Secrets of the Universe is an SMG4 fanfiction written by CVGW James, and the sequel to Mysteries of the Universe. It's the second edition of James' retelling of the Genesis Arc.
Picking up from where the anniversary special left off, SMG4's quest to find himself isn't over yet, and now he has the fate of the two hobos who sacrificed themselves to save everyone added to his plate. Not to mention Zero potentially breaking free from his imprisonment...
You can read the story on FanFiction.Net here
, or on DeviantArt here. Note that the latter link leads to a folder that shares the story and its illustrations with those of Mysteries of the Universe.
Secrets of the Universe contains examples of:
- Adaptation Expansion:
- Like with the fic's predecessor, SMG3 is given more moments in the Internet Graveyard and with Terrance than in the original Genesis Arc. In particular, there's a subplot that deals with the Gravediggers of Chaos, a group of memes seeking to take out SMG3 for bringing order to the Internet Graveyard as ruler.
- When visiting SMG4's subconscious in "SMG4 Goes Insane", Chapter 6 provides extra dialogue from the audience criticizing SMG4, shadow copies of Luigi and Meggy included with the others, and Mario already engaging in combat with Zero's eye proxy.
- Chapter 7 features an extended ending of sorts to the events of "SMG4 Goes Insane" once SMG4 is cured of said insanity.
- Starting with Chapter 11, readers get a closer look at the Dark Web than what they may have seen in the SMG4 series or the fic's predecessor.
- Trench is given some backstory when he tries to impede the SMG4 Gang's progress in Chapter 14.
- After splitting from the group in "Into the Dark Web", we see more of Bob interacting with Butter Birdo in Chapter 16, before he winds up in Zero's cathedral.
- The ending of Chapter 18 finishes off the events of "Into the Dark Web" with an extra scene of SMG1 and 2 knowing Bob refused to pay for the very antivirus license that was used to contain Zero... and they're not happy about it.
- In "Stupid Mario Golf", Bob mentions leaving a gangster boss's baby in Brazil. Chapter 20 is dedicated to showing not only how, but just who this gangster boss is.
- Adapted Out:
- Removed from this fic's version of "Into the Dark Web" are Bob's VPN advertisement, Mario dressing up a Dark Web creature as Mr. Monitor, and Axol pulling out the radio to keep Melony calm.
- Most instances of real-life Luke interacting with the SMG4 world are being omitted from the story, though the author still plans to at least include the one from "The Other Universe".
- Ascended Extra: ShadowSquid9 is invited to come with the SMG4 Gang to journey into the Dark Web for the events of "Into the Dark Web", giving him more to do than just hang out with two hobos like in the last fic.
- Boss Subtitles: When Mario fights Zero's eye proxy within SMG4's mind in Chapter 6, it's given the title "Eldritch Cosmic Horror".
- Bowdlerise:
- When Wario and Waluigi's car run into Gourmet Guy in "Stupid Mario Golf", they landed into his rear end while he gets a... sensual reaction. This was changed to the car exploding with all three coming out unharmed.
- Matt doesn't squish Bob's face like he does in "Stupid Mario Golf", though he does give him a nice beating nonetheless.
- Call-Back:
- Despite the author's claims that the shadow manifestation of Meggy in Chapter 6 is not Shadow Meggy from Sunset Paradise, she tells SMG4 to "give up".
- In the same chapter, similarly to the above example, Mario tells SMG4, instead of "dying is gay" like in the original, to "always get back up, no matter how much life knocks you down", which is what Desti told Axol in "World War Mario", and what Axol told Meggy in "Final Hours".
- The Anime Arc gets a couple call backs in Chapter 12.
- Bob boasts about launching a D-Day Invasion reenactment on Francis. Funny enough, both events took place on June 6th.
- When ShadowSquid is accused of cheating, he responds with what Desti says to Meggy (and later vice versa): "cheating is a legitimate strategy".
- Also from Chapter 12 is the dealer selling T-Pose Mushrooms.
- Call-Forward: When SMG3 and Terrance think they're going to get blown up in Chapter 8, a scene not adapted from the Genesis Arc, SMG3 says "goodbye, Terrance," to which he replies with "I love you". This is a reference to their final moments before the latter's sacrifice in the "Revelations" movie.
- Canon Foreigner: Just like the fic's predecessor, Original Character ShadowSquid9 has been added into certain parts of the Genesis Arc. This time, however, they're more plot-relevant.
- Character Narrator: The beginning of Chapter 23 and half of Chapter 25 are told from Matt's perspective. For examples of entire chapters, there's Chapters 13 and 26.
- Dream Episode: Chapter 9 focuses on Axol dreaming about a romantic date with Melony. And not just any romantic date; a recreation of Axol's love confession in manga form, first found in "The Day HE Arrived".
- Foreshadowing:
- SMG3 worries about SMG4 in Chapter 4 while in the Internet Graveyard, hinting at their connection later in the Genesis Arc. The scene also contains a subtle Call-Forward to SMG3's "meme senses" seen in the "Perfect" mini-arc.
- The fireworks show in Chapter 9 was meant to partially foreshadow Axol's manga where he confesses his love for Melony. In additon, the night being ruined by a monster with a "frightening red eye" (heavily implied to be Zero) that seems fixated on going after Axol was meant to foreshadow his death.
- In Chapter 15, Luigi sees a flier from Jeeves advertising an upcoming Golf tournament.
- Like with the fic's predecessor, Zero refers to himself as "we", which makes sense if you've watched SMG4 Movie: Revelations.
- Given Name Reveal: Chapter 12 of this fic is where we learn ShadowSquid9's real name, which is Samuel T. Octosquidle. Although, this name was revealed in his character bio that was released long before the fact.
- Hotter and Sexier:
- Melony strips into a bikini for Axol at (his dream of) the fireworks show in Chapter 9. She doesn't do this in anything related to the love confession this fireworks show was meant to foreshadow, nor has SMG4 shown Melony with a bikini at allnote .
- In Chapter 24, Saiko was shown in a bikini while she's eating KFC after her brief appearance in "Stupid Mario Golf", thanks to a wand she stole from a Magikoopa.
- Interspecies Romance: Chapter 20 introduces a human gangster with an Octoling for a wife, complete with an Octoling baby.
- Nightmare Sequence: Bob has a nightmare of Zero at the beginning of Chapter 20.
- O.C. Stand-in: Cruklife is the gangster that Bob mentioned in "Stupid Mario Golf", and the Octoling baby he has with his wife Jilinia is the one he lost.
- Original Character: Besides returning character ShadowSquid9, there are plenty of new characters to go around. So far, a majority of them have been found in the Dark Web.
- Chapter 11 introduces several at once; a deep-purple Toad in a captain's hat named Calin, a cyan-blue Inkopolis Jellyfish named Flarie, a green-yellow Toad with a Safari uniform and ball cap, a Koopa with a greyish skin tone and cowboy hat named Jeno, and two Inklings named Vaila and Riquo.
- Among the shady people our heroes encounter in the Dark Web that makes their journey harder for them is a man in a pirate hat named T'lo'rfin.
- Matt talks about a dangerous Mii that has committed many crimes in the Dark Web whose name is Loh'rys Shae'ynn.
- In Chapter 20, Bob hooks up with a woman named Jenetaline.
- Orwellian Retcon: Sonic.exe is one of the new creatures found in the Dark Web that almost traumatizes Melony while she's using her hacking skills to help the SMG4 Gang.
- Pun: When witnessing the recreation of Hobo Bros from "SMG4 Goes Insane", complete with Fishy Boopkins taking the role of Kevin Lerdwichagul, Mario's convinced that things don't seem too fishy.
- Shout-Out:
- "Hallelujah" playing at (Axol's dream of) the fireworks show in Chapter 9 is a reference to Watchmen.
- Inkling characters from Alex Spider's videos appear in the story, namely Inkura and Alex himself.
- Also in Chapter 11 is a reference to the O Long Johnson cat.
- When exploring SMG4's Guardian Pod in Chapter 17, SMG4 himself can't help but notice how big it is on the inside, with the narration stating he was comparing it to the TARDIS.
- Toad says "Gee, it sure is boring around here"note in Chapter 19.
- Spared by the Adaptation:
- The Trench that attacks the SMG4 Gang is revealed to be him surviving the events of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "Unfinished Business".
- Peach and Daisy are not turned into KFC like they were in "Stupid Mario Golf". The cake they were eating isn't so lucky, however.
- Suddenly Speaking: Like with the fic's predecessor, the dead memes under SMG3's care (particularly Terrance) speak much more fluently and frequently than in the original series.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: After some non-confrontational and even friendly scenes of the character in the author's past works (including this fic's predecessor), Senbo Mazushi is back to causing trouble in Chapter 19. This could also fall under Revisiting the Roots, as the character started out as a troublemaker in Saiko Rocks. Subverted when it's later discovered he's innocent.
- Unstoppable Rage: SMG1 is usually stoic and serious, but collected and level-headed otherwise. In Chapter 18, however, the story doesn't hide how furious he is with Bob (to the point of scaring SMG2) for not paying for an antivirus license. Justified, as the license was used to imprison the very virus that destroyed the ToyToy Kingdom... and now he's free...
- Villains Out Shopping: DJ Octavio is seen playing golf in Chapter 23, not bothering anyone or doing anything evil... at least until Axol accidentally hits him.
- War Arc: One new subplot to the latter half of the Genesis Arc is SMG3 dealing with memes who don't want him as ruler of the Internet Graveyard trying to get rid of him. The subplot truly gets started with Chapter 21, appropriately titled "Gearing Up For War".
