slop enjoyer

What other speech pattern is there? Especially the ones that do not come through well in MTL.

Hello! Sorry for the late reply, I completely missed this...

I wrote down several notable things here :

How people talk to Soleum (use of honorifics)

Other than that, one thing I think is interesting (that I also saw a few kr twts mention) is how Braun talks.

He talks like he was translated from English.

It's different from, say, Cha Eugene from DoD, who talks like someone who learned Korean as a second language & has some common verbal tics of second generation Korean immigrants & makes vocab mistakes.

In contrast, Braun talks fluently, but uses expressions that makes his speech sound translated. (Like a professionally translated novel, or a movie subtitle.)

A rough analysis and theory of Kim Soleum’s relationship with the DER wiki.

Spoilers for parts 1, 2, and the first few chapters of part 3!

So like. Are we just gonna let it go? That Soleum, while in a body that was quite literally dying of starvation and dehydration, managed to

A: knock and pin a full grown man down while two other guys were trying to wrestle him off. And

B: catch himself on a ledge while in free fall, hold up his entire body weight even when his grip became slick with blood, let one hand go to grab the stamper and stamp his shirt (so now he’s hanging off the edge with one blood slicked hand and is also leaning out to reach the stamp), and then fully pull himself up out of the hole, and wall climb out of the basement that has no stairs, all while having been on the verge of dying 2 days ago, of feeling so physically weak that just getting up and walking to the assignment lobby exhausted him.

ARE WE JUST GONNA IGNORE THAT????

Before his unusual strength stat could be attributed to being in a shapeshifting body made of ghost stories. HE’S GOT NONE OF THAT RN. That should be a normal ass human body he’s inside of, not some superhuman vessel made for Ireum-nim’s descent!

…Unless that’s exactly it and this is how we find out what happened to Soleum’s lizard body. Dying of starvation lizard body is equivalent to Soleum’s normal superhuman strength, apparently. Guy gets winded walking up a mountain but apparently full body pull-ups are no problem!

No wait, actually, this would be so funny. What if in the time Soleum and Jaheon were trapped in Sekwang, some Nameless Cult guy broke into Jaheon’s apartment, saw the Soleum/Ireum shaped body, and decided that this was his god and he must awaken them for the good of the world. Cue Lizard body waking up and becoming its own person, being raised in the cult as God and then maybe escaping somehow. Now they’re in debt, and need money, fast. Why not work at this DayDream branch for quick cash? Except they’re shit at work because all that strength breaks everything they touch, so they get demoted until they’re desperate. They go and pray to the god the cult mistook them for, and then get repossessed by Soleum who’s in the market for a new DER body/character/build.

Points for: it’d be funny. And Soleum doesn’t know what he looks like because he hasn’t seen himself in a mirror yet. He’s surprised when Nasol identifies him as Roe Deer, he thought he’d look different/be in someone else’s body.

Points against: I have no idea if Soleum could see his snout while he was in the Lizard Body. If he could, he’s not in a lizard body, but he’s still stupidly, unrealistically strong.

2 days of mediocre food does not solve his physically dying problems. Adrenaline can do a lot, but it’s not a miracle worker.

I wonder if just possessing a body forces the body’s physical strength to rise to where Soleum thinks it should be. Or maybe something like: “I have to do this and then the thing happens” in regards to himself. Or dream logic: if I think of x thing, x thing happens. Like how he wasn’t instantly contaminated despite turning on a light or touching a religious item up until he realized he should be after doing those things.

Okay. Here's some key words you're gonna need to know.

OG Soleum: This refers to the original Kim Soleum summoned by Cheerful in Sekwang city. Currently receiving Counseling.

Good Friend Soleum: This refers to the Soleum we followed for the majority of the novel. Turned into a lump.

Current Soleum: The Soleum we are currently following in Part 3 who woke up in the ghost story world.

Okay now for the theory.

Fact: Kim Soleum went into a dream of the abandoned pop up store. He closely recreated the circumstances which got him summoned in Ch1. He wakes up in The Ghost Story World.

Original Assumption: The Good Friend Soleum was somehow resummoned into The Ghost Story World in a new body. The drawing below depicts what I mean.

THEORY: Instead of The Good Friend Soleum being summoned, it was actually OG Soleum who was summoned into the body of Current Soleum. Good Friend Soleum is still home. As depicted in the drawing below.

Thats the theory. Now for evidence

The Original Assumption: and why it doesn't work.

The Power needed for Summoning

We have been shown that the power needed to summon someone from another world is extreme. So extreme that three extremely powerful factions all teamed up to do it, with the help of multiple powerful entities. The power was so extreme that the consequences of this summoning was the erasure of an entire city because it could've ended the whole world. However there is no known event this extreme for Good Friend being summoned into Current Soleum, despite the jump from world to world.

Where is Braun?

Braun has proven time and time again he can follow his Good Friend anywhere regardless of the state of his body or mind. Despite 130666 being completely unrecognizable as Kim Soleum or a human, Braun was still able to find him. The only reason Braun dissapeared was cause Soleum entered his world without Ghost stories. And now he's back! And Braun is nowhere to be found.

The Managers Contract

It has been stated that three years have passed in The Ghost Story World. The Managers contract that allowed him to control The Golden Resort and let Soleum exist outside of it, is long expired. And yet The Manager (who has been shown to be able to appear where Soleum is in regard to his contract) is nowhere to be seen.

Good Friends Filters Please note this is evidence based on a theory where The Good Friend filter, filtered out emotions from OG Soleum. We have very little known info on the specifics of the Good Friend Filter. All we know for sure is that it blocked out Good Friend Soleum's memory of mostly everything before the start of the novel. And erased any suspicion at the lack of memory. The theory this evidence is built on is that The Good Friend filter actually blocked out some feelings and emotions. Specifically, anger.

Soleum has always been a very docile indivual. He never rlly gets angry and despite his dramatic narration, hardly rlly shows emotion outwardly except in a few moments under specific circumstances. And yet in Pt 3, post awaking in The Ghost Story World, he has been very emotional. He actively reacts and shows emotions, groaning outwardly in dismay, screeching in fear, yelling when he gets emotional, stammering in panic. He actively fainted at the site of a ghost which hes never actually done before despite his belief he will. And he's been strangely angry. Cursing at people in his head, wiki writers, and workers. Being tempted to tell people to shut up. Getting angry at the thought he was nearly tricked. Behavior hes never really shown before.

The Theory: and how it makes sense.

The Power needed for Summoning

An extreme amount of power is needed to summon someone from another world. Yet we have been shown this is not the case with summoning someone, already in this world. In the notes the researcher left behind about the summoning of Good Friend Soleum, it is implied that the most difficult part was not the summoning at all, but rather keeping him alive after the summoning, and finding the ingredients to keep the body stable. Unlike Sekwang City which was an astronomical event, the summoning of The Good Friend was so unknown and had so little consequences that Soleum only found out due to his wish. While summoning someone from another world is very unlikely to happen again due to the power required, summoning another Good Friend would be very plausible.

Where is Braun?

Braun has been able to find Soleum regardless of his body or mental state, yet fails to find Current Soleum. Could this be due to the fact that this is not The Soleum he befriended? Who he pledged eternal companionship to? Its implied that Braun does not really acknowledge both OG Soleum and Good Friend Soleum as his friends. Or else he wouldnt make such an effort to defend Good Friend Soleum against OG Soleum. He wouldn't be so worried about Good Friend Soleum if he saw them as one and the same. Because when Good Friend Soleum was in trouble, OG Soleum was perfectly fine. Yet Braun still worried. If its true that Braun only considers Good Friend Soleum as his good friend (because hes the one who summoned him) then would this not explain his absence? After all Current Soleum would be a version of OG Soleum. Not Good Friend Soleum.

The Managers Contract

It's a very similar point to The Braun evidence. The tattoo, the contract, the resort was all linked to Good Friend Soleum. Not OG Soleum. Could it be the manager has not appeared because Current Soleum is not his boss? Not the owner of The Golden Flower Resort? It would explain why he's nowhere to be seen.

Good Friends Filters Again this evidence is based on a theory so it doesn't work as well as the others unless the theories proven correct.

If the theory that Good Friend Soleum's emotions were filtered out it would certainly explain Current Soleum's behavior. Because its possible that Current Soleum wouldn't have any filters. Therefore he behaves as The Og Soleum did. And theres evidence to this! Soleum would often believe he was a very fearful, expressive, and emotional indivual. It showed in his dramatic narration and comments regarding himself. Often believing himself to be about to faint, or to be showing fear or expression on his face. Despite his narration, it is repeatedly proven that Soleum is not an emotional or expressive person. Often compared to the expressionless Chief Lizard. And yet Current Soleum is everything Soleum has described himself to be. He reacts emotionally, he groans out loud, he yelps in surprise, he snaps when he's upset, he stammers when he panics, he faints when he's scared. And not once has he been described as emotionless. And then theres the biggest factor. Anger. Now OG Soleum is theorized to be an angrier indivual due to the contrast given to us. OG Soleum has rarely ever gotten angry, and when he has its under extreme circumstances. He remains calm in nearly every situation and has a tight hold on his own emotions. Contrast that with our singular impression of OG Soleum. Desperate, terrified, angry. Full of emotion and feeling. Would it not make sense for Current Soleum to be summoned from OG Soleum? Without the emotional filters? Would it not explain his sudden lack of control over his own emotions? A skill he has always possessed?

And my final piece of evidence.

This has happened before.

The Novel begins in Soleums Ghost story less world before immiedatly transporting us to The Ghost Story World less then a chapter in. We never see Soleums world again, and returning there becomes our primary goal. Throughout his journey Soleum mysteriously fails to mention key details. How did he get here? Who brought him here? Why does he never mention his family or home? It is revealed to him and us that he was not summoned from his world to The Ghost Story World but is in fact a summoned version of himself who was already here.

Part 3 begins in Soleums world. It shouldve been the pay off to the entire novel. Where his singular goal has been to go home. Yet we are ripped away from that world and brought back into The Ghost Story World in less then 3 chapters. We did not get to meet any of his friends and family and the majority of our time there was spent alone with Soleum. Part 3 begins with a strange lack of acknowledgment. Why has he not been wondering who summoned him? How he was summoned? What this body he's summoned in is? Or what the message of Ireum nim meant? Or why has he not acknowledged that the message said the apocalypse already happened? Why has he not worried for The Golden Resort? Or Braun? His mind should be perfectly intact. Would it be so unusual to find out that it happened again? Another Good Friend? Another filter.

Soleum’s wish is to return home, for that to happen in the way he intends, he needs to be healthy and whole with both his mind and body intact. He cannot melt the moment he returns home because his body is incompatible with the world. That would not perfectly fulfill his wish. And GF Soleum is ultimately just OG Soleum, only filtered in a way that keeps him sane and lets him communicate with others. Just like how GF Braun is just a projection of Braun the Talk Show Host. So GF Soleum’s wish also applies to OG Soleum. Therefore, the perfect wish potion must have fully and perfectly restored GF/OG Soleum’s state before giving him the exit. Him being restored in the dream incubator is likely due to a subconscious desire to say goodbye to his friends, the same way those stairs also gave him the option to return home, or break the egg and stay with his friends.

It just wouldn’t make sense for a 5 million point potion to not do what it says on the box.

So Soleum returned home in his OG body. His GF body? Who knows. My guess is it became the egg shell surrounding him.

One more thing: Soleum does comment on the body he’s currently in. Mainly that he’s aware this body had a history from before he possessed it, its current state of malnutrition and physical weakness due to that history, his current social standing also due to that history, and he’s surprised his acquaintances were able to correctly identify him regardless.

Soleum initially believed he’d entered someone else’s body, and then after confirmation that he still looks like himself, decides it’s an advantage for his current situation. He ultimately concludes that his identity and appearance must’ve remained the same this time as well.

This is probably also a false assumption on Soleum’s part. He’s basing it off of his previous experience, but his GF body was literally manufactured to look like him and his legal identity was quickly cooked up to help hide and integrate him into society. Aka, someone deliberately created a body that matched his appearance along with an identity/backstory.

My guess is that his current body is a member of the Church of the Luminous Unknown (Nameless Cult) from the White Sect like the ID card Soleum picked up said. He looks and sounds like Soleum because he was modified in an attempt to recreate Ireum-nim (or make a vessel for his descent). He’s in the branch office because they tried to recreate Soleum’s known life story (his first job was at Daydream). He got sent to the branch office because Soleum’s a coward.

As for how Soleum reentered the DER world: he wasn’t summoned, he walked in on his own, and the darkness placed him in the most suitable body/location based off his ID card, like it did last time (might be a case of reversed cause and effect. He’s in Daydream because ID card says he’s in Daydream, not the other way around where the ID card he gets is a Daydream one because that’s where the researcher decided to hide him.).

No energy is needed for a darkness to pull someone into its world, it just needs the person to do the right steps and accept its invitation. Plus, Soleum already has a strong spiritual/mystical connection to that universe (having entered it with his physical body once), making it easier for him to be pulled in. He also entered this world through a dream this time, not his body. (Notably, the items he brought with him into his dream don’t follow him to DER.) It’d be a lot easier to project his mind from a dream into the DER world than for him to physically enter that world again. And time shenanigans could mean that he’s still asleep in his world while he’s exploring this Darkness world.