Line #226 WMG/CaptainSNES


1	[[WMG: THERE ARE OTHER SOVEREIGNS!]]
2	Golbez's red text was him being Touched by The Sovereign Of Anger. He was already VERY pissed off, so why would he get colored text? Well, who else has colored text? THE TOUCHED!
3	* Agreed. This would explain why he was able to hold his own against Eggplant Wizard, why this one called him a "sprinter running a marathon" (Anger is generally more quick to fade than depression), why Golbez was able to see his desire for vengeance (which spawned some anger) and why the "GOL-BEZ!" was Purple AND Red.
4	* It's probably less that there are other Sovereigns and more that there are other forces. The Sovereign of Sorrow is the greatest agent of Sorrow, but the other forces might not be as Personified as Sorrow's is. We see Roll talking in green and purple when she's simultaneously Touched by Hope and Sorrow.
5	* Hope Keene is probably the representative of hope.
6
7	[[WMG: When the story reaches the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' world, it will turn out that Cyan is Touched]]
8	While just about everyone in that game is in serious need of a hug, Cyan is the perfect candidate for a position as a servant of the Shard of Tears. Sorrow and loss defines his character; in the span of a single day, he lost everything he had cared about, and he continued to blame himself for a long time: for what happened to his family, what happened to his kingdom, and what happened to the world. This is pretty much the definition of the Shard's power; always looking backward, never forward, dwelling on the past. Also, Wexsoul will be another servant of the Shard; as a monster formed of nothing ''but'' raw sorrow and hatred, he is another perfect candidate.
9	* On the other hand, he might actually be a force for ''hope'', because of what happened with the Phantom Train. He moved past the death of his wife and child, knowing he'll see them again. He won't care that it's "fake", because it was real for him. Fighting for hope is what he's been doing since he met Sabin and Gao, after all.
10	* Jossed. However, he gets Touched during the course of the comic.
11
12	[[WMG: Terra will be pulled from the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' world into a world with still-working magic]]
13	Once she does, her Esperkin magic will come rushing back to her, and the sudden overload of magic will result in her going "ballistic" again.
14	* Close. [[spoiler:Kefka's BackFromTheDead]], and now magic exists again. ''Something'' happened to Terra, not clear what.
15	** I think she reverted to her Esper self.
16
17	[[WMG: The "Eater of Dreams" and the "[[VideoGame/ChronoTrigger Dream Devourer]]" will have ''something'' to do with each-other]]
18	So what if Chrono Trigger DS didn't exist when the Eater of Dreams was first named?
19
20	[[WMG: The "Sovereign of Sorrow" is not dead ]]
21	Not only is it alive, Ryan K. has been touched and the Sovereign is playing two of it's biggest threats against each other as it has been doing throughout the storyline.
22
23	[[WMG: Ryan is Touched by the Sovereign's counterpart]]
24	Two main reasons for this- Ryan speaks in green, and can hear WesternAnimation/{{Captain N\|The Gamemaster}}![[VideoGame/MegaManClassic Mega Man]]. Hope-Touched Roll spoke green (OK, it was half green/half purple, but still) and alpha energy's visibly green. It also fits with his worldview, and would work with the theme- alpha energy has been described as "corrupting" too, and he seems somewhat naive-; what better way for someone to be corrupted by excessive Hope than for them to see everything in black-and-white fantasy-style good and evil, where the heroes always act like heroes and always win?
25
26	[[WMG: Ryan has been touched by both the Sovereign and her counterpart]]
27	Unlike Roll, he doesn't have both sides, it manifests by him having the innocent worldview and black and white morality, but signs of corruption of the Sovereign are his complete inability to recognize things. Alex sees some of this, but can't put two and two together.
28
29	[[WMG: The Sovereign is Hope Keene]]
30	There have been numerous references to Hope Keene, and she's yet to actually appear in the story. It seems likely that the climax of the story will be Alex learning that Hope is in fact his enemy and being forced to battle against someone he cares for.
31
32	[[WMG: Hope Keene is the Sovereign's opposite number]]
33	Based solely on the name, but it seems a rather large coincidence that we have the opposed forces of Hope and Sorrow ''and'' a significant character called Hope. Could still do as above, as the hope side is described as corrupting too.
34
35	[[WMG: Bowser's been touched by the Sovereign's counterpart]]
36	Because just about the only way he could possibly believe he stands a chance of winning at this point is by being empowered with the very essence of hope. Also, it would explain why his son seemed relatively cheerful compared to the rest of the touched-being related to bowser granted him some degree of protection.
37
38	[[WMG: The Sovereign is a [[spoiler:Game Master]]]]
39	In the latest comic, [[spoiler:A sprite that had been touched for a long time and was no longer speaking, suddenly started speaking to Alex as if she knew him, and then she used pause. Pause is supposed to only be used by Game Masters. Question is: which system?]]
40
41	[[WMG: The Sovereign is the ghost of Creator/GunpeiYokoi]]
42	The Sovereign can see the future, but not the past -- which, in ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'', is listed as one of the abilities of the damned. The sovereign also has access to Game Master-like powers, can change the abilities of sprites (even if limited to only improving pre-existing abilities), and gives knowledge of the real world to anyone Touched. Clearly, the Sovereign is Gunpei Yokoi trying to take revenge on the company that destroyed him -- the whole female thing is a misunderstanding caused by using Queen Zeal as AFormYouAreComfortableWith for Magus.
43	* And using [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Princess Peach]] [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2002/11/07/227-out-of-left-field-hitting-3rd-base-along-the-way for Roy Koopa]].
44
45	[[WMG: Related to above: The Sovereign has something to do with/is [[spoiler: the Game Master for PC Gaming.]]]]
46	This makes perfect sense if you look at how the universe appears to work: no console is capable of modifying the game programmed into its cartridges on the fly, it takes [[spoiler:a more versatile PC to be able to do that]]. Thus, the Soveriegn is able to override the built in rules of the carts, allowing, among other things, Lucca to deal damage in hex. [[spoiler:A PC could theoretically be created that could run any game created in the past to whatever the future of PC gaming could be, allowing the soveriegn to see the future, as well as the current state of any emulated SNES game.]] The Sovereign could have been created, intentionally on not on the part of the requisite Game Master, out of the divide between [[spoiler:console and PC gaming.]]
47
48	[[WMG: As an alternate to the above: The Sovereign has something to do with/is [[spoiler: the Game Shark Master (Game Master of Game Sharks).]]]]
49	She can edit reality[[spoiler: ,like a hacking device]]. She can also destroy reality[[spoiler: ,like a Game breaking because of anti-hacking measures, or copyright protection]]. Also Touched characters can see beyond the fourth wall[[spoiler: ,like some characters do when a Game Shark is applied, telling the player it's bad to hack]].
50
51	[[WMG: Yet another alternate: The Sovereign was or has a connection to [[spoiler:the Atari Game Master.]]]]
52	Admittedly the only proof is [[spoiler:the reference on the gravestone at the Warp Zone of Life to ''the first'' and the fact that an Atari Game Master would be a good candidate for the first Game Master.]] Also [[spoiler:since Mario would have been around in Videoland during an Atari era, maybe the reason the Sovereign's spree of destruction stopped at the Mushroom Kingdom was because Mario recognized her true self and this was enough to slow her down.]]
53
54	[[WMG: The cat is a Game Master.]]
55	It already has been shown to have ridiculous skill, it has stopped the prediction of the future, because people can't see it, and it was said to arrive the same way the other Game maters arrived. It was not a fluke. The cat was meant to save them all. Only later. At a more climactic time.
56	* As Bonus evidence, I present this page: [[http://captainsnes.com/data1.html]]. Please, doesn't that bio for the cat look too suspicious for the cat NOT to be a very important character (at Game Master level).
57	** Alternatively, the Cat is the Game Master's familiar, like what Duke was.
58
59	[[WMG: Mega-Girl dies next.]]
60	There were three lost that day, including Mother Brain and most likely Duke. Wily, Eggplant Wizard, and King Hippo are accounted for, while Mega-Girl dies at an unspecified time. I guess she is a decent potential victim in this battle.
61	* Wily basically does a LookBehindYou that Green doesn't believe, but one of the other villains shoves her into the Omega Warp while Green's not looking.
62	** Jossed. Mega Girl survived that day and was instead killed at Princess Hope's fifth birthday party by the Herald of Sorrow.
63
64	[[WMG: Omega Energy is anti-[[Literature/{{Discworld}} Narrativium]]]]
65	Basically, it's the ability to override the laws of narrative causality. Originally, ''WesternAnimation/{{Captain N\|The Gamemaster}}'' was an immature 80s kid's show, so no one died permanently (they occasionally lost an extra life). Then Mother Brain harnesses Omega Energy, and now the bodycount is going to start piling up. And because Captain N hailed from the Real World, he brought it with him, hailing from a universe where there is no overarching story.
66	* It would naturally follow that Alpha energy ''is'' Narrativium.
67	* Maybe the formation of video game characters is due to a material similar to Deitium?
68
69	[[WMG: Alex will steal [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Setzer's]] deck.]]
70	Because there's no way that mention of a pack of cards making him invincible was just a joke.
71	* It could be a Deck of Many Things, if Alex ever played D&D...
72
73	[[WMG: Cecil will escape with the help of Kappa the Imp.]]
74	Cecil will ask him to demonstrate how to flee, which Kappa will happily oblige.
75	* This will undermine Spoony's attempt to keep him trapped.
76
77	[[WMG: Ryan understands Crono.]]
78	He's demonstrated an understanding of Green. Why not other [[HeroicMime SPS]] sufferers?
79	* This is explicitly shown to be true
80
81	[[WMG: Ryan will start translating Crono.]]
82	Extrapolating from above.
83
84	[[WMG: Ryan understands {{Heroic Mime}}s because he thinks of them differently than Alex does.]]
85	Videoland is meant to be affected by the interpretations of the Gamemaster. Alex seems to think of silent heroes as actually silent, except that the people around them understand them. Ryan is probably one of the people who thinks there is implied talking and maybe even puts words into their mouths while playing games. Ergo, he thinks he should understand them and so he does while Alex thinks he shouldn't and doesn't.
86	* Alternatively, Ryan hasn't actually played the games, so [[AchievementsInIgnorance he doesn't know the characters are supposed to be]] {{Heroic Mime}}s in the first place.
87
88	[[WMG: Samus won't let Eggplant Wizard die not because she's going to horribly brutalize him.]]
89	Samus won't let Eggplant Wizard die because it will mulch an innocent in his place. The horrible brutalization that she will inflict upon him is merely incidental.
90
91	[[WMG: Alex's bit about Chozo Mental training is a ChekhovsGun.]]
92	Alex will use that to his advantage.
93	* "Ignore the cat".
94
95	[[WMG: The pants that Protoman gave to Alex in episode 694 have a deck of cards in their pocket.]]
96	Which means that [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2009/09/11/593-the-doctors-prognosis/ Wily's nigthmare just came true]].
97	* It's mentioned in [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2003/05/03/327-the-cat-wouldnt-know/ the present]] that Alex does have a deck of cards with him...
98
99	[[WMG: King Hippo was touched by the Sovereign of Sorrow.]]
100	Seems to be implied by Spoony [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2003/09/20/390-even-a-paladins-compassion-knows-its-limits/ in episode 390]]. Spoony says that prolonged contact with the power of Sovereign of Sorrow "tends to make one a bit loopy" and that he has "no particular desire to [run] around blasting druggies or drinking insane amounts of beer". Part of this sentence is obviously an allusion to Max Force, who is confirmed to be touched by Sovereign, while the part about drinking beer fits King Hippo. Thus, he seems to imply that King Hippo had a contact with the power of Sovereign, and most likely was touched just like Spoony and Max Force.
101	* I think it's Seraphina, given that she was working with purple-eyed Zelda and one of the reasons she and Hippo divorced was because she kept stealing his beer.
102
103	[[WMG: Light built X under the influence of being Touched.]]
104	That's why [[VideoGame/MegaManX his series]] so much more angsty than its predecessor.
105
106	[[WMG: Bob is Prince Lyle.]]
107	Prince Lyle is believed to be MIA and the last anyone saw of him, he was in what became the Desert of Broken Dreams. Given his huge expertise on what is going on and is implied to be one of the Voices (lost souls who have forgotten their names) and his description as a being with two souls, Bob is Alex's character from the Game Boy FF game possessed by the voice of Prince Lyle.
108
109	[[WMG: Simone did not, in fact, kick Captain N into a warp to the Mirror World.]]
110	This comic is one big flashback with flashbacks inside, with plenty of bleak scenes, yet it's almost never colored in MonochromePast. But both times (so far) Simone's betrayal is depicted, it's DeliberatelyMonochrome. In comic #311, Simone seems surprised that Kevin is around and starts to deny... something. And as of comic #703, I'm starting to get the impression that the story is a little fishy.
111
112	[[WMG: Captain N is the Watcher, and Hope's father was his Mirror Image Opposite]]
113	The scenario discussed above from a different angle. While I agree that Simone's story is fishy, how do we know that the Captain N that "reappeared" after being kicked into the Mirror Warp was in fact the real one? While the warp was said to be one way, in cartoon ''canon'', whenever someone passed through the Mirror Warp, their Mirror Image Opposite automatically took their place for the sake of balance. What if the "Captain N" that showed up post warp-kicking was in fact his evil Mirror Image Opposite?
114
115	Consider the tiny out-of-place (compared to native spritework) "picture" above Cecil in [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2003/09/11/385-motivations-revelation-part-3/ #386]]. Also consider the "wedding" panel in [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2011/08/01/703-reflections-of-the-past/ #703]]. It says that he courted Lana and they got married in short order, yet he's shown with slanted, evil-looking eyes there as opposed to the "normal" ones he has in the panels above it.
116
117	This could also be the real reason why he left the fighting to the N-Forcers post-war, besides raising Hope. He didn't want to fight the other villains.
118
119	* The Watcher is said to be trapped "in a prison of glass", after all...
120
121	[[WMG: Both of the above two guesses are true. Captain N willingly entered them Mirror Zone, and Simone was only the witness.]]
122
123	Captain N was (possibly the first) Touched. When Duke died and he took back control over Omega Energy, he was in the perfect position to be Touched by the Sovereign. He might have been too angry to properly show it at the time, but as Alex very pointedly mentions, anger only lets you suppress the effects of Sorrow for a short time. It doesn't make you immune. And Alex takes extra time to point out that Captain N's behavior did a 180 from classic hero to a much darker character after that moment -- even though it's perhaps a little too obvious that someone would change when their dog dies in front of them in a world that until now had no real death in it.
124
125	Once Captain N realized what had happened to him, he also realized he couldn't be trusted with Videoland anymore. At the same time, Videoland ''needed'' Captain N; he couldn't just leave it without its Game Master. Fortunately, this being Videoland, methods of cloning/reproducing him are a dime a dozen. The Mirror Warp was particularly attractive, though, precisely ''because'' it made an "opposite" clone. A Mirror World Opposite of the original golden-age-hero Captain N would just be monochromatic evil; but a Mirror World Opposite of a Sorrow-Touched, angsty, fallen-hero Captain N would be an equally complex and morally-gray anti-villain. Assuming the Mirror World's power trumps the Sovereign's (not exactly a safe bet, but not unreasonable either), the mirror clone would also be "anti-Sorrow-Touched", maximally resistant to being corrupted by the Sovereign into trying to destroy ''everything''.
126
127	So, Captain N, with Simone as backup and only witness, willingly walks into the Mirror Warp of his own accord. Trapped behind glass -- maybe the death of his clone makes it impossible for him to return, since a balanced trade is no longer possible? Or maybe he's just too guilty/worried about his own corruption still -- he can only watch as Videoland is slowly consumed. It's a cruel twist on his original position, too, as a player of video games from the other side of a glass screen, which I can't help but think Videoland would appreciate.
128
129	This is why the "Captain N" that returned reacted so strangely. He was a Mirror Clone of someone consumed by rage, sorrow, and guilt, so he felt little of any of those things when Lana died and was even able to face the willing self-sacrifice of his daughter with either a clear mind or a cold heart (depending on your opinion of moral calculus.) He probably didn't start with much love for his family in his nature, but being an anti-villain with a sympathetic motive would have left him with plenty of room in his character to learn to love his daughter anyway -- at least enough to not want her to die alone.
130
131	Hell, it's even why he has that comically muted reaction to being decap-incin-omega'd!
132
133	[[WMG: Both Ryan and Hope from the real world are somehow relatives of Kevin Keene, the original Captain N]]
134	Not only have do all three have the same last name, but we know that Kevin actually DID have a child named Hope. It would explain why Ryan can understand silent protagonists, since Captain N could, too.
135
136	[[WMG: The Shadow King is Bob.]]
137	We already know Bob has a mysterious past, tied up somehow with the Sovereign of Sorrow. In his own words, here: http://www.captainsnes.com/2002/04/02/094-capn-tells-it-as-he-sees-it-2/ he seems to have a past that is not only dark, but seemingly actively villainous in nature. On top of that, as seen here: http://www.captainsnes.com/2003/05/13/332-the-omissions-are-the-interesting-part/, Bob obviously has great knowledge about the Sovereign of Sorrow, and he still seems to be able to harness Omega Energy, power which is the signature of the Sovereign. Also, he mentions Videoland suffering because of his weakness, which would suggest that Bob is now TheAtoner for some past horrible deed. So, here's what happened in the past. Bob, in his own world and on a quest for some sort of ancient, forbidden magic, discovers the dormant Sovereign of Sorrow, and decides to release and serve her in exchange for power. One of these powers is, obviously, immunity to the Sovereign of Sorrow's energy, and possibly shapeshifting, powers which he seems to have retained (this may be a sign that Bob may still be on the Sovereign's side; we already know that Alex is meant to play a part in the Sovereign's rise, so Bob may just be one of her servants sent to help things along, and in doing so, help Alex in any way he can). So, a clever shapeshifter like Bob could certainly be useful for the Sovereign's plans; so, they hatch a plan to sow chaos among the residents of Videoland. So, they tell Mother Brain about Omega Energy, and the nature of the world: Mother Brain's already evil, so she isn't affected by the Sovereign like other characters are. A picture of someone is the key to unlocking this energy, and it has somehow fallen into the hands of Space Pirates, so they get Eggplant Wizard and King Hippo to fetch it for them. Now, Bob and the Sovereign both still need to stay hidden, so they make it look like Mother Brain is the one coming up with the plan in the first place; the true purpose of letting Mother Brain know all of this, rather than trying to help her conquer Videoland, was simply to extract the Omega Energy for the Sovereign; [[XanatosGambit the winner of the conflict between Captain N and Mother Brain was irrelevant.]] The gathering of the villains may or may not have been a part of Bob's plan, but after Mother Brain's death, the villains are now under the control of Bob and the Sovereign of Sorrow. Bob, now going as the Shadow King, would naturally be difficult to catch, since he has shapeshifting powers, and would simply take an innocuous form between evil schemes. Also, since ''he'' controls the Omega Energy (remember, we never found out what happened to the Omega Energy after the destruction of the Metroid), he effectively has control over every world in Videoland, [[MagnificentBastard and all the N-Forcers can do is follow his inept goons on small missions while the Shadow King does his real villainy elsewhere, unimpeded.]]
138
139	So, what caused him to turn from the Sovereign's side? Ultimately, we'll just have to wait and see...
140	* Well, The Shadow King never was on her side. It was a case of EvilVsEvil.
141	* Also, it's implied that Bob was one of the voices in the Desert, who took the name and body of one of the Monster Classes from the Gameboy FF game, hence his shapeshifting.
142
143	[[WMG: Protoman is Sorrow-touched]]
144	Alex referred to his world as the "real world" a couple times, and Protoman didn't react. The only explanation for this other than a writing slip-up is that he's sorrow-touched, which tends to cause sprites to realize their status as video game characters, and are "not real".
145	* He's a veteran of decades of work with Keene and against the Sovereign. He might dismiss that as a quirk of Gamemasters and the Touched. Or he's badass enough not to care.
146
147	[[WMG: Lana is the Sovereign of Sorrow]]
148	First, start at #707, seventh panel; someone described the Sovereign as looking like Lana. At #576, the silhouette is no longer Schala, but Lana.
149	Furthermore, Princess Hope describes the rapid destruction of game worlds as "the price of my failure"--and it was previously noted that she tried to convince Lana not to go after Kevin.
150	Kevin's explanation of what happened to Lana is suspiciously unspecific: "The Sovereign took her from us." While some might think this is a way to avoid saying "She's dead", a clue is that he fumbled around for a few panels. Think [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader]]. In a manner of speaking...
151	* He never SAID she was dead. Everyone else jumped to conclusions when he wouldn't answer them.
152	As to why, if Lana is the Sovereign, she is immune to Omega energy unlike her subjects, I point this out: There is no such game character as Princess Lana. The royal family was created in the same way as Captain N--by the creation of a cartoon. Remember that Alex used to watch said cartoon!
153	Finally, the Sovereign's description of Alex is peculiar: "He is the champion of Videoland. He is my champion." And of herself: "I am Sovereign over a world of sorrow." Who says the Sovereign is not speaking literally?
154	This just leaves the question of who was the King of Shadow, that finding out his identity would send her spiraling into omnicidal madness.
155	* Clearly, it was her dad.
156	** Which leads us to the next:
157	* Also note that on the Sovereign's official Bio, her job is listed as Princess...
158
159	[[WMG: The King of Shadow is King Charles]]
160	The story of what happened in the Mirror World after Mother Brain's demise is fabricated by Kevin. Something went horribly wrong when Kevin tried to pull Charles out, but somehow it did...something nasty to Charles. Having a reputation as a perfect hero, Kevin can't bring himself to sully that by admitting to a hideous mistake, so he made the whole "died to send me home" story up. Simone, for all that he was a donkey, wasn't lying when he said Kevin just disappeared, either. What makes this persuasive is that "dead for real" is only possible in Videoland through use of Omega energy--which, at the time, only Kevin could access.
161
162	[[WMG: Mario is not what's stopping the Sovereign]]
163	Or at least, not the only thing. Sure he's powerful, but he's merely the Optimus Prime of Videoland, and he is facing what is essentially the Unicron of Videoland. Against such power, only the Autobot Matrix of Leadership of Videoland can stop her. Which is clearly... The Cat! Basically, something from the Primus(es) of Videoland to help light their darkest hour.
164	* Proof! [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2002/11/12/229-the-only-way-to-end-this-story-arc-properly/ Mario knows The Cat!]]
165	* The Sovereign's not the only one who has The Touch.
166
167	[[WMG: Simone Belmont was the Shadow King]]
168	I just think it fits. He was banished right before the Shadow King showed up, after all.
169
170	[[WMG: Captain N himself is the Shadow King.]]
171	The sprites are somewhat similar, and other than Captain N, who else had access to that power? Also, his strange attitude leaves a lot to consider. Alex had a very good point. N seemed downright unconcerned with losing Lana. To the point that it took his daughter demanding his attention and questioning him on where she was. And [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2004/03/04/425-tomatoes-belong-in-the-fruit-group-actually/ Kwirk the Tomato]] even stated that Captain N was the one who called the Sovereign there in the first place. Granted, he was touched, and trying to scam people, but that doesn't mean he may not have been right about that bit. How else did he know about it?
172	* It's a good idea, but not quite right. There was a cell that showed both Kevin and the Shadow King in the same location. However, it could have been his Mirror-World alter-ego.
173	* Could explain why the sovereign of sorrow went after him. In [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2011/08/26/712-sovereigns-nemesis/ 712]], one of the servant of he sovereign call him the corruptor. And in [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2011/08/29/713-renewable-resource/ the next]], Rock and Alex made the hypothesis that is was because of his use of omega energy. But what if it was because of his appearance in Videoland ?
174
175	[[WMG: Magus will give the Shard of Sorrow to the Sovereign.]]
176	It's pretty obvious that the sprite used for the Mask of Tears is Schala. But if Schala is truly the host for the mask, it could explain why the representation that spoke with Magus stated it could not see her future. In all likelihood, if Magus does meet up with her and recognizes the physical form as Schala's, it stands to reason that he would hand over the Shard if he should have it. Either to free her or at her request.
177
178	[[WMG: Schrodinger is made of [[TheoryOfNarrativeCausality Narrativium]].]]
179	The non-flashback portions of the comic imply that Alex did, in fact, face the Sovereign, somehow stopped/stalled her, and is established as the Gamemaster (something Ryan wants to take from him). Schrodinger, in the flashbacks, is running around dropping monkey wrenches (or should that be "kitty wrenches"?) in the plots that could potentially distract Alex from his main objective; in the "present", he's apparently trying to break Alex and the others out. In short, he conveniently irons out minor wrinkles that Alex would otherwise have to deal with, running interference. If you don't think of Schrodinger as a benevolent protagonist, then think of Schrodinger as the stereotypical cat: happy to do what it takes to make you do what it wants.
180
181	[[WMG: Colors and emotions are connected in Videoland, similarly to Franchise/GreenLantern]]
182	Princess Hope cast a [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2011/10/10/726-the-power-of-technicolor/ spell]] which seemed to have something to do with colors; first she was engulfed in Cyan, Magenta and Yellow, then Red, Blue and Green. The second set of colors are the primary colors which make up all images, including sprites. One of them is Green, the color of Hope. The others are Blue and Red, which when combined, form Purple, the color of Sorrow.
183	* Technically, red and blue form magenta in the additive color wheel. Still close enough.
184
185	[[WMG: Omega Energy comes from ''growing up'']]
186	What happens when you become a teenager? You start getting angsty, and you also '''stop playing with your old toys'''. How do you kill a fictional character? By ''forgetting about them''. The inhabitants of Videoland are facing the same dilemma as the toys in WesternAnimation/ToyStory3: they're disappearing because one of Alex's older relatives (Kevin?) isn't playing them any more.
187	* I thought this was all but confirmed...
188
189	[[WMG: The magic words for the Mystic Mouse are...]]
190	"Sweet Christmas, that's stupid fresh!" Notice that he hasn't said that for a long time!
191	* This is Jossed as of #778-779. The 'magic words' are simply the US ad slogan for the SNES's initial release. Of course, at the time, Alex had trouble remembering in exactly...
192	* SPOILER: the mantra is [[spoiler:Now you're playing with power! Super power!]]
193
194	[[WMG: We, the readers, are actually part of the webcomic.]]
195	The reason why Ryan gets everything totally backward as mentioned in episodes [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2004/08/02/454-seeing-through-the-smokescreens/ #454]] and [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2004/08/12/455-the-uncertainty-principle/ #455]] is so that Alex will end up explaining it all to him and, in turn, to us as well. This is so that all the readers understand everything that's going on in all the different games (especially the ones that particular reader never played). Videoland is actually aware of the existence of the readers and is making Ryan misunderstand everything so that they can follow what's going on, which means our very presence as readers is part of the story.
196	[[WMG: Schrodinger is evil and somehow manipulating Alex.]]
197	Second to last panel, [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2011/12/29/guest-comic-heaven-and-hell-5/ Schrodinger's heaven]], that is all.
198	* That's a guest comic, and could simply mean he's capricious rather than malevolent.
199
200	[[WMG: The Little Girl in [=FF6=] has the Shard of Tears!]]
201	In the flashback where Ryadia meets Bob and after she wakes up, we see that Bob has lost the Shard of Tears and states that a little girl had taken it and gone through the portal. The Little Girl we see in [=FF6=] has no knowledge or understanding of the world she is in and knew nothing of Kefka or magic. Also, she is clearly Touched, likely due to her contact with the Shard. When she, in turn, caused Celes to be Touched, Celes's focus went to a memory of the past, clearly an aspect of the Shard instead of the Mask.
202	* [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2012/02/10/759-a-touching-moment/ Confirmed.]]
203
204	[[WMG: The Shard of Tears was taken from Bob by [[spoiler:Rydia's child sprite]]]]
205	My evidence is mearly the above guess, combined with context clues provided by [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2003/05/13/332-the-omissions-are-the-interesting-part/ #332]].
206
207	[[WMG: Locke will end up transported to the battle Cecil is trapped in!]]
208	What better teamup can we have than two guys who have lost their wives to the control of the Sovereign? Besides, Cecil's been stuck in that battle since 2003. Who better than Locke to come in and free him, and finally allow for an explanation from the paladin about his part in everything and how he knew to prepare for Alex's coming.
209
210	[[WMG: King Charles is The Watcher in league with Bob.]]
211	We don't know that he's dead except for Kevin's word, and there's something fishy about how he's been acting. Spoony stated that the Watcher has been "trapped in his glass prison since the golden age of Videoland", and that he is unable to communicate unless someone seeks him out. Who else around that time was noted to have been imprisoned anywhere, and would likely be able to see what's going on in Videoland, even if he's unable to actively do anything about it?
212
213	[[WMG: Alex is going to absorb the Sovereign into himself]]
214	All of the trouble started when Omega energy was introduced to Videoland by extracting it from a denizen of the Real World; if the Sovereign isn't made of Omega energy entirely, she's got to be composed mostly of the stuff. Thus, the solution isn't to kill her, since that's a real-world solution, or seal her away, since that never lasts, but to return her (or, the part of her being that is Omega energy, depending) to the place from whence her power and essence came- a human being. Thus, why Alex told his Captor that she "wasn't dead" but "wouldn't be hurting anyone ever again", and why he's so much more introspective in the present.
215	* A corollary is that ''this'' is what the Inner Evils want to kill Alex to prevent; they know that while its the only way to get rid of the Sovereign, it probably isn't going to be very good for Alex's well-being, though obviously not as bad for him as it is for somebody that isn't made to contain Omega energy in the first place.
216
217	[[WMG: The RealityWarper child that showed up in the arc that introduced Final Fantasy VI characters...]]
218	...is the same child that was mentioned by Wily in [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2011/06/03/681-surely-nothing-bad-will-come-of-this/ episode 681]].
219
220	Admittedly, the evidence for this is pretty weak: in [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2012/04/04/768-heroes-monsters-and-something-in-between/ episode 768]] Alex called her "the child", thus using the same expression that Wily used in episode 681.
221
222	[[WMG: The Sovereign's power is responsible for the Swear Montage being viewed as such by everyone.]]
223
224	[[WMG: Alex is telling the story to Define what actually happened, so that the Sovereign can't use her past-warping powers to escape her fate at his hands.]]
225
226	[[WMG: Alex's flaw of Hypocrisy shows up in the form of [[spoiler:Ryan]].]]
227	In addition to the above theory, Alex is telling the story to show [[spoiler:Ryan that he is as much a hypocrite that he accuses Alex of being. This is because the only way to defeat Hypocrisy is force it to learn new information. How often have you seen movies where a racist character learns over the course of a movie that they were wrong about their beliefs?]]
228	* Also, Cynicism mentions that she is the second most powerful of Alex's Flaws. Considering that her power amounts to warping reality to make things more 'ironic', what could be stronger than her? Answer: [[spoiler:A Gamemaster.]]
229	** Except that Hypocrisy was third, not fifth. However, [[spoiler:Ryan might be Apathy, forcing Alex into inaction and trying to get him to give up. The Gamemaster thing is because Alex will only leave if he thinks Videoland has someone to replace him and take care of his unfinished business]].
230
231	[[WMG: Bob once took the form of [[spoiler:Captain N.]]]]
232	This would help explain why [[spoiler:why Captain N seemed so apathetic toward whatever happened to Lana and unconcerned about his daughter volunteering to sacrifice herself.]] If this theory is right at all, though, it still leaves the question of whether or not Bob [[spoiler:took Captain N's form when Lana went to the ''Wizards and Warriors'' world to rescue him from the Shadow King, earlier when Captain N tried to rescue King Charles, or at some point before that.]] This also opens up more questions about [[spoiler:whether or not Protoman is wrong about Captain N being dead, if Bob was the Shadow King and if so he was pretending to be Captain N and the Shadow King at the same time, and what Bob's true nature was if he could take on the powers of a Game Master.]]
233
234	[[WMG: Eggplant Wizard is inhabiting the body of a Mount Olympus refugee who spoke with Samus and Protoman.]]
235	That cryptic message "Only one of us needs to remember" is that sprite, which Eggplant Wizard took over.
236
237	[[WMG: The body Eggplant Wizard is inhabiting is Kid Icarus.]]
238	Who had been touched. And is now the reason Eggplant Wizard is touched.
239	* When Golbez mentions [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2013/05/10/820-the-layers-peeled-away/ Eggplant Wizard's memory]] of the last standoff between the N Team and Motherbrain and her forces, who is the only member of the N Team NOT present in the scenes of the flashbacks? And who else WOULD be staying at Mount Olympus?
240	* He may have just tried to call Golbez [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2013/05/22/821-a-purple-predicament/ "Helmeticus"]], stopping himself at "Helmeti-".
241	* Furthermore, in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, Megaman [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2005/03/03/474-unwanted-help/ mentions]] that he had last seen Icarus leaving on the space ship Argo, the very same ship that Eggplant Wizard took over.
242
243	[[WMG: The Touched are the only sprites who can gain CharacterDevelopment]]
244	And those which aren't touched are caricatures of how Alex sees them. Protoman is a badass who puts up with no nonsense, Wily is a CardCarryingVillain, and Cecil follows his paladin code even when it's a bad idea.
245
246	Meanwhile, the touched sprites are more complex characters. Dr Light manipulated Wily into into a position of power in such a way that he would be unable to use that power, just to keep him around to fight the Sovereign.
247
248	And Megaman, who is not merely touched, but appears to be the Sovereign's counterpart, embodies both. Blue Megaman is a lifelong hero who has forgotten what it was like to ''want'' to help people, and Green Megaman is a shallow "save the world because it's right" character.
249
250	[[WMG: [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2013/11/08/838-one-hundred-and-ten-percent-correct/ Episode 838]] started the chain of events that will culminate with [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2002/07/16/164-the-voice-of-the-enemy/ Alex attacking Wily]].]]
251	After finding out that Wily is the vice-president Alex will confront him about his latest schemes. Wily will honestly admit that he just wants to resign, only for Alex not to believe him and to go berserk on him.
252
253	[[WMG: Hulk Hogan has been Touched.]]
254	He's acting a bit suspicious...wonder if a change to Hollywood garb is in the near future?
255	* Actually, it looks like that's Alex in disguise...
256
257	[[WMG: Omega Energy is [[spoiler: the power to die]]]]
258	[[spoiler: All humans have the ability to die, but until Duke died, sprites lived on indefinitely. Everyone in the real world knows about death, but no one in Videoland does. Mother Brain had a superficial knowledge of death as 'an end', but not death in all its implications. Kevin Keene, like all humans, would die eventually, so somehow someone extracted it from him.]]
259	* Another way to put it: Omega Energy is Death itself.
260	* Bob actually says that every living thing contains the seeds of its own destruction. He says it right before devouring an enemy. Somehow, whoever extracted Omega Energy from Kevin Keene used that. Maybe Bob was the one who discovered it?
261
262	[[WMG: Sorrow is Deconstruction, Hope is Reconstruction]]
263	Just look at what happened [[spoiler: when the waves of sorrow and hope hit Nexus. Everyone became depressed when Sorrow hit, but realized worth when Hope hit. Example: Spike Mc Fang realized that he doesn't make sense, but then realized that it doesn't matter.]]
264
265	[[WMG: The Sovereign is [[spoiler: a Creator who writes angst or DeconstructionFic]]]]
266	She can [[spoiler: alter the Touched in a 'fill-in-the-blanks' style. Most fanfiction takes scenes that are possible, continuity-wise, but didn't happen. It's common to have fics in manners off-screen, ex. writing what happens in an inn when characters are sleeping.]] The Sovereign simply weaponized it.
267
268	[[WMG: Ryan is [[spoiler: a Game Master who went to Videoland as a child, and is destined to die there.]]]]
269	Alex constantly refers to the fact that Ryan was in the real world, but for some reason is now in Videoland. Due to time not working the way it should, [[spoiler: Ryan came to Videoland before he was old and mature enough to face it and in the wrong place in time. Given that Alex is 22, and assuming that the comic's date is 2001, then he was born in around 1989. This also assumes that Ryan and Alex are around the same age. Alex claims that Ryan could have played Chrono Trigger before something happened. Chrono Trigger came out in 1996, when Alex and Ryan were 7-ish.]]
270	Another reason why is that [[spoiler: Ryan has an odd attitude towards dying. He believes that people die because they are flawed, in comparison to Alex acknowledging it's a part of life. In games, characters only die if they do something wrong, bar plotline deaths. Ryan may have arrived in Videoland before he had a true concept of death, and the sprites' attitude towards it shaped his.]]
271	As for [[spoiler: Ryan dying... In Videoland, time stops until you return to the real world. But as Captain N demonstrates, you can die in Videoland. So Ryan never came out of Videoland, so time kept on going without him once the timeline as a whole acknowledged that he will never come back. It doesn't matter when he dies, just that he does. Rather than returning to the point he left for Videoland, Ryan simply vanished.]]
272	* Wait, no, the math comes out to being born around 1979, not 1989.
273
274	[[WMG: We have everything backwards about the Great Change. The first thing we know is the most important.]]
275	We know that the Great Change made everything 16 bit. Maybe the Sovereign represents the forced change from NES to SNES. The games left forgotten were never made into the SNES were those consumed by the Sovereign. The Sovereign is actually just a representation of no one playing or buying that game. The scene where the Sovereign destroys all the game worlds represents no one playing the game anymore. The Mushroom Kingdom lasts because Mario is so popular.
276
277	* And if the Sovereign represents the SNES abandoning old NES games, then her champion would, of course, be someone who represented the players of the SNES. Say... Captain SNES?
278
279	[[WMG: The appearance of [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Leif]] will mark the end.]]
280	One of the last SNES (Super Famicom at least) game to be released was ''Fire Emblem Thracia 776''. Once Leif, the main character, appears, everything will be lost. Alex actually notes that he spent his time in college playing emulated games, the only way to get that game in English (He was playing Chrono Trigger on a normal SNES, though).
281
282	[[WMG: The next person to trigger Eggplant Wizard's electric shock is [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV Bartz]], not Alex]]
283	Bartz actually does say Sweet Christmas. Final Fantasy V wasn't released on SNES out of Japan, but Cara makes a brief appearance.
284
285	[[WMG: Videoland is only alive because of emulated games]]
286	Cara, a character from a Japan only game, makes a brief appearance. Alex mentions playing emulated games.
287
288	[[WMG: Crono is Touched]]
289	For no reason other than the fact that Alex can't read his text, so you can't see the color.
290
291	[[WMG: Alex freaking out in [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2013/01/09/802-the-r-word/ this comic]]]]
292	Is because Video Land will not tolerate a Game Master denying it being real. The Sovereign of Sorrow is able to cause the damage that she does because she makes sprites believe/realize they're not real. For a Game Master to deny its reality, at best they make themselves a target for Videoland's spiteful narrative for daring to legitimately quote the Sovereign's words. At worst, given its FisherKing nature, the Game Master would effectively be the Sovereign's champion and Videoland would be destroyed.
293
294	[[WMG: Videoland is malevolent because Alex suffers from a great degree of self-loathing.]]
295	He's a 22-year old virgin BrilliantButLazy college dropout who works at a fast food restaurant. He doesn't have any prospects, so Videoland is punishing him as he subconsciously believes he deserves to be punished.
296
297	[[WMG: The Cat as the power of Badness.]]
298	He seems to be able to defeat Kain and is called a bad kitty.
299
300	[[WMG: Rubicante is going to fake being Lucca to reactivate Gato.]]
301	Gato still has a part to play and Rydia wants to know what he knows.
302
303	[[WMG: Pit becoming de-Touched is why he's BreakingTheFourthWall in VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising.]]
304	It's implied that Pit is the guy that is possessing Eggplant Wizard, meaning he's Touched. However, he comes back for Kid Icarus Uprising, happily cracking jokes and breaking the fourth wall. At some point, he loses his despair at being nothing more than a child's plaything and embrace it.
305
306	[[WMG: Ryan can hear the silent protagonists because [[AchievementsInIgnorance he doesn't realize he shouldn't be able to hear them.]]]]
307	Ryan didn't play Chrono Trigger, so he never saw Crono not speaking. Similarly, because Green Megaman spoke in the original cartoon, he didn't know that Green became a SilentProtagonist under Alex's influence.
308
309	[[WMG: The reason why Mega Man can't show affection to Roll is because of Fire Emblem]]
310	Mega Man says that it's because the tabloids would mistake it for incest. Fire Emblem is known for its incestuous subtext (and one actual case, but that one was a villain's ploy and actually made sense in context). It would make sense for Video Land to be more aware of it when it's a plot point.
311
312	[[WMG: The grave at the Warp of Life was [[spoiler: to mark Megagirl's death]]]]
313	As the text on it said it was there to remember the first,[[spoiler: and although she was killed by the Herald and not the Sovereign she was still indirectly the first victim. The reason the grave was at the Warp of Life was no doubt because her strong connection to the place.]]
314
315	[[WMG: The prophecy's line about Captain SNES either saving Videoland or destroying it has an allegory to emulated games]]
316	Alex claims that he spent his time playing emulated games, even though he comes through a portal on a normal SNES. He even talks about characters who never came out in the west, like Cara and Butz. Maybe this is why Ryan thinks he's defiling Videoland; he's using technology that just copies the SNES. Alex will transfer Videoland from SNES to Virtual Console, which will either save it from dying out or kill it by destroying NostalgiaFilter.
317	* Or maybe Ryan is the one who uses emulators. The ship that he uses trapped a lot of characters, presumably for transport to a new Videoland. It's a very high-tech ship, for that matter. He and Alex have a talk about the SNES console at some point. Ryan claims it's outdated, but Alex says he loved the games anyways and doesn't like new games. The fact that he's using a real SNES to play a game is probably reflective of the fact that he still likes the system (that, or Chrono Trigger's absurd CopyProtection). In this case, Alex wants to keep the SNES games on the SNES.
318	* Supporting either point of view, Kwick the tomato says that one of the ten commandments for sprites includes, 'Thou shall remain on Nintendo-sponsored games'. Emulators often work for free on the internet.
319
320	[[WMG: Blue Dragon is still alive]]
321	Neither her actual death nor her corpse has ever been shown (or was mentioned to have been found), which means there's a chance that she never actually died. Especially given that Cid himself, who was shown to be weaker than BD at the height of her power, survived a fall from a similar height while IN THE MIDDLE OF AN EXPLOSION. But another reason to believe she might still be alive is that she appears in [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2011/06/20/684-the-temptation/ comic 684]] as one of the people Golbez has met (check the bottom of the 8th panel), despite his first appearance in the game coming long after she would have died.
322
323	[[WMG: We'll be seeing some of the people from the third panel of [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2003/04/22/322-being-max-force/ comic 322]] ]]
324	Why on earth would Max Force believe that people like WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead and VideoGame/EarthwormJim AREN'T druggies, while believing that someone like Franchise/{{Batman}} IS a druggie? Eventually [=Jay=]Dee might show off why Max thinks of them as such.
325
326	[[WMG: Cara's [[GameBreaker overpoweredness]] is the result of a Game Genie/Shark]]
327	In [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2015/08/17/863-how-to-make-friends-and-incapacitate-people/ comic 863]], Cara hits Shadow 4 times for 9999 damage each. This is actually impossible for Cara to do in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', both for that exact amount of hits (she would either hit twice, as Monks are considered to be dual-wielding with their fists, or 8 times if she was using [=XFight=]/Rapid-Fire, but 4 hits is impossible), and the amount of damage (even at level 99 and with each blow landing a critical, Cara lacks the power to hit the damage cap with each individual strike). Furthermore, the fact that NO ONE else in Nexus wants to cross her at all (including Megaman, who was perfectly willing to go after an RPG final boss like Amon but tells his men to stay FAR away from Cara) would seem to indicate either that her stats are maxed out (which can't be done in FFV without cheat devices, since stats remain constant across levels and are only changed by jobs and equipment) or even an invincibility code of some sort. Given that [=FF5=] is easily the hardest of the SNES Final Fantasy games, Alex may have resorted to cheat codes to beat it.
328	** Not actually the case. Since this is Alex we can assume that Cara is level 99. If Cara has the Kaiser Knuckles accessory equipped (which increases the attack power of unarmed attacks) casts Quick (which gets her two turns in an instant) and does a critical hit on all four attacks she will in fact hit the damage cap four times.
329
330	[[WMG: Magus will die 77 more times in the Mushroom Kingdom]]
331	When the Elder of Mysidia [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2014/12/10/854-cursed-luck/ repeatedly attempted]] to break Frog's curse (put on him by Magus, remember), he eventually gives up, but [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2015/01/28/856-dead-silence/ his]] [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2015/05/04/858-unforgettable-lessons-about-forgetting/ comments]] hint that Esunaga's method of breaking curses is to make sure that the specific method of uncursing (in this case, Magus's death) actually comes to pass. The reason it failed to ever stick? Because Magus is in the Mushroom Kingdom, where people have extra lives! The Elder cast the spell 95 times, and Magus has died 18 times so far, once in [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2003/02/18/283-driveby/ Max Force's initial attack]], then 17 more times as [[http://www.captainsnes.com/2003/04/10/316-collateral-damage/ Max's failed attempts to hit Mario hit Magus instead]]. Thus, Magus will bring the count to an even 95 before he leaves the Mushroom Kingdom.
332
333	* Half-confirmed? [[spoiler:The existing deaths didn't count; Magus died 95 ''more'' times.]]
334
335	[[WMG: The Sovereign's true form is a 3D image that can't be represented as a sprite]]
336	That's why the sprites can't perceive her true form.
337
338	[[WMG: At some point, Alex will tell someone that Solid Snake is still alive]]
339	Snake is still part of the Metal Gear franchise, and it's still pretty popular and hard to miss. Alex may not like the games (he describes modern games as like soup cans in that they're just things), but he probably knows about the Metal Gear Solid games. Snake in Videoland is in some sort of coma that he can never wake up from. He's alive, but only exists on Playstation games.
340
341	[[WMG: Everyone who died in the Great Change was part of a game that never made the jump from NES to SNES]]
342	The only place that the Sovereign didn't destroy in the scene where she's destroying everything was Mushroom Kingdom. All the others were relatively obscure games that didn't get remakes or sequels on the SNES. Snake died, even though his franchise lasted for years after the SNES.
343
344	[[WMG: Alex is using the flashbacks to cover any holes]]
345	It's implied if not outright stated that Videoland and it's people are influenced by the Game Master and his perception of them. It's why Cecil was leveled to max and had 99 Excaliburs while Edward was named Spoony and had no experience fighting, because that's the way Alex played the game. It's also why Ryan could understand Chrono and Green Megaman, both of whom Alex considered silent protagonists and thus couldn't hear. Alex, as the current Game Master, seems to have the most control currently over establishing how Videoland or the characters work based on his perception of them. But there are a multitude of events that he was not present for and reasonably speaking, there is no way he could have known everything that was said or done when he wasn't there, nor could he even know for sure when exactly these events occurred in time. That's because Alex using these flashbacks to fill in the holes he did not personally witness in order to leave little room for manipulation. Because Ryan is sitting in on the story as Alex is telling it, Alex is setting the framework for anything Ryan could perceive and thus limiting how much Ryan could alter through his ability as a Game Master. It's hardly even questioned that Alex could be lying about any of it, Ryan just seems to be listening and accepting everything as factual accounts of events even to the point of being able to view the flashbacks and understand parts that Alex didn't. Now that Ryan is informed of what events happened and what certain characters are like, they're set and he can't change them. Similarly, it's been shown that the Sovereign of Sorrow can alter past events to an extent and "fill in the blanks" in order to adjust things to her favor. There also seems to be some distortion noted between past, present, and future where something in the present can be glossed over (such as the big Swear-down) or something in the far past may not be established until a point in the future (such as the Sovereign's adjustment of Celes's past that the game pretty much never addressed). Part of the reason Alex is telling all these stories and jumping around so much is to cover as much area as possible. Aside from just telling the story or buying time before Alex and Ryan have to fight it out for the title of Game Master, the flashbacks are meant to cover any periods of time that might offer holes either Ryan or the Sovereign of Sorrow could use to fill in themselves and use to their own ends.
346
347	[[WMG: When Alex and Ryan finally throw down, they will both survive by mere coincidence.]]
348
349	Most readers believe that, in the end, Alex will have to accept that either he or Ryan '''HAS''' to die per the Prophecy, and anything less would be anticlimactic, which we know [=VideoLand=] hates, and any '''climactic''' means of ProphecyTwist will be done via coincidence, which [=VideoLand=] also hates.
350
351	But that's just it. The only means of causing a '''CLIMACTIC''' ProphecyTwist that allows both Alex and Ryan to walk away alive, and maybe even for Alex to hand over the title as he intended, '''WOULD''' be done via a coincidence.
352
353	Bear with me here, let me say why that's how it's gonna happen.
354
355	* Alex is already looking for ways to subvert the Prophecy that Alex must either kill Ryan or be killed by him.
356	* The flashbacks, in addition to prevent someone like the Sovereign from rewriting them, are to get Ryan up to speed in case he fails to find [[TakeAThirdOption A Third Option]] that ends with them both surviving, so that Ryan can pick up the slack. His method of storytelling are intentionally to get Ryan thinking so that he can [[FigureItOutYourself figure things out himself]] and be a proper Game Master.
357	* Alex was willing to hand over the title and would have if Ryan hadn't challenged him for it instead.
358	* "''...if there's one thing [=VideoLand=] can abide '''[[ExactWords less]]''' than a coincidence, it's an anticlimactic resolution.''"
359
360	Ergo, the ProphecyTwist that bails Alex out will be a coincidence, but purely because it's better in [=VideoLand's=] eyes than an anticlimactic resolution, thus Alex won't complain and call it a win.
361
362	[[WMG:The voices in the desert are the souls of the sprites who never made the jump from NES to SNES]]
363	They lost their physical bodies in the Great Cataclysm and need to borrow those of others. [[spoiler:If Bob used to be one of the voices, he escaped by using his monster ability to transform into what he ate, which gave him a 16-bit body.]]
364
365	[[WMG: [[spoiler: Bowser helped Mario drive away the Sovereign of Sorrow.]] ]]
366
367	Remember when after destroying world after world the Sovereign of Sorrow was held up at the Mushroom Kingdom? What if the N-Forcers merely ''assumed'' that Mario was the only one facing off against the Sovereign? Giving that they were only letting Gameboy track her rather than having eyes on the battle, there's a chance that Mario actually had help fighting her with none of the N-Forcers the wiser.
368
369	Now who would be the most capable of taking on the Sovereign alongside Mario? Clearly not Princess Peach; her status as a frequent DamselInDistress would mean that she won't last two seconds against the Sovereign. Luigi would actually be the worst person to go up against the Sovereign of Sorrow. His angst over being [[OvershadowedByAwesome overshadowed by his brother's fame]] would be used to corrupt him into an UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom, assuring the Mushroom Kingdom's fall. The Toadstool retainers, Goombas, Troopas, and the Koopa Kids couldn't even stand their ground against a powerful dark mage obsessed with finding his missing sister, let alone the mysterious and omnicidal personification of despair herself.
370
371	That would leave King Koopa himself: a [[StoneWall very durable]] highly stubborn dragon-tortoise who's clever enough to blindside his enemies with unexpected tricks and GenreSavvy enough to ''actually use Videoland's antics and mechanics to his advantage.'' The Sovereign would find him incorruptible due to his unwillingness to admit defeat and his sheer arrogance and any changes she inflict on the battlefield would be quickly adapted to. Also, given that he is the self-proclaimed "[[LargeHam greatest villain in Videoland]]" and considers the Mushroom Kingdom rightfully his, Bowser isn't just going to stay in his castle while the Sovereign of Sorrow destroys his world. At the very least, he's going to [[EnemyMine team up with Mario]] to drive her off. Even if saving the Mushroom Kingdom isn't his number one priority, Bowser wouldn't allow Mario to take all of the credit for beating the Sovereign of Sorrow [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou nor would he let anyone else but him defeat the plucky plumber]].

Context WMG / CaptainSNES