#lorekeeper post

I wanna talk about this specific one, Holloway Haunting starring Gourdy and Dandy released in 10/31/1991

This specific poster is important to mention when it comes to the lore of the holiday toons, specifically the year.

I theorized way back that all holiday mains that came after Bobette, since she was so successful and Delilah and Arthur wanted to replicate that.

And with Gourdy's poster being revealed, it all but confirms it. Bobette's poster is STILL the earliest episode aired that we know of and the earliest holiday episode released.

The year 1990, a whole year before Bassie and Gourdy's debut

All of this can also explains WHY Delilah and Arthur are so hard on Bassie and Gourdy as Holiday Mains.

Bobette was likely as successful as Dandy in universe, considering how many similarities they share.

They're the only ones that are pointed out to be chubby by Qwel canonically.

They both have a pet rock.

They were the first shop keepers.

They both are associated with music, Clair De Lune with Dandy and Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy with Bobette.

And her twisted is the only one that can "hear" something the player does besides failing a skill check just like Dandy.

She's the perfect image of what a holiday main SHOULD be and how successful a holiday main can be. Likely the reason why Delilah and Arthur are so strict when it comes to the other two being mains.

We don't ever hear about Bobette having any issues with being a main, unlike the other two holiday mains.

Proven more with Bobette's comment here.

Her success was the thing that led to Gourdy and Bassie being pressured to do well as a main.

Don't blame this on Bobette,

Bobette didn't HAVE any expectations placed upon her when she had her debut since she was the first holiday main after all if she didn't succeed, likely the other two mains wouldn't have been made into toons at all.

During the episode "I think I am a clone now" where an evil copy of Wordgirl is stealing everyone's thesauruses.

For a brief scene we see Tobey in his rocking chair, reading one of them.

Unlike the others who are in class or in a library—he just has one at home that he reads during his free time.

I find this a nice bit of character continuity because it makes so much sense for him to be reading one—but why?

Well to find out we need to know, what is a thesaurus?

A thesaurus is a reference book used to find different words that have the same or similar meanings.

Consider that in the Wordgirl shorts where he meets her for the first time, he describes various synonyms.

Such as when Becky says she doesn't want her house "demolished" he proceeds to use various other synonyms of demolish, such as:

Destroy

Wreck

Smash

Annihilate

And decimate

Or when he fought Wordgirl and he said,

"What about tussle"

And Wordgirl agrees and says,

"Tussle's good, I prefer brawl"

He knows his stuff when it comes to various words, not as much as Wordgirl considering she specializes in it but certainly enough to keep up with her.

It's nice to know that there's at least one person in the show that could match Wordgirl in terms of well... terms.

Makes them bonding in "Have you seen the remote?" even sweeter in my opinion because Tobey genuinely does like reading as much as Wordgirl.

Who knows Player is the type of person more than willing to throw hands with actual deities and wild creatures that are untamable by most and actual tamers thought to be the strongest.

And yet he STILL tried to challenge them to get the key from them. He was so high up in his delusions that he thought he could win against THEM.

Player beat up Victor Solis just because he was a corrupt individual abusing and using Zerzura;

Keep in mind that Suzie had to suggest to Player to take his key, otherwise Player would not have let him go.

While it is interesting to explore the themes and ideas in that;

Player is also the same mf willing to jump into the past during the Doodle War for no good reason

There is no reason for them to be:

JUMPING INTO THE PAST

IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR

WITHOUT ANY ITEMS

AND JUST ONE PRINTED DOODLE FROM DOODLECO

They literally were offered to go in the past with nothing but a stick and they went through with it 😭🖐️

November “Hey, we'd really appreciate it if you volunteered into risking your life in going back in time, btw you can't bring anything with you”

Player “...”

November “You get some stuff, some ancient coins, couple doodles, though we take everything you come back with”

Player “...”

November “Yeah most people don't come back, anyways want to go in?”

Like yeah, it's not as good as it would be because his Horbeast has Slash Expert and it has higher physical attack.

And I feel like that's on purpose.

Zavier would purposely limit himself like that. His main form of damage being magic attacks to keep distance rather than risk getting close despite the potential to get more damage.

Even his only physical move is to make the opponent flinch, making them unable to move for a turn.

Symbolically representing how he doesn't want to get hurt again by getting close to anyone.

And only getting close if he guarantees he won't be hurt.

It differentiates him from Quincy in that regard.

Where Quincy is still open to get close with people—hence Quincy's Horbeast using the most out of its ability and moves.

Sure you're more vulnerable when you get close, but that means you have more potential to do more than if you didn't.

And that made me think, is Becky's last name a pun on the Oxford dictionary?

Think about it, Oxford - Botsford

They sound similar enough but Botsford sounds better with Becky's name since they both start with B.

And I wouldn't put it past them considering the names of the other villains like Victoria Best or the Butcher having that kind of obvious naming convention.

As someone who's extremely nonverbal in most day-to-day life, I will forever relate to Player and the experiences they go through out the story.

Throughout their journey, we rarely hear them speak towards anyone during the early game and mid game. To the point where it has been mentioned by several characters as not just a gag, but a defining trait of theirs.

Since TJ bangs his head upon hearing the fact Suzie met someone who's not said a single word.

You'd think Player would get made fun off or get forced to speak more, but realistically from my experience, Player is actually fairly accurate.

No one really questions how quiet you are, they just accept the fact you don't speak much and just let you do your own thing.

Player being sorta ignored, brushed off and in the background to the point most people don't notice them is very accurate.

When other people are talking, they don't really bring up the fact you don't talk much especially if you aren't the focus.

It's one of the reasons why I love Player so much, being so nonverbal most of my life, the way the story itself incorporates that aspect of them is so natural and relatable to me.

And I love more that it showcases despite Player being nonverbal, they aren't any less capable than someone who runs their mouth. They're just as, if not more capable.

And the game showcases that being silent isn't a bad thing either, because since Player lets other people speak, it allows one to vent their emotions to them without being interrupted. Ex: Portia and Suzie.

But they are shown to actually talk out more to others they like or enjoy being around, such as Quincy and Suzie.

Since if someone nonverbal starts speaking to you, it usually means they feel comfortable enough to talk to you without judgement, as per my experiences.

And with them zoning out often to the point Suzie points it out, but she doesn't bother them proves that to them, this is just how they are.

TJ's team was actually quite stacked when you first battle him. (*Assuming you didn't pick Pupskey and wreck his ass)

All of his doodles had held items by that point, he had a clear plan for each of them, and they were quite hard hitters.

Early on, he showed quite the potential as a team builder and tamer, with quite strong picks.

(*Assuming you didn't pick up Pupskey or any ice type) He's doing quite well and has a solid idea of what he wants to do, so his team reflects that.

But as you go down and later into the story, he begins to slowly lose that identity and solid idea of what he wants to do and his team reflects that.

His team slowly begins to lose items, during Oasis his team only has half of the held items on each doodle.

Then he has no items on any doodle during Icyridge.

Alongside this idea, his team is also changed for the worse, replacing team staples for weaker doodles with incomplete movesets. Not even having stab on his lead during Icyridge.

Contrast all of this with Quincy, who is the complete opposite, who starts off as a jerk and weak but gets stronger and better, as a character and tamer.

Quincy doesn't use any held items during Graphite Lodge or von Sweetsville, and several of his doodles have incomplete movesets.

However, he finally starts using items around Oasis and gives his doodles actually good moves.

He continues to lock in and gives held items on all his doodles with complete and good move sets during Icyridge.