Ever17 Theories

After Tsugumi route
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- Who was the tanuki?

First guess was Tsugumi, by process of elimination. It would make sense for her to punch Takeshi too. But it was never mentioned during Tsugumi's route, so it was probably somebody else, idk...

- Life Readings: 6 (beginning)

This seemed normal at first, until I later learned that Sora was an AI. In other words, she is not actually alive. This means that, aside from Takeshi, Kid, Coco, You, and Tsugumi, there was a sixth survivor that was not part of their group. This could be the researcher at Himmel, but it is unknown as to when he came to the upper floors from the IDF. The OP also shows a character named Sara, who may have possibly survived? But Takeshi and the others never encountered her so this is unlikely...

- Fluctuating Life Readings (beginning)

Life Readings fluctuated between 5, 6, and 7 before stabilizing at 6. This is probably because there were two life readings that were difficult to verify as to whether they were alive or not, hence the fluctuation. After thoroughly analyzing all seven candidates, the system decided that only six of them were considered to be alive, i.e. one of the disputed creatures was considered dead, and another one alive.

So what were the creatures that were difficult to classify as alive/dead? One possibility is that a person (possibly Sara) was dying, so it was difficult to identify the life status. Another possibility is that the Life Readings includes non-human creatures, but Pipi and Chami gave the system a hard time. Chami may have left the range of the life sensors, leaving the final count at 6.

- Who was Coco talking to in the infirmary?

Not much clues to work with here. I'm guessing Coco was talking to herself. She probably has multiple personalities or something. Alternatively, she was probably talking to Pipi, even though Pipi can't reply.

- Implication of Sora's existence

Sora being an AI and the mechanics of how she is observed can be a vital clue towards the other characters' perceptions. Sora is clear evidence that LeMu is capable of manipulating the people's sight and hearing, using those earphones to coordinate the proper position of the illusions. In other words, there is a possibility that LeMu might have been playing with their senses in other ways that they weren't aware of, e.g. hiding or showing something/somebody that should've or shouldn't have been seen/heard. In other words, unlike Ushiromiya Battler, Takeshi is NOT an objective perspective. No clues were presented beyond the manipulation of sight and hearing, so smell/taste/feeling should be objective.

- Kick-the-can, who kicked the can?

Tsugumi may be dishonest about her feelings, being a tsundere and all, but she's not the type of person that would kick the can and lie about it afterwards. Anyhow, it could have been Chami that kicked the can instead.

- Kick-the-can, who was the last one counting?

All of the people were accounted for. Even Sora. And yet, they heard the voice of somebody else counting. As shown by Sora's existence, LeMu can manipulate what the people hear and see. It's possible that the counting voice was fabricated by LeMu, or it was an extra person whose existence has been concealed throughout the route.

- How does Tsugumi know so much about LeMU?

Well, she has most likely been here before. In fact, the scientists probably took her here when they found out she had the Cure virus. That also explains why Tsugumi asked Sora whether she knew about her past. Sora was an AI from LeMU, so there was a possibility of her having access to the records of Tsugumi being here.

- So, what happened on May 1st?

TB virus escaped. They set up the alarm. People rushed to the emergency exit without decompressing properly, which led to death. Various sectors failed to withstand the pressure and were flooded. The researchers at IBF were infected and they clawed themselves to death at some point (probably later).

- Did Takeshi actually die in the ending?

He said he wouldn't die, and it would be very hypocritical for him to suicide in front of Tsugumi after he kept trying to emphasize the value of life to her. But how could he have survived, then? Well, he doesn't seem to fit the perverted protagonist archtype, since he seems decent most of the time. So when he bit Tsugumi's finger, he probably did it to acquire the Cure virus. After all, she told him that Chami got infected in the same way. He absorbed the Cure virus at that time, and knew that he would survive no matter what happened.

- Life Readings: 1, route ending

Although Takeshi was alive, he could not have been detected because he was well outside LeMu at that time. In other words, there probably actually was one living person remaining. Possibly the mysterious 6th person (assuming that the 6th person wasn't the researcher or Pipi). Maybe Sara, but eh, I don't know anything about her anyway.

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After Sora Route
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- What did Sora mean when she talked about Takeshi splitting up and taking multiple paths like a Y?

It was referring to how the Takeshi can choose between different choices through the player interface. Normal VN choice stuff. By choosing different stuff, you see different scenes and can even go into different routes. This kinda sounds like breaking the 4th wall though.

- Did Takeshi actually die in the ending?

I don't know what he meant when he said he won't die, but I can't imagine how he could've survived. He did not bite Tsugumi or anything, so he couldn't have acquired the Cure virus. I think he actually died in the ending.

- Life Readings: 1, route ending

Again, since Takeshi most likely died at the end, the remaining Life Reading implies that there was an extra person that we didn't know about.

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After You Route
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- WHAT YEAR IS THIS???

From Tsugumi route, Tsugumi said she was infected 12 years ago, on 2005. Tsugumi was born 24 years ago, in July 1993. That means the present, in Tsugumi's route, is 2017.
From You route, the funerals and the chat log discussing Yukie's death were both dated at 2019, which Sora and the others considered to be 15 years ago. That means the present, in You's route, is 2034.
...
...
What the hell???

Okay, calm down. Let's figure this out... slowly. The present year is not something that can be easily fabricated, except for Kid and Sora. This is because everyday interactions with other people would keep everyone updated on what is the present year. It's simply impossible for somebody to be deceived as to what the actual year is, unless they lived their entire lives in isolation (which doesn't apply to Tsugumi, Sara, or You). Kid and Sora are exceptions because Kid forgot all his memories, including the year, and Sora's data can easily be rewritten.

Anyways, the issue is not whether they got the year wrong (they could be brainwashed, memories can be altered, etc). The real issue is that there is an inconsistency between the year for Tsugumi+Takeshi in Tsugumi route and You+Sara in You route. These characters do not overlap (unless I missed other references to the present year), leaving two possibilities imo:

1. Tsugumi and Takeshi thought it was 2017, while You, Sara, and Sora thought it was 2034. This would require some intense memory tampering to generate this inconsistency. Furthermore, there's too high a risk that the survivors may reference the present year between themselves, which would reveal the inconsistency immediately. It was purely by random chance that this inconsistency was never discovered.

2. Tsugumi route takes place in 2017, while You's route takes place in 2034. This sounds really crazy, I know. But think about it, is there any evidence that these two routes branched off from the same scenario? After all, Tsugumi route is seen from Takeshi's perspective, and You route is seen from Kid's perspective. Maybe everything that Takeshi sees is from 2017, and everything that Kid sees is from 2034? But there are a few scenes where they interact with each other before the route split. Those interactions may have been repeated to create the illusion that there was only one incident. Note that it's confirmed that LeMU can make people see and hear stuff that aren't actually there, so that may also have been exploited somehow.

- Two voices in the elevator before Sara was found?

There seems to be a clear connection between Sara and Coco. Kid heard both Sara and Coco's voices in the elevator, but You denied hearing a second voice. Coco was never found. From Kid's perspective, he saw and heard Coco multiple times throughout the route, but nobody else ever acknowledged her presence. In the case of the elevator, and in the whale room, Sara was actually there instead of Coco. In other times, like in the infirmary, in the statue, and in front of Himmel, Sara is not even present, but the Kid sees and hears Coco while Takeshi/You see/hear nobody. However, although Kid sees Coco in these situations, Pipi seems to be completely absent.

Take the elevator scene, for example. We don't know what happened in Takeshi's perspective, but he finds You and Kid with Coco later on, and nobody ever mentions Sara. The thing is, there is only one choice which determines the result here and that is when you choose between Takeshi and Kid. This implies that the choice between Takeshi and Kid ("Find friends" vs "Who am I?") is more than just choosing your perspective. This supports my theory that Takeshi's perspective and Kid's perspective are actually two different chains of events and not just the same event from two perspectives. Takeshi's perspective is from 2017, and Kid's perspective is from 2034.

In that case, Takeshi's perspective (2017) has Coco, and Kid's (2034) has Sara. Takeshi never sees Sara, but Kid somehow sees Coco. It's possible that Kid's head is in quite a mess and he sometimes recalls memories from the 2017 incident. Memories that seem very real, probably due to some brain tampering, or RSD.

- Is that why Kid thinks he can see the future?

Yes. He has already experienced these events in 2017, so they're somewhere deep in his brain.  When similar situations arise, he starts recalling bits and pieces of the 2017 incident. That's why he was able to see Coco carving onto the statue when she wasn't actually there.

- What about his knowledge of the boiling hot door to the Generator room? And meeting Coco in the infirmary?

In 2017, Kid did not experience either of those events. However, Takeshi did. It's possible that the 2034 Kid still possesses some memories of the 2017 Takeshi. In fact, I am seriously considering the idea that 2017 Takeshi = 2034 Kid. It might sound silly, because Kid clearly looks younger than Takeshi. However, I took a look at all the CGs I unlocked so far and found that Takeshi's face is never shown when reading Takeshi's perspective, nor is Kid's face ever shown when reading Kid's perspective. One might think this is because they want to show what YOU are seeing, which excludes yourself. But that doesn't seem to be the case, since you are shown in several CGs, but your own face is always covered, like the CG where Takeshi is holding Sora in her ending. And yet, they have no problems showing Takeshi's and Kid's faces in the other person's perspective. But you never see your own face...

Oh, and despite the 17 year gap, 2017 Takeshi did not age because of the Cure virus. He still looks like a kid in 2034 :P

- That explains Takeshi and Kid, but what about the other characters?

Sara is Kid-only, and Coco is Takeshi-only. 2017 Takeshi = 2034 Kid. 2017 Kid and 2034 Takeshi are other people, designed to imitate the 2034 Kid and 2017 Takeshi respectively. Sora doesn't age, her program can easily be rewritten, and her 2017 memories erased. The only ones left are Tsugumi and You.

- How would you explain Tsugumi?

It is perfectly reasonable to assume that it's the same Tsugumi, since she doesn't even age. In Kid's route, Tsugumi implies that they've been in this situation before and that the Kid is being deceived. Maybe she still has some of her memories from 2017? She would know what's going on, and she would suspect that Kid would know as well, because he was there in 2017 too, as Takeshi. In the previous case, Takeshi died in May 7th so she made the same prediction. She may still have lost a lot of her memories though.

- Tsugumi vs Sara, what was that all about?

I have no idea. Sara is a new person who wasn't in 2017, so Tsugumi should not hold anything against her. But since it's related to Sara, I would probably have a better guess after reading her route.

- How does Tsugumi know so much about LeMU in Takeshi's perspective route?

My opinion on this hasn't changed. She may have been taken to LeMU at some point. The place where the researchers examined her may have been IBF.

- Okay, that's enough about Tsugumi. What about You?

There is a lot of stuff about You. The You in Kid's perspective looks the same as the You in Takeshi's perspective. Even without my 2017 Takeshi = 2034 Kid theory, there is some pretty strong evidence that the You that Takeshi sees is different from the one that Kid sees. Namely, her name. In Kid's perspective, her name is Yuuseiakikana. In Takeshi's, it's Yuuseiharukana. Aki for autumn, and Haru for spring. Why are they different? She has no reason to lie in either case. And it's her own name, so it should not be affected by the decisions that Takeshi and Kid make. However, it all makes perfect sense if you consider them to be two different people. Of course, that also depends on the assumption that Takeshi's and Kid's scenarios are separate incidents.

- So what about the whole deal with You's parents?

Tanaka Yoichi died in 2000, that's fine. At that time, his daughter, Tanaka Yuuseiharukana, was a year old. And then, at 2017, Yuuseiharukana ends up being trapped in LeMU, with the events of Takeshi's perspective. She is looking for her father, but fails to find out anything. She was able to escape though. And then, at 2019, her mother, Tanaka Yukie, passed away. So far, so good. The only problem now is Yuuseiakikana from Kid's perspective. I think the woman shown during You's epilogue, who "pretended" to be Yuuseiakikana's mother was actually Yuuseiharukana. Yuuseiakikana might have been her daughter, who was deceived into believing that her mother's name is Tanaka Yukie and her father is Tanaka Yoichi. It would make more sense is Yuuseiakikana is a clone or something of Yuuseiharukana, but no clues point to the possibility of cloning.

- And Tief Blau?

I'm guessing that when Tief Blau was first developed by the IBF (yes, I think it was man-made), it ended up killing Tanaka Yoichi. That didn't stop the researchers from working on Tief Blau though. In May 1st, 2017, there was an outbreak and Takeshi's story comes in. The survivors all got infected, except for Tsugumi. The others ended up spreading the disease after being rescued. You came into contact with her mother and her mother died. I am not sure how You survived. Anyhow, they were eventually able to eradicate Tief Blau and by 2034, there were no apparent cases of Tief Blau.

- What about Coco in the big whale room? And in front of Himmel? Those weren't experienced by 2017 Takeshi

Hmmm... I'm not sure. Takeshi did go to the big whale room, but I'm not sure if it was at the same time, or even in the same day. Anyhow, I have no way of explaining those incidents regardless of whether 2017 Takeshi = 2034 Kid or not. Also, about Coco calling Kid onii-chan... I don't really know what to make of that.

- Who was Coco talking to in the infirmary anyway?

Uh, Pipi? There's definitely a lot more to Coco than the little that I know or have been able to figure out, so I don't think I'd be able to answer that question at this point.

- Who is TY?

When they found the note that was signed TY (Takeshi's routes), Takeshi concluded that it could be Coco's father. Now, I am not sure whether or not the translation modified the original initials or not. In Japanese, the family name would come first (like Yagami Coco), so TY can't refer to Yagami T_. Instead, it might refer to Tanaka Yoichi, or, for timeline consistencies, Tanaka Yukie. In that case, the daughter would be You.

- Kick-the-can, who kicked the can?

Nobody, because the can was in the exact position that he left it. But the sound of it being kicked was generated by LeMU's walls. I first thought it had something to do with Coco, but eh, all of the others heard the sound, so it's most likely unrelated.

- Missing hotdogs?

I honestly don't know. I'm sure there's a very proper explanation for this, related to the stuff that I have not yet figured out yet though.

- What is Blick Winkel?

I do not know, nor do I care.

- So was this incident all planned?

Definitely. I'm not sure why though. My first theory, before I even finished Tsugumi route, was that it was a psychology experiment. I don't think that's the case, but it probably is still an experiment. Going by the theory that there were two separate incidents, at 2017 and 2034 respectively, that means that the experiment was either repeated, or the experiment required the incidents to be repeated.

- Life Readings

Oh, man, these life readings are gonna drive me crazy. From Kid's perspective, Pipi does not even seem to exist, so any theories involving animals seem to be out. Anyhow, it started fluctuating between 5, 6, and 7, and then stabilized to 6. After the encounter with Coco in the infirmary though, the counter dropped to 5. 5 would be the logical value, with Kid, Takeshi, You, Tsugumi, and Sara. Why, then, did it go up to 6, and even hover to 7, earlier?

And then, after Takeshi, Tsugumi, and Sora escaped, the Life Readings was at 3, even though only Kid and You remained (Sora doesn't count). This likely means that somebody extra was remaining in LeMU. And then, after You and Kid escaped, the Life Readings was at 1. This is just like all the previous routes.

What I cannot understand is where this mysterious human could have been hiding and surviving, despite the whole place flooding. One possibility is Himmel, which is always sealed up and seems sturdy enough to avoid being flooded too quickly. It would explain how people can come in and out too, through the elevator connected to IBF, causing the Life Readings to fluctuate. However, Sora route showed that Himmel did not have anybody except Takeshi and Sora and Himmel. Unless, of course, Takeshi was able to survive. Or maybe the Life Readings was displayed right before Takeshi died.

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After Sara route
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Okay, Sara route mainly had one giant revelation which probably changes a lot of stuff. There was nothing else in Sara's route that was particularly relevant to uncovering this whole story.

- So, is 2017 Takeshi = 2034 Kid?

Well, the Kid supposedly remembered all his memories except his name and recent events. The fact that it was so specific implies that it's not normal amnesia, but was likely induced by Lieblich or something. Maybe his name was actually Kuranari Takeshi? But that creates another problem. Namely that Sara would know her onii-chan's name, and would know that Kuranari Takeshi is the name of her brother. Her family name is Matsunaga anyway. There is still a possibility of Sara also losing her memories on her onii-chan's name (whoever tampered with their memories was being very particular about this detail). Or maybe, since Sara was born in 2018, the 2017 Takeshi changed his name before Sara was born. In any case, Sara's existence is a huge obstacle for the 2017 Takeshi = 2034 Kid, and I'm not as confident of it anymore.

But we do have other stuff that support the theory further. Kid knew that Tsugumi would be in danger if he messed up, and that vision seemed to be from Takeshi's point of view ("if I messed up"). The mirror fragment in Kid's thumb was there for a long time (most likely 10+ years), and yet, there isn't even a mark left in his thumb after Sora extracted it. No bandages, no scar, nothing. The only explanation I can think of that his thumb rapidly regenerated as soon as the obstruction (mirror shard) was removed, which implies that he had the Cure virus.

Also, note that while Kid may think he remembers everything else, his memories of LeMU in 2017 could have been erased as well. He wouldn't notice it unless he was specifically trying to recall what he did in the first week of May 2017.

- Still, infra-red vision explains a lot of stuff, right?

As mentioned before, predicting the danger that Tsugumi would fall into if he messed could not be achieved by infra-red vision. Also, his visions of Coco cannot be explained by infra-red vision because
a) Physical appearance as seen by the eye is based on differences of color i.e. what wavelengths of visible light are reflected. Infra-red vision would not recreate Coco's physical appearance.
b) He also HEARS Coco speaking, which is not part of infra-red VISION, obviously.

Nobody else saw/heard Coco, so I still think that LeMU's RSD and stuff was involved in the Coco visions.

- So, was he waiting for Sara in the beginning?

Most likely, yes. He found out that Sara would be coming to LeMU so he went to meet her. But then he somehow lost his memory and only remembered that he needed to meet somebody. When he saw Sara, he knew she was the one he was looking for and went after her.

- What about his visions about him and Sara while he was in the infirmary before the protagonist branch?

I actually have no idea about that. Assuming that he can't see the future, nothing else seems to make sense.

- So, what's the connection between Coco and Sara?

I still don't know. Maybe Sara unconsciously reminds him of the Coco that he was unable to save in 2017? So he keeps seeing Coco in Sara? That is a pretty crappy explanation, but I've got nothing better.

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After Coco route
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Coco route, where everything is revealed. Some of my theories seemed to have been correct (like that Takeshi's and Kid's routes take place at different times), but there was still a lot more I haven't figured out.

- Tsugumi