betweenseasons

one thing about me is i love a good ass distance /romantic!!!!

I've been meaning to collect my thoughts on these two somewhere, because they kind of rotted my brain a little when i was getting through the early chapters of r1999's main story. To be clear, i've only read chapters 1-4 so far (and none of the side stories yet), so i'll only talk about my interpretations of them w/in this context. If i'm completely off base that's the burden i shall have to bear for not being normal about anything ever.

(all dialogue transcripts are taken from my savior, this archive, because the story text logs are seemingly not on the wiki)

Some background info about the world that i was too lazy to summarize myself:
The game takes place in a universe where a form of magic called Arcanum exists, and humans exist alongside Arcanists, a race of individuals often discriminated against and perceived as "sub-human", who can use Arcanum. On the last day of the year 1999, a mysterious phenomenon simply known as "the Storm" caused different eras in time to shift backward and forward between the 1900s, causing people and objects from the affected era to disappear, which is referred to as being "reversed".
The Storm is able to reverse humans and Arcanists. Arcanists can be sheltered from it, Humans only under specific circumstances or in specific places like the St. Pavlov Foundation. The Storm also causes something known as the Storm Syndrome approximately 24 hours before its arrival, causing humans to experience severe hallucinations and delusions that are directly tied to themes relevant to the era, such as perceiving money as food, developing a strong desire for war, and so on. As a result, time does not progress beyond the year 1999 and different eras throughout history will disappear, then later reappear in a more unstable state. [1]

Vertin (our protagonist) (the one with the hat)

Vertin is the only one known to be immune to the effects of the storm, having been experimented on as a baby For that very purpose in the facilities of an organization called the St. Pavlov Foundation. Vertin was born within the foundation & subsequently lived her entire childhood within the bounds of the foundation's academy for ~~child soldiers~~ honing arcane arts. After a Certain Harrowing Experience as a kid, Vertin is tasked with the role of "timekeeper", the one meant to record the beginnings and ends of different eras. Something i really like about Vertin is that she has a rather stoic and unfeeling demeanor, but she's most often driven by somewhat idealistic notions, and a pure emotional desire to save the people she cares about. It makes her role as the central character land very well, because her connections to the others never feel shallow.

Prologue: "This is Tomorrow"

In the prologue (chapter 0), Vertin and Sonetto are specifically tasked with the job of recovering an arcanist girl (Regulus) to recruit her for the foundation. Sonetto defers to Vertin's judgement, addressing her as her superior. Sonetto & Vertin on the field have a role not unlike a knight-and-ruler dynamic, where Sonetto wishes to protect Vertin and follow her command, admiring her all the while. Sonetto holds an unconditional trust for Vertin, something that i started to find more and more compelling once it became obvious how Vertin was going out of her way to divert Sonetto's attention and attempt to save Regulus from the storm without having to bring her back to the foundation. Vertin's role within the foundation constrains her, and shes constantly aware of the limits to what she can do. She isn't in a position to deliberate her options for protecting the people she wants to protect, because the foundation is her Only option. Sonetto, on the other hand, is the picture-perfect foundation member, and seems to expect that Vertin will follow protocol as well.

"this is all well and good", the voices in my head say. "but what exactly about this would compel someone [ME] who likes equals-partners-companions as ship basis". and to the voices i must display the line after which i was like "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh oh. ohhhh"

Sonetto: Please trust me. Just like... how we used to be.

#forkfoundinkitchen moment for me. yes they are childhood friends. which you already knew bc of the picture of them i chose but /I/ DIDNT KNOW THAT!!!! until this line. [dies about it]. This scene occurs towards the beginning of chapter 1, the start of the first major arc in the story. Which is to say, there's still a bit of their dynamic to cover before the story would delve into their childhood.

Chapters 1-2: "In Our Time" & "Tender is the Night"

Sonetto is my current favorite character in the game, because i just adore characters like her, whose feelings are so Big that they spill right out of them. It was during these chapters where i had a Moment in which i was like "if anything happens to Sonetto i will kill everyone and then myself". When she and Vertin get separated following the scene quoted above, Sonetto spends a significant part of their brief separation fretting over the thought of leaving Vertin, that there's more she should be doing to help, that she needs to wrap up her side quest ASAP so she can return to her. Things go to shit real fast when they DO reunite, and tldr: in the midst of a rushed escape attempt through a quickly crumbling exit, Vertin pushes a panicked Sonetto out first, leaving herself trapped with the enemy alongside a newfound ally (Schneider). This moment is a fun one to me because beyond Vertin's tendency to take on burdens herself, its also very loaded to me in that Sonetto and Vertin are proceeding with this particular mission as partners to some degree, because Sonetto has been appointed to Vertin's chief assistant. Vertin trusts Sonetto, unfailingly so, to protect their escaping allies and decide the next course of action, even when its been shown that she has a habit of hiding the full truth from her. It's such an fun contradiction, that Sonetto is above anyone else, the person Vertin will depend on when she needs help. Vertin's expectations of Sonetto are weighty, and i just really like how she never seems to think much of what she asks of Sonetto. Its Sonetto, and she's perfectly capable of accomplishing whatever is asked of her. Vertin doesn't tend to show much of a reaction to Sonetto's fretting over her wellbeing, and in moments like these it feels like she brushes off how Sonetto will feel about it. There's a sense of Vertin taking her for granted, as someone who will always be by her side in this way, and i really like it.

It seems she's meant to be there, like a fact to be taken for granted, like the Boston ivy is meant to be found on the outer wall of this building.

This quote is actually from a gameplay mode about Vertin's dreams, where she imagines a younger Sonetto at the academy. But it works too well for my agenda to not include it somewhere. Back to this arc!

Sonetto: We should go.

Special Team Captain: ...What?!

Sonetto: When Timekeeper is absent, chief assistant Sonetto will be the first-in-command. Going back now is like lambs to the slaughter. It will only ruin the last chance to rescue the Timekeeper. The enemy is after us. We are still in danger. It will only cost us more if we act on impulse.

Sonetto, who has spent much of this chapter feeling the urge to rush back to Vertin's side, has to make the call herself for everyone to quickly leave and regroup, despite Vertin's precarious situation. For Sonetto to have to tell someone that no, we have to leave the timekeeper behind. ough. ough ough ough. But its the scene after this that really got me 😭. In the cramped getaway car, the girl Sonetto had befriended in her earlier side quest (Sotheby) is excitedly chatting about the passing locations and the events of the day, before noting Sonetto's lack of response. She turns to notice Sonetto quietly sobbing in the corner of the car, and falls silent in shock. and let me tell u. i wanted to die badly. BADLY. THATS MY FUCKIGN DUAGHTER 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭. This isnt even about vernetto anymore i will ctahc you Vertin. for making my byaby cry. this was not meant to delve into my usual incoherency but yeah i would take ten thousand bullets for Sonetto reverse 1999 and its because of this series of events but especially this moment. She will do everything that is asked of her but she'll do it while wearing her heart on her sleeve because there's nothing else she can be but herself.

Their long awaited true reunion has Sonetto spill all her feelings to Vertin as soon as she sees her, and a sweet moment of Vertin comforting her... wah.

Sonetto: You’re not hurt! That’s great! I am sorry. You protected me when the wall fell … But I could not save you … and even let you confront the Manus alone. … I am sorry …

Vertin: Your hands are trembling, Sonetto… Calm down. You did nothing wrong. We are together now, aren’t we? There are more challenges for us to take. It’s not the time to catch up.

Sonetto: …You …you are right. We are late, but not too late… Timekeeper, I-I am so glad that you are safe and sound! What comes next is the final battle!

Sonetto: This time, please let me protect you.

Sonetto continues to carry the guilt of abandoning Vertin with her throughout this arc, which we come to find later is a sort of recurring theme for her. Sonetto needs to be needed, needs to be the protector, and cant bear the thought of Vertin in any sort of trouble. As the storm approaches, Vertin has return to the reality that many of the humans they have met will disappear to the storm, and decide how to face the end.

Sonetto: What is … the next mission for us? The “Storm”… it should be coming soon…

Vertin: Yes. Sonetto… This time, I want to hear everyone's wishes.

[...]

Sonetto: Mine? I have no wish… What is your wish? May I realize it for you?

My daughter is so normal and well-adjusted and definitely doesn't tie her self worth to how she can be of use to others.

At the end of this arc, there's a tragic and unexpected death that sends Vertin into a state of shock, after which everyone quickly returns to the foundation alongside a few new arcanist allies who have been left displaced from their time. At the foundation, Vertin is taken in for treatment. We begin the next chapter within Vertin's childhood memories, as her friends have to manuever complicated political situations within the foundation while she is incapacitated.

Chapters 3-4: "Nouvelles et Textes pour Rien" & "El Oro de los Tigres"

Similarly to Vertin, Sonetto grew up in the schooling of the foundation. But where Vertin questioned everything she had grown up with (the reasons for their confinement to the foundation's premises, the world outside, what the "storm" was), Sonetto was the ideal student. Often used as an example for disciplining others, readily urging her classmates to engage in their studies as earnestly as she did. I think the most apt word to describe her is exactly that: earnest. She's idealistic in the sense that she truly wants to believe that the foundation wants what's best for humanity, that their teachings are true, that she wont ever have to examine the doubts that start to take root in her every time she encounters Vertin's headstrong refusal of the foundation's rules. So they kind of did the best thing ever with their childhood dynamic. And made it so that they weren't even technically... friends. LOL. It's actually so so adorable because we go from seeing loyal puppy knight Sonetto in the present day, and then seeing baby Sonetto, who gets so frustrated just interacting with this precocious young Vertin because she's unable to understand her behavior at all. And to make it even better, baby Vertin is so charmed by Sonetto... While Sonetto dismisses her, tries to avoid speaking with her much, Vertin goes out of her way to bring Sonetto small trinkets from the outside world. Small rocks and literal frogs, she seems to be so fond of this girl, and thinks of her as a friend even when Sonetto feels guilty about speaking with the Problem Student.

Sonetto: I don't understand… why you always skip classes. You know that we are not supposed to pay too much attention to affairs outside the school. Please… don't bring me these pebbles and frogs anymore. These are… meaningless. …We are born to die martyrs.

Vertin: …Why? Just because the Student Handbook says so?

Sonetto: That's right.

[...]

Vertin: Sonetto, aren't you really curious about what is outside the school? You were also in that parade outside the school before… The pebbles, the frogs, the attic with stinky socks… They're just a teeny tiny part of the whole world. I once met a girl who came to our school…

Sonetto: Pl-please stop. These are very dangerous things.

Vertin: …

Sonetto: The Student Handbook is protecting us. It is protecting us from harm and regrets. As the instructors have told us, to live is to lose things around us until the day we lose life itself to death. That's why we should only focus on the supreme missions.

Vertin: Until the day we lose life itself… To death?…

12 year old Sonetto is very normal and well-adjusted and definitely not brainwashed ♡. So how do these two kids move past this stage of their relationship? Chapter 3 is actually largely about Vertin and a different set of children, who all aim to escape the school and live freely in the outside world. They all remain unaware of the horrors of the storm, due to information around it being forbidden from spreading around the school to prevent unecessary panic. Sonetto is notably not one of these kids, given that she seems to have never even considered the idea of breaking the rules. After witnessing a brutal moment of disciplining that goes wrong (THESE 12 YR OLDS GOT TEAR GASSED 😭😭😭), Sonetto's worldview is shaken. She starts to realize that she might have been misreading Vertin all this time.

Vertin: It's rare that you would come and speak to me.

Sonetto: I … I may have misunderstood you. I'm sorry … How are you feeling now? I heard you were in a coma for two days.

Vertin: I'm fine. It doesn't hurt so much now. It hurt more when the tear gas burnt me.

Sonetto drops her head. She seems out of words.

Vertin and her rebellious friends proceed to plan their dramatic escape from the school regardless, unaware that their goal is known to the vice president of the Foundation (Constantine), who has her eye on Vertin's unique abilities to resist the storm. Constantine sees an opportunity to gain control over Vertin in this naive escape attempt, and engineers a situation in which the kids can successfully escape, on the day that the storm is set to occur. On the day of their escape, Vertin and her friends are surprised by the smooth execution of their plan, entirely unaware of the strings being pulled behind their backs. However, as they run through the final passageway on the route to the exit, they are stopped in their tracks by a certain soldier who isn't in the know of Constantine's plans (Lilya) (ftr Lilya is such a real one i adore her role later in ch4). More notable, however, is the person who comes to Vertin's aid all of a sudden.

Lilya: Oh? I can hear you. In that case, I have to be extra careful, in case any of you lab rats run away.

Vertin: …

Sonetto: Please be mindful of your language, Lilya! Your duty is to eliminate the Olitiaus in the campus, not attacking the students!

Vertin: …! Sonetto! Why are you here…

She walks up to Vertin and yet doesn't respond to her question. She pulls out her wand and stands before Lilya.

Baby Sonetto proceeds to incapacitate this grown woman 😭. And has to say her final goodbyes to Vertin.

Vertin: We're leaving, Sonetto. Thank you for your assistance. Goodbye.

Sonetto: …You're going to do something very dangerous, aren't you?

Vertin: Yes.

Sonetto: Even if… it will cost you everything you've had here… You will not be regretful, right?

Vertin: We have prepared for everything that could happen. No regrets.

Sonetto looks at the students' faces and tightly holds her wand in her hand.

Sonetto: …Seems like you… won't be needing my notebook anymore.

Vertin: …We chose a different future. But future has no right or wrong, Sonetto.

Sonetto: …

The Ring pulls down the switch of the blast door. A stone wall is slowly put down before Sonetto.

Vertin: Go back. Get yourself out of these things.

Sonetto: …

Her face gradually disappears on the other side of the door.

Sonetto: …It was a pleasure to be your deskmate, Vertin.

Sonetto defies the principles she's lived by through all of her formative years, to give Vertin and her friends the freedom they have longed for. It's a bittersweet goodbye, that only becomes bitter with the events that follow. As the kids open the door to the outside world together, and rush out, they cheer and dance in the rain of the storm, shouting for Vertin to join them. She slowly takes her first proper steps outside, only to have to witness with horror the sight of her friends slowly evaporating into the storm. A voice calls out to her from behind, and Vertin, now fully alone, turns to see a woman (Madam Z)(She's the love of my life btw)(also Constantine's subordinate) who asks her if she'd like to become the Timekeeper. This moment is, unsurprisingly, the turning point in Vertin's life. She witnessed the cruelty of the storm firsthand, and later comes to realize that she had also witnessed the cruelty of the foundation firsthand as well. However, while Vertin is resigned to the inevitability of that awful day, Sonetto, who followed her heart for the first time in her life, takes the consequences of this day as the result of the greatest mistake she had ever made.

The flashbacks throughout chapter 3 are actually interspersed with events in the present day, while Vertin is unconscious in the Foundation's medical facilities. It's very clear that Vertin's "care" under the Foundation is more about control, rather than bringing her back to good health. The arcanist friends she made in the just-reversed era (Regulus, Sotheby, Druvis) are left stranded in this unfamiliar environment without Vertin to stand by them and argue for their agency. She's effectively being held hostage, in exchange for their compliance with the Foundation's wishes. The main plot that follows is of Madam Z's struggle to pass a proposal that can reach a middle ground, allowing Vertin to recruit arcanists to her own independent unit, and finally allowing her agency within the Foundation's affairs. Something fun about Sonetto's character in these chapters is how subdued she becomes when she's at the Foundation. Sonetto is still used as an example of an exemplary employee, but this doesn't mean she's quite at home at the Foundation either. There's plenty of moments where she's viewed quite strangely for her stringent following of even the most minor rules. Sonetto doesn't belong among the power hungry or apathetic members of the foundation, but she also doesn't belong among Vertin's ragtag group of arcanist friends, who construct an encampment to protest Vertin's mistreatment, as they await the results of Madam Z's efforts. Sonetto notably is unable to interact with this crew for much of this arc at all, instead having to do her best to help Vertin within the bounds of the rules, and feeling herself fail at that too, when her words are twisted against her.

Constantine: After the incident of the "Storm," why would Vertin show reluctance to invite the unregistered arcanists to join the Foundation?

Sonetto: Because … Emm …

Constantine: At one point in her negotiation with the Manus Vindictae, Vertin has agreed to join them. What do you think her true intention was?

Sonetto: I …

Constantine: That'll be enough. I believe we all have our answers by now.

Sonetto: Madam Vice President! A-According to our investigation of the event in 1929 and Timekeeper's report, it is highly possible that Arcana of Manus Vindictae has the arcane power to influence the sanity and consciousness of others from a certain distance. She is able to exert an irresistible psychic influence on others through short conversations. Timekeeper … Timekeeper was under huge threats at that time. I think all of her responses were out of her survival instinct. This is also one of the survival strategies that have been taught in Chapter 1, Book 3 of Introduction to Strategy edited by the School of Primary Defense of Mankind.

Constantine: I see. You may leave the room now.

Sonetto's eyes turn red.

Sonetto: I …

Constantine: We appreciate the information you just added. You have always been an excellent student. We are very proud of you. Now it's time to leave and rest.

Sonetto: …Copy that.

She leaves the room as instructed.

Sonetto's subdued demeanor makes her occasional breaks from character all the more obvious when they occur. She's boiling up with rage over the mistreatment of someone she cares about intensely, but her reactions are met with bafflement and a general pushback to her overly emotional displays.

Sonetto: How much longer is this therapy going to take, in your view?

Mesmer Jr.: However long it takes. As long as I receive a new order.

Sonetto stands up furiously.

Sonetto: So none of these have been applied for the Timekeeper's wellbeing.

Mesmer Jr.: Yes. What's wrong with you, Sonetto?

Sonetto: …! I-I don't know. Sorry, I overreacted. I don't feel quite myself today … I can't tell what's wrong. Perhaps I ate something bad for breakfast.

Sonetto is left feeling lost, confused, and helpless as to what she can even do, and whether she's even in the right to be feeling such turmoil. Sonetto's feelings for Vertin are one of the truest parts of her, and it becomes clear yet again that her desire to follow Vertin unconditionally is at odds with the principles she's lived by for all her life. Sonetto turns to an old friend (Matilda) for help, in a way that i find is ironic, yet fitting for her. She asks Matilda to read her fortune, and tell her what her future path should be. Sonetto still refuses to confront this contradiction within her, and instead asks another to yet again tell her what her path in life should be.

Matilda: I see ... Which deck would you like to approach intuitively? Can you recognize the people on them?

Sonetto: I … There is something bright on that deck, just like ... Timekeeper and Druvis ... It is warm there.

Matilda: ... You are attracted to it subconsciously. It guides the way of your heart. What about the other?

Sonetto: The other deck ... makes me feel comfortable, as if I have spent a long time there. I can trace back every step I take.

[...]

Matilda: I heard you attended the committee's meeting today. Anything happened?

Sonetto: I said something wrong. I was not properly prepared … I was unable to help Timekeeper and Druvis; instead, I created a deeper misunderstanding. What choice should I make ... to resolve their conflict? Stalemate like that ... really scares me

Matilda: The bright deck ... seems closer and larger. Have you ever thought about following your heart?

Sonetto: …

Matilda: Sonetto, maybe you can try following your instinct for once. Maybe something unexpected will happen.

Sonetto: … I tried … Four years ago. I let them go... That was the worst decision I have ever made.

[...]

Matilda: "The reality has shown itself. Take the path you have already taken, walk the way you have already walked. You shall benefit from listening to the voice in your mind, as it is not yet time to dock."

Sonetto: Listen to the voice in my mind … I see.

And so, at the fork in the road, Sonetto is advised to continue walking that lonely path she's always walked. Just within reach of Vertin, so she can continue to aid her, but far enough that she cannot truly be one of her companions. She still holds the guilt of letting Vertin go all those years ago, that had she stuck to what was asked of her, Vertin might not have had to experience such suffering. Sonetto has failed Vertin before, and can't even stand by her side now. My favorite moment between them comes at the very end of chapter 4, after Vertin is rescued, the proposal is successful, and Lilya takes Vertin to see her friends who have been fighting on her behalf all while she was asleep. It's such a lovely lovely scene for the climax, and i do want to talk about this arc outside of the vernetto lense, but that's for another day in the distant future. Vertin reunites with her friends, who tackle her in a joyous hug as they celebrate their success. It's an emotional scene of a happy reunion, followed by the arrival of Constantine and several foundation members, to address Vertin's return. Sonetto arrives alongside Constantine and Madam Z, finally getting to confirm Vertin's wellbeing with her own eyes.

Next to her [Constantine], stand Sonetto, Madam Z, and some unfamiliar faces. The moment their eyes meet in the air, Sonetto opens her mouth─but she eventually doesn't speak a word.

Sonetto: …!

Sonetto [To herself]: …This is good. This is great.

I'm eating glass about this scene. I'm eating glass about it all the time. The contrast from the excited reunion between Vertin and her friends, to Sonetto meeting her eyes and being unable to say anything to Vertin. She can only voice her quiet relief to herself, separated from the clamor of everyone else's celebrations. It isn't her place to join them... (；′⌒`) Vertin and Sonetto will continue to walk side by side, but with a divide between them that Sonetto will have to confront one day if she wants to truly follow her heart.

That was a long fucking post. Oh my god. I am never doing this again. There's tons of other little moments i didn't cover that fall more on the side of comedic and silly but i think i really wanted to hone in on Sonetto's Issues(tm) because she's my baby lskdlfj;lsg. I hope they actually end up doing something with this divide they've set up between the two even if it doesn't happen for a long time, but until then i'm just happy to see them side by side as partners.. I really love them!!!!