs. They don't buy presents from Santa before Christmas but the presents arrive anyway. They don't take their children's teeth and leave gifts behind but their kids still come to them the next morning with a quarter (or other gift via another Guardian). (this one doesn't count as much ->) They pass down sayings to their kids about the guardians and other spirits like "Jack Frost is nipping at your nose".

The guardians' job is to protect children and their belief. Once those children age out, do they suddenly forget and are unable to see them? The adults in the movie couldn't see Jack, but no one could at that point. When the guardians are in Burgess and can be seen, all the parents are asleep.

The parents in RotG are either the most unobservant "someone else must've done it" people alive, or they can see and believe in the guardians as well, the guardians just don't focus on them because they can't help preserve them anymore.

Maybe... maybe the Sunbringer & Ramielle are familially connected with each other? I don't know, I just think about that one scene from the S3 teaser & I'm just getting "little sis Void Hunter goes to her big sis Bangboo creator for help" vibes...

Aka more details about the impalement on Messmer's Crusade banner/sigil and also his ring

Impalement is a heraldic practice in which two coats of arms are combined in one shield to denote a union. Generally.

More specifically, it is associated with the marshalling of arms which, refers to the combination of two or more coats of arms onto a single shield. The impaled shield is bisected in pale (that is, by a vertical line) with each half of the shield displaying a complete coat of arms.

This is often used to represent family alliances through marriage or inheritance or occupation of office, or display unions with an ecclesiastical office, academic position, government office, or mystical union.

Impalement in heraldry: on the dexter side of the escutcheon/shield, the position of greatest honour, are placed the arms of the husband (baron), with the paternal arms of the wife (femme) on the sinister.

In the most basic terms, Messmer's Crusade sigil can be seen as the union of his forces and Marika's, specifically the Black Knights.

But more specifically, the impaled sigil of Messmer's Crusade follows the ecclesiastical heraldry of either a bishop or a king-at-arms:

In ecclesiastical heraldry, a bishop's coat of arms might show the arms of their diocese/see/official arms on the dexter (left) side of greater honour, and their hereditary/family arms on the sinister (right) side. A King-at-Arms might show the insignia of their office on the dexter side and their family arms on the sinister. 

An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

In church governance, a diocese, also known as a bishopric, is the territorial area under the jurisdiction of a bishop, encompassing churches and parishes overseen by that bishop. A diocese is a geographical region where a bishop has authority and responsibility for the spiritual care and governance of the Catholic faithful within that area. 

A king-at-arms is synonymous to king-of-arms, first recorded in the 15th century, originating from the late Middle English phrase "king of armes". It refers to the highest rank of heraldic officer, with the authority to grant armorial bearings (coats of arms) and sometimes certify genealogies and noble titles to individuals and organizations. Besides Kings of Arms, other heraldic officers include heralds and pursuivants.

Messmer might not be filling in the role of the exiled firstborn. A facet of his archetype—a combination of charismatic/friendly or sympathetic monster, cursed royal/reverse lindworm prince, soldier fighting in distant lands/stranded soldier, puppet tyrant—might be the forbidden hot priest, emphasis on the "forbidden" with its own Fromsoft flavor.

Yes, I know, messners/churchwardens are not really priests but volunteers, bishops are the priests, and kings-at-arms are heraldic officers.

Marika being both god and queen makes this complicated. We don't actually know what exact rank and position (or combination of) she gave Messmer. (Except that he is apparently a Ser, which is usually used for knights.)

Anyway, Rellana chasing after Messmer can be seen as a play on the passionate maiden going after an emotionally unavailable priest. And obviously it didn't work out that way.

She instead became his loyal sword/blade and they became neighbors, exactly like the relationship of the Astronomers and Fire Giants as depicted in the Sword of Night and Flame.

And Messmer wears his ring in his middle finger happily stating his singleness and that his purpose, identity, life goal, self-worth and responsibility/duty is tied to the Crusade.

You want to rescue romance this man so bad, you make sure he loses his seal of grace, his armor, cape and ESPECIALLY his ring and replace it with yours, okay.

You put a ring on his finger and tell him his Crusade is over. His duty is done, he can rest and he and his army can return home. His purpose is changed and you will happily provide him a new one.

It's likely that Zoey was always creating music in some capacity, maybe she got a lot of traction on social media and Celine saw her and it clicked.

Considering Mira openly addresses how she was considered a problem child, my theory is that she pursued dance/music against her family's wishes and since she's from a well to do family it was VERY public and Celine caught wind of it and was like "yep that's the one"