I… thought this was the logical conclusion taken from Blake playing G’s original, untreated demo tape at the bar and everyone remarking how absolutely terrible the song is, combined with Blake telling G “at least I write my own songs”? No? Are we all… not on the same page about this? 
3 Likes
I’m on the same page. Not stole, maybe, but definitely denied Blake due credit. Especially with what G said about Viktor changing the challenge to punish G and the challenge being all about ghostwriting. It’s part taunt, part warning, I think. I also think G’s persona is partly, if not mostly, based on Blake, or they’re related in some way, or both; there’s too much emphasis put on Blake reminding MC of G for it to be a coincidence.
6 Likes
Speaking of the challenge, I’m slightly worried the song I got from Blake (because my MC hasn’t had his “then let me be evil” moment yet and can’t say no to the band) will turn out to actually be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
But up compared to what? If mc’s baseline was like 10k streams and it is now 20k that is up, as a percentage it might even be further up than Seven’s but if Seven’s baseline was 100k and it is now 150k (yes my numbers are probably way too low for the real music industry, but it is just an example) then mc is still quite unpopular even if 1 or 2 people now stop them in the street for a picture.
Half-brothers would seem to me the most plausible scenario if that is true, cousins could be another.
G is the most media-scrutinised person in the WORLD. I don’t think there’s a chance for “secret family member that is on BotB” to happen.
I think the biggest hint as to what their previous relationship was is the fact that their gender-tied: Blake is always he same gender as G. My current hypothesis is they were roommates in school dorms or a gender-restricted school or something along those lines.
When Blake puts on G’s demo at the bar there’s a remark that it’s different from the public-released demo (which is more produced) and it sounds like it was recorded in a student’s dorm room or something along those lines.
7 Likes
Never say never!
No, yeah, I do go back and forth on that theory because it’s pretty hard to believe. I only say related because if you ride in the car with Blake after the fight breaks out at the club, they say something along the lines of G not caring about anything but fame, not even their family. That, in conjunction with the reminders about Blake looking like G, kind of pinged to me. Though, it could just be that Blake was so close to G once upon a time that they considered them family and not an actual blood relation.
Regardless, I think G totally swaggerjacked Blake.
Yeah! Blake’s mom seems… nice? Supportive? And G’s parents suck, according to Amy, so if there’s any relation, it’s gotta be something with some distance.
1 Like
This is actually confirmed (I mean, not explicitly, but it definitely is) if you ride in the car with Blake during chapter 3:
Summary
*fake_choice
#“Is it really worth the trouble? All of this? The show? The fighting?”
Blake doesn’t react at first. Then, once the hotel comes up ahead, ${bhe} lets out a long sigh.
*if bgender = “female”
“St. Catherine Private Academy.” $!{bhe} looks at you.
*if bgender = “male”
“St. John Private Academy.” $!{bhe} looks at you.
“It’s a school I used to attend. And I didn’t have a great experience near the tail end of it.” $!{bhe} turns away. “Let’s just say, the past comes to get us all.” Then Blake is smiling and stepping out of the car, leaving behind that vaguely unsettling comment.
#You don’t ask.
Blake steps out of the car without another word.
6 Likes
I’d like to say in the recent chapter it’s really nice to see so many people unintentionally take steps to keep MC out of the depression death spiral that comes with infamy. Exercise, socializing, checking in on them, just all really good reasons as to why things haven’t gotten that dark with MC yet.
1 Like
Too damned long
I’ve said this before: I feel like the MC is being painted as the villain with Seven, and that feeling increases with every passing thought or interaction with Seven. It really makes me wonder if the MC is–by default–a sociopath or, at the very least, someone suffering from NPD (this really fits with a fame-hungry, arrogant MC).
Whatever the MC’s issues, I am convinced they are the villain in Seven’s story. The more we see the MC’s thoughts about Seven from the past, the more I think MC never really loved Seven at all (and Seven was right to come to that conclusion) past filling a hole in their life that came from having no one around to love them. Once Seven was gone, the band filled that hole. Now, MC reacts one of two ways–they either cling to the band the same way Seven once clung to them or they become detached.
Avina scenes seldom make any sense to me and just seem to be there as a “you’ve been replaced” hammer to the head for the MC.
I code dived it last night, and like the G portion. The scene kind of turned me off of Dakota, though. I can’t really place it on one thing, but a combination of things, including the needless threat at the end. G was actually surprising, though, especially how much they prefer the idea of marriage to nailing anything with a heartbeat.
Oddly, chapter 4 made me hate Viktor less. Yes, he’s a fucking sexist pig, but I get the feeling G put him through hell with a bunch of fuckups, which made him get nastier. Amy has been pretty good about hinting there are two sides to every story, and that no one is ever a perfect angel or a total piece of shit (except the MC, who is the narrative’s target for curb stomping on regular basis). So I wouldn’t be surprised if we learn more and see that Viktor hasn’t had it so easy, either. I mean, hell, look at Cory, who I like now.
Maybe. If they last that long.
I’m wondering what’s going to happen in chapter 5 for MCs who are sent home. I guess it’s game over for them, and they have to start again.
I’ve tried to figure out howMC being sent home happens, but it’s really not too hard to figure out when looking at the code. We know there’s no way in hell UW or SV will go home, so being forced into a challenge with one of them will be an auto lose situation for MC. So I think it’s going to have to be a perfect storm of perfection from the MC to not get thrown out. I think, in chapter 5, it will be very easy for the MC to get tossed out on their ass. And I think that, like for the first challenge where it was an auto win for the MC, this challenge will be automatically not a win. It’s just a matter of trying not to be booted.
Take a look at the losers, on the whole. I was listening to a song on spotify the other day by some dude I had never heard of, then looked it up and he was like runner up on the voice or one of those damned shows. He had 6000 followers. That’s it. I don’t think uber fame will come for the MC no matter what happens. It’s just whether they manage to get a contract or not.
O and Triple for the win, here. I’m not really seeing anyone else giving a damn about the MC surviving or not. In fact, Blake, Seven, SV, UW, Oliver, and a bunch of others seem to want nothing more than to see the MC bleeding and broken on the side of the road. And the whole “oh Seven still cares” doesn’t cut it with me when MC is 7’s verbal punching bag.
Edited to add: I really can’t wait for the MC to crash and burn, and go completely off the deep end of despair. It will be delicious to watch.
5 Likes
Fun detail: if you’re writing for UW, going to talk to Seven WITH the band has them being nicer to you (to the detriment of the band) than if you go alone, which just cements my opinion that Seven has Acute Main Character Syndrome and just treats everybody like NPCs in their own life that they vent their aggression out on until their “be a little shit” needs bar is filled up.
5 Likes
Yeah, I noticed that when I was reading the code. When I played, my MC went alone and basically had Seven spitting in her face, as per usual.
Chapter 4 has convinced me that the only real romance option is Orion. O may suffer from A-syndrome to an extent (“Oh no, we musn’t!!!”), but is far less emotionally abusive than A. I will take that as a win.
I get Blake’s hatred of the MC–I really do–but I just can’t see an actual romance with them after Blake continually shits on the MC and tries to ruin their life. It sucks, because the bad boy rocker with a good heart is totally my jam, but even with the MC being the villain and deserving hell, I am not keen on reading more abuse.
1 Like
The band also help a bit too initially at least by checking in on MC. Afterwards…yea i think they’ll majorly contribute to MC’s eventual break.
2 Likes
Amusing as the thought of Blake opening for G is, it gave me another theory. Why if there won’t be any tour?
Here’s a snippet on Underbasket:
“That doesn’t make sense,” Rowan frowns, swiping a finger up his screen to scroll. “Why would they audition for Battle of the Bands if they’re that famous already?”
No one has an answer. You find yourself looking to ${o}, who usually has an explanation for everything, but ${ohe} says nothing, brows furrowing. “I don’t get it either,” ${ohe} admits. A rare occurrence.
You fish out your phone and search for the band. Their profile sits at 967,000 followers, filled with pictures of them traveling and meetings with celebrities. Their venues are moderately big, packed, and sold out. Blake Winter stands in groups of faces that you’ve only seen on TV. Why would they audition for something like BOTB when it’s clear they don’t need it?
Looked at Spotify charts to grasp the scope. Garbage has 1.3 million, Weird Al Yankovic about a million. The Dead South, with 4 studio albums, one live album, songs sold to soundtracks, solid constant tours and full Youtube of professional videos, have something over 800K.
What is a band of such caliber doing in a competition for a spot in trash TV?
What if Blake isn’t there to win but to expose G as a fraud and humiliate them in front of millions?
Why did they wait for 10+ years for that? Maybe they subscribe to Vito Corleone’s school of thought that revenge is a dish best served cold, maybe they missed some sort of key ingredient (like that original demo tape) until now, I bet it will be explained somewhere along the plot. It also can serve as a reason why Blake flew off the handle with accusations and shit when they lost – they clearly thought they had this whole competition in a bag, gotta sting when your grand plan of revenge gets thwarted at step one.
But thanks to Viktor, Underbasket is in, and now Blake bids their time, initiating petty feuds with MC and 7 for shits and giggles, and watching G squirm. And I bet that at least one story branch will spell the end of Reign.
12 Likes
I wonder if Viktor knows about Blake plans.
That would be interesting to read, but it doesn’t seem entirely feasible with the knowledge about how people in the music industry conduct themselves. There’s several artists who have done shady business, such as failing to credit others for songwriting and melodies, stealing full demos and claiming them as their own, and telling a “heartfelt” story about their inspiration. They’re exposed, potentially sued, and typically settle. Nothing too grievous ever comes of it, and even with them being exposed, most of their fans won’t care because of the parasocial aspect to it or because this behavior is expected in the music industry. The little dent it might cause will be patched up with a new album and decent songs that blow up. G is the equivalent of Beyoncé in Destiny’s Child and the Taylor Swift of this story; they realistically should be fine even after they’re exposed for being a fraud, but the author could also write otherwise.
This was a really thought-out post, and it’ll be interesting to read how it plays out if the author does go the route of one ending being the end of their reign.
3 Likes
Thing is, I don’t think G is Swift of Beyonce. They only look like those to us because we see them through MC’s rose-tinted lenses. My version is that G is suit-coined product like Justin Bieber or one of those countless boy bands - like One Direction, Take That before them, NKOTB before them and some more in-between. Only with perhaps moar Grammies.
See, the very first thing that stuck out for me after all that MC’s gushing - why is Misfit Alley on a reality show instead of a tour? If you look at Swift or Beyonce, it seems like they are always either on a tour or preparing for one, and that’s because touring is how pop and rock artists, no matter big or small, earn their bread and butter, fans, and relevance. Now, I’m not very familiar with showbiz reality shows, but the general impression I get is that they’re populated by, well, has-beens.
If we look at Bieber and boy bands, they are massive at the top of their game. Their merch are plastered everywhere, you’re afraid to turn your microwave on in case it plays their music at you, and their horde of screaming pre-teen and teen fans with brains extra-vulnerable to marketing amplify the impression. But while those fans grow up, mature and move on, performers themselves do not. And so they have nothing to offer anymore, because new generation of pre-teens will have their own idols. This is the end, beautiful friend. One Direction and Take That lasted 6 years. New Kids on the Block, ten, and IIRC they were the longest lasting one. Well, Google says Backstreet Boys are still on, but they’re a teeny tiny fraction of what they’re used to be, basically not the same band where it counts.
This brings us to the next question.
I don’t think Victor cares. G is not completely yesterday’s news yet, but on the way there for sure, and I bet Viktor is already on the lookout for the next big thing. And if there’s a “demo-gate”, not only would Victor spare label’s spin doctors from doing their usual thing, chances are they happily exacerbate the scandal after throwing G to the wolves, for it will rid him of problematic client while ratings of TV show soars up into stratosphere – ideal outcome for a producer of his type.
Why didn’t Viktor sink G with the cafe scandal? My guess is he isn’t decided on the successor yet (and the scandal itself was weak and forgettable, not guaranteed to work). Who might not even be someone from current season’s roster; e.g. it can be L, last season’s winner who is a sub-ro and thus certain to return.
And finally, why are MC, their band and also 7 stanning for has-been-adjacent teen idol at ripe age of 26? Well, they aren’t exactly very mature people, are they. 
3 Likes
Because BotB is floundering (ratings have been dropping quite a bit for a couple of seasons now) and Misfit Alley has been brought in to bolster them.
Also, considering G will not show up on time for ANYTHING EVER, I shudder at the very concept of trying to get them to do a single live concert, let alone a series of them that requires precise scheduling on both performance and travelling. I’ve had PARAKEETS that were more professional than G.
1 Like
Eh, performer being late is normal thing in my experience. I think I’ve seen way less shows that start on time than late ones.
Any where the performer had to be wrangled out of bed by both their wife AND their opening act, and still stopped for an irish coffee before showing up at the venue?
2 Likes
They age has no sense, they behavior and naivety don’t fit their age.
5 Likes