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Squigly The Night of Squigly's Death – What Really(?) Happened

LockjawsSaga

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What happened on the night of the Contiello murders? That's the question we're here to answer today.

Since this topic has recently been brought up in detail and caused some minor contention, I've decided to create this thread to establish the truth using facts and visible evidence. Everyone's free to add their own thoughts, opinions, and counter-arguments, and this is not an attack on anyone or anyone's opinions in any way.

Let's start with the sequence of events I'd previously proposed in the Squigly Appreciation Thread. I'll list them below, then proceed to back up each one with evidence.

  • Selene's party is crashed and Squigly is killed
  • Selene finds and wishes on the Skull Heart to bring back her family, and instantly transforms into the Skullgirl
  • Selene resurrects her dead family (Squigly included) as undead slaves
  • *Roberto, having survived somehow, sees his family turning into mindless zombies, and orders Leviathan to leave him and prevent Squigly from also being one
  • Leviathan obeys and leaves Roberto to die, then finds and enters Squigly, bringing her back to normal
  • Selene and her army go off to fight Medicis, and Squigly and Leviathan fight against her (along with Big Band I think)
  • Selene is defeated, the Skull Heart is destroyed, and Leviathan promises to stay with Squigly as she dies
  • Medicis find Squigly's body, sew her mouth shut and give her a mock funeral
  • 14 years later, the events of Skullgirls happens
Point 1: Selene's party is crashed and Squigly is killed
This much is obvious, hopefully I don't need to go into much detail.
flashback2.jpg
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Point 2: Selene finds and wishes on the Skull Heart to bring back her family, and instantly transforms into the Skullgirl
Evidenced by the following quote:
Selene Contiello shortly after witnessing Squigly's murder said:
Please... give me back my family. Roberto... Squigly... Save them all!
In grief and desperation, Selene wishes on the Heart for her family to return to her. The very next thing that we are shown is a sequence of images in rapid succession: the Skull Heart, the murdered Contiellos reviving as zombies, and Selene transformed into a Skullgirl.
flashback7.png
This shows that, unlike most Skullgirl transformations, Selene's was instantaneous (she's even wearing the same clothes from the birthday party – note the pearl bracelets and the black garment around her shoulders that would later be reshaped into skulls.)
flashback1.jpg
Point 3: Selene resurrects her dead family (Squigly included) as undead slaves
This is already explained in Point 2, apart from the bit about Squigly. To support Squigly briefly resurrecting as a mindless undead, I put forth two pieces of evidence. Evidence 1:
An earlier draft of Squigly's biography said:
Lorenzo's top assassin, Black Dahlia, was ordered to murder Squigly and her parents by the Mafia - the very people who seemed to be some of their family's closest allies. It was during this incident that she became one of the Skullgirl's undead minions.
And Evidence 2 brings me to my next point.

Point 4: Roberto, having survived somehow, sees his family turning into mindless zombies, and orders Leviathan to leave him and prevent Squigly from also being one
Examine the following scene, shown directly after Selene's transformation:
flashback8.png
Pictured is Squigly's father Roberto Contiello, just moments after Leviathan leaves his body upon his command. Two things to note about this scene is that 1: he is still alive, and 2: his family (the figures in the background) have all become zombies. Therefore, we can conclude that, since Leviathan couldn't have been with her at this time, Squigly herself was also included among those revived as Selene's mindless slaves, and the sight of her reanimated corpse may have been what prompted Roberto to tell Leviathan to go to her and restore her free will. Of course he knew what this would entail: that he himself would soon become a zombie. That is why he gives Leviathan this very specific order upon his departure:
Roberto Contiello before dying said:
Don't let anyone touch her, you understand...? Stop anyone who gets close - even me!

*Addendum: it has been proposed by @Chrono_Tata that Roberto DID die in the gunfire, and along with the other guests, was revived by Selene (supported by Selene specifically mentioning him by name in her wish). Similar to his effect on Squigly, Leviathan's powers had let Roberto keep his free will, allowing him to work out that the parasite's power can repel the Skullgirl's effect on the dead. It may have been this revelation that thus prompted him to send Leviathan to Squigly.

Alright, now here's where things become a bit more abstract. As usual, I'll be supplying evidence to back up my claims, so stay with me.

Point 5: Leviathan obeys and leaves Roberto to die, then finds and enters Squigly, bringing her back to normal
This much is self-evident, given Squigly's knowedge of what happened on this night (demonstrated in point 6). Let's move on.

Point 6: Selene and her army go off to fight Medicis, and Squigly and Leviathan fight against her (along with Big Band I think confirmed)
Before getting to Big Band, I will first prove that Selene did indeed fight Lorenzo Medici as a Skullgirl, and that Squigly not only witnessed it, but participated in it, using two sources:
Squigly to Marie after Double's defeat said:
Lorenzo fought a Skullgirl before, but he never ran. Something else has hurt him. He's been weakened, and he won't last
Squigly's official biography accessible on Skullgirls.com said:
The battle between the Skullgirl and Lorenzo threatened to spread across New Meridian if not for Squigly and the intervention of the ASG.
So we've established that there was indeed a battle between the Medici and the undead Contiellos, and that Squigly had partaken in said battle opposing Selene. With that done, let's now explore this interesting piece:
the intervention of the ASG
What does this mean? Does this merely refer to Black Dahlia as she fought alongside Lorenzo, since she is technically an ASG creation? I say no, and I will now offer my arguments why:
  1. Notice the wording here. It says "the intervention of the ASG", which implies the plural form is being used here, IE the ASG Labs (unless someone can prove that, at that time, Black Dahlia was for some reason widely referred to as 'the ASG'.)
  2. Why should Black Dahlia care if violence spread across New Meridian and feel the need to intervene and stop it? She thrives on violence, and is only allied with Lorenzo to fill that need to cause pain to others.
Alex Ahad on Salty stream said:
Dahlia doesn't have any affiliation to the Medici. She is powerful enough to be the second-in-command of the Medici and loves to be their due to her deranged, violent nature, as being with them gives her a constant excuse to be violent
So with all that said, who does that leave to be the one(s) to intervene in Selene and Lorenzo's battle that threatened to engulf New Meridian in chaos? Well, since Black Dahlia is the confirmed very first ASG and I've given reasonable evidence why Squigly's bio doesn't refer to her, let us go to the second: Ben Birdland AKA Big Band. Big Band is previously familiar with Squigly (whom he knows as Sienna) as shown by this quote:
Big Band's win quote against Squigly said:
Rest easy, Sienna.
Also, he had fought two Skullgirls before the rise of Bloody Marie, alongside his close friend and fellow ASG Ileum, as demonstrated here:
The CANON info thread said:
Ileum:
- A veteran ASG soldier, she has fought 2 previous Skullgirls with Big Band.
Now, who were these previous Skullgirls?
  • 7 years before Marie - Nancy Renoir
  • 14 years before Marie - Selene Contiello
Big Band had fought BOTH of these Skullgirls, along with Ileum. Another thing to point out is that proves that Big Band did NOT become an ASG in the same night Selene had attacked, as it would be impossible given the already established existence of "newer" ASG Ileum.

Some people may argue against this point by citing the following image, taken from Big Band's story:
S5wuZdU.jpg

Some may argue:
  • Aren't those the same masked assassins that had gunned down the Contiellos alongside Black Dahlia? How could Big Band have battled Selene as an ASG if he's arresting her family's murderers while still fully human?
  • Lorenzo (supposedly pictured between Birdland and the woman he's apprehending) doesn't have a beard here, whereas he has one when looking over Squigly's dead body. Doesn't that show that this scene happened before that one?
My counter-arguments to these statements are as follows:
  1. Birdland appears very young in this image. He is presently 49, so during Selene's attack 14 years prior, he would've been 35. In this picture he appears to be a young rookie officer, which is why he is making the "rookie mistake" of arresting members of the mafia. He does not at all look 35 in this picture, which proves that this was before the Contiello murder, ergo these are not the same assassins (or they could very well be, just YEARS before the Contiellos met with their demise). Also, it should be noticed that bunny outfits are common among female Medici enforcers, as evidenced by Cerebella's visit to Vitale in the finale of her story mode.
  2. Even if that man is indeed Lorenzo, the presence or absence of facial hair proves nothing. Due to the Life Gem, Lorenzo is effectively immortal, so his appearance changes very little to none with age (until Nadia steals it from him of course); this scene could've theoretically been set a decade before OR a decade after Squigly's death, and Lorenzo's appearance would be unchanged. Also, couldn't it also be the case that he'd had a beard at Squigly's funeral, shaved it, then got arrested along with the other people in this scene? Again, his appearance accounts for nothing timeline wise, if that is him to begin with.
So what is my conclusion regarding this image? Well, given the evidence I've just presented, I conclude that this scene had taken place BEFORE the Contiellos' deaths - LONG before. With all that said, let us finally move onto point 7.

Point 7: Selene is defeated, the Skull Heart is destroyed, and Leviathan promises to stay with Squigly as she dies
Again, all of this is self-evident, aside from Leviathan's promise. I will support that with the following exchange:
Leviathan: I'm sorry to have dragged you into this... but I shall follow you to the end!
Squigly: You already did that. Remember?
I'm aware that this isn't the most solid of evidence, so it's understandable if this isn't acceptable for some. On a personal note, I'd like to think it would fit Leviathan's character to reassure Squigly as her life ends, as he does in the finale of her story.

Point 8: Medicis find Squigly's body, sew her mouth shut and give her a mock funeral
Again, I offer excerpts from Squigly's two biographies:
Biography1 said:
Once the threat had been defeated, only Squigly’s body was recovered, and she was buried in a service provided by [Lorenzo] himself.
Biography 2 said:
Lorenzo generously paid for the Contiellos’ funeral and has not had conflicts with the Medicis’ other clients since.
But wait, a mock funeral? Well, take a look at this scene; it's clear from the look on Lorenzo's face (and you could also say, on Squigly's face) what the tone of this 'funeral' is.
funeral.jpg

Point 9: 14 years later, the events of Skullgirls happens
Everything comes full-circle. A new Skullgirl arises, and Squigly awakens from her slumber to do battle once again. I don't think much needs to be said here.

So there you have it, my account of everything that had happened to Squigly shortly after her death, with detailed evidence. I'm sorry if this all seems obvious to some, but I just feel this all still needed to be put down as a reference for anyone who may be inquiring into lore or looking to construct lore of their own surrounding this event. Now of course, as with most things, there are parts that are open to interpretation (was Annie present in the fight? Could Squigly and Selene have shared one final hug before dying?). Speculation is good, but it's also good to remember that, if something is not grounded in fact, it's NOT good to push it as absolute truth.

Again, this is not an attack on any persons or any opinions. If anyone feels I am wrong on anything, or simply wants to discuss or add more, please feel free to do so. Thanks for reading.
 
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S5wuZdU.jpg
...


Wait....
180



Could that be Irvin?
Could Irvin known Big Band?
Could Irvin had also worked on investigating Squigly's murder as well?????


Oh God... I think that might actually be Irvin
 
Irvin does know Big Band. During his campaign, Irvin says he was Big Band's old partner.
 
I have found a couple of plotholes that have been bugging me:
  • If Squigly died before Nancy then why does she act so surprised when she gets ressurected if this is her second time being ressurected.
  • In big bands bio it said he fought in the Grand War, however why would Big band get involved in a non skullgirl war (that is until Nancy) if he was part of ASG?
 
I have found a couple of plotholes that have been bugging me:
  • If Squigly died before Nancy then why does she act so surprised when she gets ressurected if this is her second time being ressurected.
Again, Squigly was NOT resurrected when Nancy was the Skullgirl. She was dead for 14 straight years, completely passing over Nancy's slaughter. The emergence of Bloody Marie is the second time she was revived.
 
A thing to note about Selene's sudden transformation to the Skullgirl and why it's not actually that surprising.

Considering the wording of her wish (and I imagine it was written very carefully like that) she makes an inherently selfish wish: "Give me back my family" Asking to save them all comes as an afterthought - she's actually asking to get something back that was taken from her.

With all the other slow transformations (Nancy wishing for the war to end, Filia asking for Painwheel to have her life back, Parasoul preventing Umbrella from becoming the Skullgirl) they were mostly selfless acts, which apparently has an affect on the length of the transformation. For Marie it's been just 7 years since Nancy was defeated and Marie is already a fully realized Skullgirl, so her wish for revenge on the Medici was clearly selfish enough to warrant an instant transformation.

EDIT: It could also be argued that the Skullheart simply interpreted Selene's wish in the most convenient way to make her a Skullgirl. The Skullgirl naturally has power to reanimate the dead, so the easiest way to bring them back would just to make her the Skullgirl.
 
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Point 4: Roberto, having survived somehow, sees his family turning into mindless zombies, and orders Leviathan to leave him and prevent Squigly from also being one
Examine the following scene, shown directly after Selene's transformation:
Pictured is Squigly's father Roberto Contiello, just moments after Leviathan leaves his body upon his command. Two things to note about this scene is that 1: he is still alive, and 2: his family (the figures in the background) have all become zombies. Therefore, we can conclude that, since Leviathan couldn't have been with her at this time, Squigly herself was also included among those revived as Selene's mindless slaves, and the sight of her reanimated corpse may have been what prompted Roberto to tell Leviathan to go to her and restore her free will. Of course he knew what this would entail: that he himself would soon become a zombie. That is why he gives Leviathan this very specific order upon his departure:
I'm not sure if Roberto actually survived. If you look at Selene's wording in her wish, it actually sounds like Roberto perished along with Squigly (she asked the Skull Heart to bring back her family, and then mention both Roberto and Squigly, the latter of whom we know was definitely dead). I think it's more likely that Roberto was revived along with all the other dead guests. Having seen that all the others have turned into mindless zombies except him, he quickly worked out that the reason he had kept his free will was likely due to Leviathan, which is why he ordered him to go to Squigly instead. If Roberto wasn't dead and revived, I don't think he would have known that Leviathan's power somehow is able to let a Skullgirl zombie keep their free will.
 
I'm not sure if Roberto actually survived.... I think it's more likely that Roberto was revived along with all the other dead guests. Having seen that all the others have turned into mindless zombies except him, he quickly worked out that the reason he had kept his free will was likely due to Leviathan, which is why he ordered him to go to Squigly instead.

That is a very cool observation. Can't believe I didn't spot that before!
 
I'm not sure if Roberto actually survived. If you look at Selene's wording in her wish, it actually sounds like Roberto perished along with Squigly (she asked the Skull Heart to bring back her family, and then mention both Roberto and Squigly, the latter of whom we know was definitely dead). I think it's more likely that Roberto was revived along with all the other dead guests. Having seen that all the others have turned into mindless zombies except him, he quickly worked out that the reason he had kept his free will was likely due to Leviathan, which is why he ordered him to go to Squigly instead. If Roberto wasn't dead and revived, I don't think he would have known that Leviathan's power somehow is able to let a Skullgirl zombie keep their free will.
Hmm, quite a valid point!
 
Selene: Please... give me back my family. Roberto... Squigly... Save them all!

The way Roberto is crawling, it makes me think he got a bullet spray to the torso. Severed spine. So even if he is revived (thanks Skull Heart) and resisting control (thanks Leviathan) he can't walk. The low angle and then the following scene of Leviathan diving at the camera makes me think it might be sort of a Squigly Point-Of-View shot. Like she's laying on the floor rapidly losing consciousness.

Roberto and Sienna are at least mortally wounded we can all agree on that. But fully dead? Dying, yes. I think they are "lucky" to be between life and death in order to act and not become instant thoughtless thralls for the Skullgirl.

Look at Selene in full Skullgirl mode. Several skulls floating around. The Contiello Massacre offers a fantastic study on the transformation and how the power manifests. When a body becomes a Skullgirl minion, the flesh is stripped from the bones. Is all the blood and organic material being pulled into Gehenna or simply "burned" away (fuel for the Skullgirl?) by the Skullgirl's power? Other murdered guests look like shambling, rapidly-decaying zombies. Moments away from being bone-clean skeleton warriors (see Marie's boss battle buddies).

Perhaps Squigly's left bone arm marks the brief moment she was caught in this organic unraveling of becoming a minion. Of course, it could be a symptom of decay like other parts of her body display
 
Another good point, though I have to say it's quite difficult for me to be convinced that Squigly could've in any way survived Black Dahlia's headshot even slightly. Yes, there are multiple real-life instances of people surviving a bullet to the head, but it's hard to imagine a point-blank shot from Dahlia's monstrously huge arm cannon as anything less than instantly fatal. The fact that it did such little damage to Squigly is extremely implausible by itself!

Also, you make an interesting case as to how a dead body rapidly decays when transforming into a Skullgirl minion, and how it could explain the state of Squigly's hand. We are shown multiple Skullgirl minions both in the intro of Squigly's story and the battle with Marie, and all of them have been reduced to bone (kinda makes it odd how Parasoul could ever have mistaken her for one, though). Only minutes after death, the Contiellos are barely recognizable as human beings when revived by the Skullgirl, which also gives credence to the theory that Roberto did indeed die and was revived, and that Leviathan not only let him keep his free will, but kept his body from deteriorating under the influence of the Heart.
 
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