#this is part of the reason why i don't think the lie theory is real

[fearandhatred]

listen that good omens lockdown phone call is literally WHAT I HAVE BEEN SAYING everything they tell each other goes in one ear and straight out the other it's kind of incredible

aziraphale hints so many times that crowley could come over if he wanted and does crowley get the hint? no! and then afterwards crowley says outright that he could visit him, and does aziraphale accept? NO! I AM GOING TO THROTTLE THE LIFE OUT OF THEM WITH MY BARE HANDS

[claimedcrossbows]

Dancing with Tyler Galpin's Shadows

Okay so I was actually going to post about this particular theory before this sneak peak had dropped, but I'ma get this out the way and talk about the sneak peak later.

ANYWAY

I was looking back at pics of Tyler from season 1 and I saw someone mention this a while ago, about how half of Tyler's face was in the dark in a lot of scenes, and I thought that was interesting, because that is probably a form of symbolism for him being the Hyde, he's literally split in half between two different personalities and the lighting on his person reflects it well.

For example...

You see only half of him is present the other half of him is Hyde in a lot of these scenes.

That could symbolize one of two things, either he's in sync with the hyde and they are both acting as one. Or two, it reflects being at odds, or feeling divided about what's happening. Notice in all of these scenes Wednesday is present, and he's quite literally split in two on what to do when he's around her. It's like a part of him doesn't want to lie to her, but the hyde is winning out overall, he has no say.

The reason this is important is because it seems like this is carrying into Season 2 as well.

In these new photos Tyler is once again split right down the middle with the lighting.

But don't let the dark lighting be your only clue.

Instead of focusing on when he's split.

Let's focus on the scenes where he appeared in full light.

Exposed.

Now I wanna start with the times he was fully well lit when he was with Wednesday because this is very important.

Wednesday and Tyler's first meeting..This is one of the most important weyler scenes because Hunter clarified he didn't know who she was in this first meeting, so this is a genuine reaction. He finds her intriguing right off the bat, the smile shows it, but the lighting proves it. He's well lit, you can see his face, his genuine reaction to his first encounter with this odd but interesting girl. He's not hiding his emotions here, he's being sincere.

Tyler is also well lit here, this is the same episode and again he seems fascinated by Wednesday, like he's seeing an outcast who's an outcast live her life the way she wants and embraces her oddness, and I think Tyler can't help but admire that since he cannot fully embrace who it is because it costs a high price.

Oof..the kiss scene, well he is WELL lit here, you can see his full face which makes me believe that this is 100% Tyler at this moment. He has no reason to kiss her at this point, he already had won her complete trust and had gotten Xavier arrested instead of him. His mission was accomplished, but that still didn't stop Tyler from kissing her.

I mean why would you kiss someone you allegedly absolutely hate if you didn't have too for the sake of the plan??

It doesn't make sense unless he genuinely liked her.

NOW

let's move onto moments Tyler was fully lit but only this time we're getting the TRUE image of Tyler who he really is as a whole.

This scene was interesting to me, and it's not talked about often, but there is a LITERAL spotlight being put on Tyler Galpin..and now that I'm looking even closer at this picture...

There is a absolute HUGE shadow of Tyler Galpin behind himself that practically screams..

TWO IDENTITIES.

If you weren't suspicious of Tyler at all this season, this would've been a pretty giant hint that something was amiss here.

He is fully lit, and he looks worried, but it's only later you find out he was worried..but only of getting caught.

Tyler is also well lit at the mayor's funeral..you can see his face in whole, no shadows lurking, this is Tyler as well..you can see the real guilt illuminating off of him as he stares at Wednesday, to me this scene always screamed that he desperately wanted Wednesday to figure it out to help stop him..I truly think the mayors death was one of Tyler's clear breaking points.

Tyler is also well lit in the scene where he's talking with his father and chastises Donovan for not going to therapy with him to the Addams family does with Wednesday. You see him clear here as well and I think this is Tyler fully speaking, he's resentful and maybe a little jealous of both his father and of Wednesday in this scene.

But it's fully him.

Then finally we have this scene and it's interesting he's well lit here, because everything around him is truly dark.

But this is full hyde and Tyler combined, they have fully become one entity at this point, both of them, confused, hurt, vengeful and angry this is a full look at Tyler/Hyde as one.

To Conclude Tyler Galpin and his shadows danced to their own kind of tango most of this season.

[strelitzia-mystery1097]

What killed Macaque?

Well I was going to link my first post about this but I... can't find it. Like I checked over and over and tumblr keeps telling me I made no post about lmk which... is weird. I don't know if it was deleted or it's buried in the internet but that's... fine. Just kind of annoying that I can't find my own post.

Anyways I guess I should recap.

I have never liked the theories of 'Wukong didn't actually kill Macaque' or 'LBD changed Macaque's memories' or anything like that.

But also don't like when everything is blamed on Wukong and those Wukong haters and/or Macaque 'did nothing wrong' fans paint the whole situation as solely Wukong's fault.

Did Wukong make bad choices and mistakes. Yes.

But so did Macaque.

Their fallout is both their faults.

Macaque from season 4 is able to understand that the Brotherhood were on a path of destruction and were doomed but the Monk was able to lead Wukong down a different path.

But remember we saw in the scroll that the Brotherhood during the jttw believed that Wuking was a traitor and it was only Macaque not fully 100% believing it.

We know in the og jttw Macaque was less of his own character and more of a dark reflection of Wukong. But even then we shouldn't dismiss entirely what jttw Macaque did (except for cooking a Flower Fruit Mountain monkey because I think lmk would not make Macaque be so friendly with the FFM monkeys if that was canon in lmk).

Jttw Macaque impersonated Wukong, beat up the Monk, stole the group's supplies, took over Flower Fruit Mountain, declared that he was going to do the journey with the scriptures himself, and then got into a really long fight with the real Wukong and literally like only 2 people were able to tell who's the real one (Budda and like this lie detecting bull from the underworld?), and when Budda reveals Macaque's true form Wukong kills him.

So clearly some things will be different.

But I do believe that lmk Macaque would pretend to be Wukong and would try to befriend the Monk like in the jttw. Because Macaque at this point would try and figure out what's going on.

The last time he talked to the Monkey King they had a fight. So that's probably why he just doesn't ask Wukong directly.

Also we should probably account for how emotional and potentially unstable Macaque probably is at this point if his best friend is back and working for the enemy for some reason.

So he tries to figure out that reason. But the thing is that when Macaque pretends to Wukong, it's after a major fight between Wukong and the Monk so the kind Tang Sanzang is just not wanting to deal with Wukong even after he's being nice.

So all Macaque sees is this rude and mean Monk that bosses Wukong around. So yeah he beats the $hit out of this ungrateful Monk.

Plus he would extra angry if he knows about how the Monk uses the Circlet on Sukong and hurts his best friend to discipline him.

Then cut to Wukong finally fighting Macaque.

Wukong has learned to be better and is probably seeing how the Brotherhood and his past deeds were not great, and Macaque was a part of that past.

Macaque is probably extremely upset that Wukong is taking the Monk's side and is just abandoning and leaving him again. No it's worst, he's turning on Macaque to stop him.

So this fight is probably extremely emotionally harrowing, with both of them not communicating and just having breakdowns and/or shoving down their true wants.

I mean in season 5 from the glimpse we see of the fight, Wukong is begging Macaque to not do this while Macaque is just laughing. So yeah he's probably have a complete breakdown and is hiding it under his dramatic b%tch persona he perfects after his revival to not be vulnerable.

One way this could end is Wukong accidently killing Macaque in a fit of rage or to protect his new family. Instead of killing his dark reflection he's killing his past.

But I also saw this interesting theory by @Cherllyio where Macaque's weird probably chaos related powers + him losing control of himself and his emotions while having a breakdown = Macaque self destructing literally.

I definitely hope that whatever the answer ends up being, that it's a situation where there's blame on both sides. That it was a messy situation and there's regret and pain (sudden LBD flash) but now if they wanted to, the two can finally... talk.

[honey-minded-hivemind]

I'm back and still a nervous wreck!

I had the stupidest idea and wanted to know what you thought.

For X-Men evolution because I think it fits best there

Reader who wholeheartedly believes in conspiracy theories, reader who doesn't believe mutants are real even when they themselves are one believing that instead the government made up mutants as a lie to genetically enhance people and get away with it. Wiping their memories and leaving them to fend for themselves, they wholeheartedly believe that their memory was altered (when in reality their mutation just mentally messed them up, think like their body releases toxic gasses or something like that readers been breathing it in since they have no control over their mutation and it makes them smell strange one of the many reasons why they have no friends)

So reader goes to the same high school as the X-Men/brother hood but not with either groups from the start, this strange quiet and weird smelling child who rambles about conspiracy theories and while their theories are... Unique they aren't hateful of mutants so the X-Men don't really notice them they blend into the background mumbling to themselves and forgetting where they put their hoodie (it was on the back of their chair)

Reader gets sent to the principals office a lot due to the way they act causing raven to get closer to reader their charming attitude and slightly messed up speech and memory issues making raven into the first platonic yandere eventually having the brother hood keep an eye on them.

I imagine reader sticks with the Brother hood while also not being a part of them just rambling forever about bigfoot or area 51 and the brother hood don't have the heart to tell this strange child that got held back a grade their weird like so many others have.

And when Kurt shows up the X-Men become platonic yanderes Kurt letting them ramble to him during one of the only classes they didn't share with toad at the time (I can never remember when characters in X-Men evolution get introduced I only have a pirated version that takes forever to start so it isn't worth setting up an entire thing just to watch one episode) and so Kurt goes back to the X-Men talking about his strange new friend who Jean and Scott remember seeing around the school, so with interests peeked they start looking into this teen, a teen who's parents never come to parent teacher conferences a teen who has been known to be very good at forging signatures on permission slips doing it for extra cash, a teen whose address is missing from official paperwork thanks to raven and a teen who always comes to school in dirty clothes a teen who doesn't have a phone and uses the library computers, and showers at a 24 hour gym every other day.

And so slowly one by one this child sneaks their way into their hearts and into adoption papers.

I'm writing this as someone who had lived in a house for a majority of my life that was filled with mold I was allergic to my mom promised it wasn't black mold but now I'm realizing it probably was I slept with my head inches from it for years it messed me up in the head, some of the side effects were "mold rage" that's really what it's called and memory issues I kind of used this as a way to vent about what happened in my life, I really didn't mean to do that I'm really sorry you can ignore this if you want typing it out just made it better and spinning it into a fun story was even cooler.

Thank you very much, a nervous wreck of an Anon.

No, no, it's okay, don't worry. I'm sorry you had to experience that, Anon. While I didn't deal with mold, I did once or twice, when I was younger, have a bad hallucination, which I didn't understand, and I believed a few things that seemed crazy (but looking back on now, was caused by stress and trauma). It isn't easy to have your mental health or perception messed with, and it isn't funny, either. (So yes, to anyone reading this ask/drabble, do not ever make fun of or try to trigger a person who has something like Anon or I mentioned. It is NOT, and I MEAN, NOT FUNNY AT ALL.)

Okay, let me see what I can do for you, Anon, maybe call you 🐝Bee or 🐝Wasp Anon? Or maybe 💛 Anon (Yellow Heart Anon)? Let's try this new mutation out-

• Reader is the sort of person who thought everything had a secret to it. The government? Was run by lizard people or aliens, or had a secret organization who experimented on people. Area 51? Definitely held aliens and maybe eldritch nightmares, and possibly secret evil projects to take over the world. Bigfoot and yeti and dragons? They were all real, they hid in the forests, and were probably nicer than most humans Reader knew. And school was designed to indoctrinate children from an early age, all because of what happened in ancient times, which was overthrowing the king and queen and chopping off their heads. So. Yeah. They they had a lot of ideas.

• They had so many ideas and ways of saying them that their teachers usually sent them to Principal Darkholme, whom wasn't nearly as bad as some people made her out to be! Sue certainly did yell at Reader; no, she just let then ramble for a bit while she looked through their papers (and maybe spied on someone, because this lady can't just be a principal), and gave them a weird look. Not a bad one, no! Just well, not mean but not happy but not annoyed either. Something that made her tell them to come to her if there was a problem, and that some of her students would start taking classes with them.

• Reader liked these new kids! This one guy looked like a toad or frog, and he smelled a bit funny too, less like propane or like the house was in danger, and more like swamps and leaf litter. Maybe he was a frog person! That would be cool! Unless the government caused this, and now it's not so cool and they need to get kicked in the ****... Oh... they can't say that... Oh well. This Peter? Piro? Pietri? guy is really fast and talks a lot too, and doesn't seem to mind showing them all his hobbies, even asking if if have any they want to share with him! Woo, another person to hunt small bug dragons and look for fae with! The giant one is kinda cool, like, he seems unmovable and unbreakable! Is he part whale? Part rock? Part demigod?! Whatever he is, he's strong, and is gentle with them like he is with the Toad guy. The shaky one (he isn't a rock, but he insists he is more rock-like than shaky, which is nonsense) seems to keep people like Duncan and his posse away, so he's pretty chill! And then there's the witch, who's magic and is so awesome and is really red. Maybe she's like, a chaos witch? That would be interesting... maybe she has a coven Reader can try to join...

• Those five let them talk and even chip in their ideas, but then start insisting they're mutants, not magic, or aliens, or government experiments. Reader points out they wouldn't remember that part. That just earns them an odd look, somewhere between sad and worried, but they're back to rambling since they don't need to worry about their friends not knowing certain things. It's okay not to. Reader can't remember certain things either, and they don't always say things how they want to say them, and they aren't wrong for being that way, so their friends aren't wrong for not knowing either.

• They gain a new friend, who turns out to he a blue fuzzy elf. He's funny, and German, and Reader is certain he is part angel, because he's that nice. He talks with them, even shows them his powers, and asks what Reader can do. And Reader laughs, saying they don't really know... He looks at them, says he knows someone who can help, and that's how Reader meets his friends (or family. They seem like a family). Their professor/dad says they're all gifted, and so is Reader, but Reader says that they haven't noticed anything so far. The man says he can read minds, and Reader asks if he can read theirs... The man nods, goes quiet... and he seems to panic, his eyes going sad in the corners and his gaze a bit haunted or winded. The others notice, but Reader doesn't know what's wrong... They're asked to visit them every day, so they can get to know one another, as friends do, and Reader agrees, happy to have more friends!

• It's so odd, meeting so many new people! They've finally gotten everyone's names memorized (it took a few weeks, but it was worth it!) There's Principal Darkholme, who also crossdresses as Mystique (cool, she can change colors and shapes!) There's Todd or Toad, their friend they share classes with and who smells a little weird and is a toad person. There's Pietro and Wanda, twins, who both look very different from each other, like opposites. Lance is the shaky guy who walks them to and from places, and Fred is who is there as back up in case someone gets too close. Kurt is their fuzzy elf friend (who must be part angel), and who smells like sulfur from time to time. The Professor is sweet, if a bit authorative, and tries to make them tea and discover their power. Jean and Scott are two older students who both seem to like the colors red and green and yellow, and they both start driving Reader to where they need to go. Kitty is the one in pink who seems to go phase through things, like some Twilight Zone person, and Rogue is the one in green and black who can do anything. There's also Logan, their old-but-not-old guard/dad man, who growls a lot and smells like leather and seems worried about them. Storm is a goddess, who controls winds and rain and clouds and lightning and snow and sunshine (she's so cool!). And Hank is their friends their dad, who likes science and listens to Reader's theories and tells them someone once thought he was Bigfoot (Reader laughs, and asks how that went, and that Hank couldn't possibly be Bigfoot! They're both entirely different beings, that's absurd!) These people are so nice! They even share food with them! And go to the park! And go to the library!

• The others have tried to convince them they're mutants, not government experiments or aliens or magical beings or demigods, but Reader isn't entirely convinced. How could mutants exist? Wouldn't they look super different from everybody? Or be welcomed? And if not, then everyone is just being a ****... they still can't say that... Oh well. They've tried to argue with them, but each time they cut it off before they start sounding choked up or angry or worried. Reader hopes they're okay. They don't like seeing them upset, and they really, really are trying to do the right thing. They just wished it wasn't so hard on everyone.

• The Professor calls them over one day, saying he's finally figured out what their power is. Reader chuckles, saying they've talked about it before, and that Reader can't have powers. He says that no, he knows what it is, and that they need to sit down. So they do, because they won't argue with him when he seems excited and scared. And he tells them that they emit a toxic gas or fume or mist, which causes hallucinations or ilillusions to those who breathe it in or absorb it. He says they do what they do and act the way they act because for quite some time now they've breated it in nonstop. They're quiet, and they feel worried, and they ask to go home. They don't sleep that night, too scared to go to sleep, too scared to turn off the light, too upset to stop thinking about what might be true or false...

• Their friends don't stop talking to them, but they don't want to talk a lot for the next few weeks. It's hard, and feels hard, and they don't want to think even more about how everything could be a lie and it's all an illusion and how it could be a trick- There's just too much to do, homework to do, reading to attempt, home to go back to, and not enough safety to be blank and to stop thinking for once...

• They call in sick for a few days. They stay where they live, with its old walls and decaying floors and smell of old rot and wood and metal, the creak of the boards and squeaks of the hinges making Reader jolt and jump like they've touched a livewire. Their head hurts now. It hasn't stopped hurting since the Professor told them about their... power. They haven't slept well since then either, the few times they slept full of nightmares, their nights full of tears, their mind struggling to understand why this was happening to them and why it couldn't make sense...

• Principal Darkholme visits them, so does the Professor, but they came in while they'd been in a fitful slumber. Waking up, muttering to themself, weaving into the rooms... they saw them, worried it wasn't real, and were soon being looked over by two worried adults, asking if they're okay, if this is their home, where are their parents, do they need help- And all they can do is let them bring them out of the old place, ending up at one one their homes, where they're given a tea to drink, and they try to settle...

• They soon are told they can be helped. That the adults will be giving them something to take, that it will help them, and they don't want to take it- but they end up having to, because it ends up either taken willingly, or it's slipped into their drink or food, and all they can do struggle as their mind starts experiencing something that feels like a pick trying to shatter it in two... It gets better over time, and for once, they can feel a bit... calmer. Like they're seeing things from a new perspective. And now they aren't sure what to do, with the new thoughts swirling in their head, the new feelings, the new abilities...

• Toad or Kurt or Rogue is usually with them. They keep them company, they make sure they took their medicine, and call the others when Reader starts to panic or feel overwhelmed. Sometimes it's okay, and Reeader can calm down on their own. Other times, their illusions and hallucinations effect everyone, and they have to call the Professor or Jean to walk Reader through shutting it down. They struggle to sleep at night, afraid of monsters in the dark; it leads to Evan or Kitty or Kurt usually throwing a sleepover in your room, hugging you, even promising you'll be okay, that you're strong, that you're safe... Mystique always let's you know it's her, no matter what form she is in, and she makes sure she's there if you need someone someone ground you or keep others away. Hank still does checkups on you, but he never calls you crazy or thinks you're weird, he just smiles at you and says everyone is different, but you're all human, mutant or otherwise, and that it's not an anomaly or wrong to go through what you go through, as it isn't wrong that he's fuzzy and blue, or that Toad smells a bit, or that the Professor can't walk. It's all a part of life, and they're so glad you're experiencing it with them...

(I hope I did this okay, Anon. I did my best, and tried to convey this the best I could. And folks, it is okay to struggle with things like this. You're still human, you are valid, and you matter. Please try to get help if you can, and take care of yourself, okay? You're you, and you're loved💛)

[vsa-pieldepapel]

what do you think about the theory/interpretation that Noelle was supposed to be the 'second hero' monster girl, and Susie is a separate part of the prophecy?? I personally think it might be a red herring to knock Susie off her footing since she's been warming up to the title of legendary hero, and maybe someone uses the ambiguity to say she was never meant to be a hero in the first place and get in her head. I don't really see Noelle in the silhouette and I don't think Ralsei would lie about Susie being one of the three, but... what do you think?

Total bs and a cope lol. My friend went and checked the sprite names in the game’s data since we weren’t sure if it was meant to represent the ACT button or the rude buster icon, and it’s deadass titled “rude buster”

You’re also right ral has no reason to lie, and if Noelle was the second hero why is angel imagery constantly hammered for her? Why does susie recognize the girl as herself? Why does Ral say she has the heart of a hero? Why does Gerson tell her she has hope (the hero is the girl with her heart crossed with hope)? How does Noelle have her heart crossed with hope? If anything she’s despairing

I get it Noelle Stan #4859 I just made up in my head to argue against, you love your deer and you want her to be one of the heroes real bad, but sometimes you really are just pulling theories out of your duodenum to complicate things for no reason

[azurefaire]

(LONG) Wacky theories about the world Pepper Ann lives in/the "world" of the show

What find interesting is the more Pepper Ann continued the more weird it got. So, here are some conspiracy theories about the world PA lives in. Maybe to explain how they stay in the 8th grade for 4 years? And why the show is wild sometimes for no reason...

Yes, all of it can be explained by "it's a cartoon" but I like to be weird. Nothing is supposed to be edgy btw, I'm trying to make these as nuanced as possible. I like being creative, and I'm bored. Very rambly.

Pepper Ann's Perspective Theory- The entire show (even episodes that focus on other characters to a certain extent) takes place within PA's perspective and what she wants to show us. Sometimes the funnier parts are embelishments to make her life seem funnier because as we know her life is trash. Within that I have two sub theories: that some of the funny stuff covers up a tragedy/negative experience. Not to be too dark and edgy, but just because the subtly depressing undertones of the show and what one can go thru life. For instance, if something actually serious happened in Hazelnut/PA like that silly natural disaster actually happening to some extent and her telling it in a comedic way with the nukes in the aliens. In Hazelnut's Finest, the dream she has is very similar to the ending of that episode. (Selective Amnesia theory) Another I have is a variation (PA just likes to lie to us theory... er. Exaggeration Theory)

Or, what if PA and crew passed out during Unhappy Campers and Alex Trebek didn't save them, she met him later. Speaking of that episode, it's just so wild because they didn't just send them to a generic military camp- they literally parody the troubled teen industry with Camp Sunflower. Wild.

Negative experiences happen to the characters all the time, but it's possible we just see some of it and this is a story told thru PA's perspective and memories. So maybe she adds a little bit of lying, maybe not that much... but just a little. As seen in Crush and Burn... the lies become real. But, I don't think everything is super dark and should be used to say "oh it was actually a sad memory covered up with a joke" like nah. For instance, The Finale- so many things happen. Like what if Mark Hamill was like the mayor of Hazelnut and grew up there and not the president visting a random middle school. It could make a little more sense, PA just lied to us. A lot of the celebritids have their own apperances before they show up later and it's like PA was thinking "Let me insert these people here to make really funny jokes about them." Like, what if Milo really did meet Dorothy Hamil instead and people wrote in that name? But PA was like... who's that we met? Mark Hamil?

Within the selective amnesia theory and exaggeration theory I have several ideas:

The characters year is extended by the board of education due to outdated texts/ they are doing summer school some episodes. (Extended Year Theory) However, literally everyone is embarassed by this- especially Nicky. To take it, everyone "regresses" and chooses to act like they have been in the 7th grade for the long run. This crushed everyone. It both embarrased the faculty and tore the self esteem of the students, and explains some of the lore behind the reunion. Why was it mostly the 7th grade class? Why have an HMS reunion so far in advance in the first place? Why weren't some of the 8th graders at the reunion? What if the 7th grade class that year was hit by something they couldn't control: educational faculty saying "something isn't right here" and intervening like those hazmat suit people in A is for Average. Throughout the show there is references to the textbooks and "updating things for the millenium". So in my opinion, the show could take place throughout the 1997-98 and 98-99 timeframe with maybe a summer semester (hinted in the magazine) sprinkled in. That explains why the show has a weird sense of time to it yet so much little continuity in terms of the school stuff (especially when it comes to the classes they are in) and adds to the specialness of the 8th graders of HMS. For the 8th grade class, repeating the year is a bigger deal. If every person there had to do an additional semester but like lied to themselves and eachother (I like to think they all got together and listened to a subliminal/hypnosis or some shit to cope. They all collectively said "I can't handle this information so I'm gonna pretend it never happened." Like a whole area's school kids being held back would be a lot). This is also why there are some plots about characters transfering to other schools and then returning to HMS. The joke lines secretly reveal for their repressed burnout and tiredness for all this. They only serve the equivilant of 1 school year though.

IMO, most of the characters have summer birthdays so that would also explain how they could be 12 during the majority of the show.

Some people celebrities and characters are NOT who they seem to be, and PA changes this to be funny. She changes a lot of things to be funny. It's her show. It's her life. She can choose what to obscure and what we see. A highly exaggerated story.

Fourth Wall Theory/Self Aware Cartoon Theory

Another set of theories I have is that the show is actually a show. Sometimes the characters know. Wow! How original! But I have some interesting things to say about it and several ideas in terms of the mechanics of the world:

One is the idea that the show either takes place in a cartoon world that leans more slice of life, another is that the town of Hazelnut is a character within the show and that it liked to mess with PA- the protagonist, another connecting is that there is no "reality" and are a few minor characters who know their in a cartoon, and the last one is that the cartoon characters live in "two realities" (I call this theory Reality and Hyperreality based on the short)

Cartoon world that leans more realistic, Hazelnut is some weird liminal space, self aware, two realities:

When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. The world is often realistic, but is often cartoony. This means the supernatural elements and weirder episodes and elements are to an extent "canon" and why the show has it's own continuity but also remains mostly an episodic show. It's basically Toontown, but less silly. They are all real people in a nutty, exaggerated, comedic world.

This can also be true to the self aware cartoon theory. Which means that certain characters are aware they are in the show, but IMO it's only ever so often or subtle. A lot of the fourth wall breaks to me don't imply everything is "fake" for these characters - (outside of The Unusual Suspects or To Germany with Love) like they actually live their own lives like they would in a show like OK KO where everything IS a cartoon and that's the whole point but there are some characters who just KNOW they are in a cartoon or very subtly do. The ones who never say it and are comfortable are not punished. Because PA's life is trash, some who are mean are not punished by the narrative.

I think Trinket as a character is very self aware she is in a cartoon or is a character, as we see in The Spanish Imposition. But there could be characters who are only aware for "half of it" (Like PA only being aware when she is in certain situations, commercial breaks, theme songs, cameos, certain episodes etc) of characters who are "subtly aware"- they question their reality or are aware they are cartoon characters but shrug it off/justify it because of their own worldviews and might acknowledge it during non show apperances (Milo, Nicky, Constance)

Additionally characters may have some subtle "cartoon powers" like whenever something happens and they take notice or when subtitles appear on screen.

Related to that theory related to Toontown/cartoon world: what I find interesting is that PA cameos during House of Mouse. I'm not sure how many cutaway(s) there were, I haven't seen the episode (I think) but there is a cutaway where Pete is passed out and Lydia says "Don't touch the villian dear." and PA looks kind of either morbidly curious/like she's going thru cartoon existential crisis. In my opinion HOM takes place in a sort of "sub-canon", the characters know they aren't real and that's why they can all interact in the same place. But, what's interesting with the cameos of Peppie is that she from what I can tell is that she is one of the few characters who shows up in the show who is from an original TV show and one of the few Disney TV characters to make multiple cameos in series. But, what makes PA different from a lot of these characters is that she is very different to them which makes her a fish out of water as a cartoon character as well. She doesn't fit in with all these people and even Lydia has more common sense as a cartoon character. Additionally, the show I think takes place on some sort of "main street"- this is a literal physical space for these characters in your TV. It's a cartoon place. In the Disney's Blast interview, to me- peak fiction- it shows PA's relationship to her cartoon canon (dk how to phrase) really well. Like she is a cartoon character, her fingers will be tied up if typing too fast but she's also a very average cartoon person and doesn't know who Scrooge Mcduck is.

Hazelnut is a character: Hazelnut itself (the town and the nutropolitan area) is a character who likes to torture PA, tell jokes etc. In universe it could be explained with the cartoon logic/place theory but I also really like the idea that Hazelnut/the tri-seed/nutropolitan area in place is just a... burmuda triangle for weirdness in the midwest/..southeast(?) US (wherever the show takes place. I'm not pulling up a map and all the episodes I have downloaded again.) I also like the idea of whereever you are located and whatever the place is named shaping the reality. One thing PA says in the Spanish Imposition caught my eye about "big city idealists" coming to Hazelnut to teach. Is it possible that wherever you are affects the vibe? The nutropolitan area is all nutty, but there might be a depressing place called "Bummerville" or "Sleepy Hollow" or whatever (One of my HCs is Nicky's family is originally from a really depressing vibe town and moved to Hazelnut when she was a toddler) or a really happy good vibe place called "Sunshine Falls". Like the Sims sort of, these literal place names. Hazelnut can get weirder as well and I think it's vibe could even change sometimes.

I also find it interesting- The Way They Were... we have Fuzzy mentioned there for the first time, and how the Pearsons did not know who Fuzzy was. Means PA was sort of "sheltered" and didn't watch a lot of cartoons or Fuzzy is both a super famous and super regional show. Maybe both?

Looking at the backgrounds and the vibe outside of the theory "Hazelnut is a character" is literally canon and you can't tell me otherwise

The Hyperreality theory is that the characters live in two worlds, a realistic world and a cartoon/supernatural world. There's a world the characters experience that is realistic and there's a world the characters experience that is super weird. The weirdness is called "hyperreality" and it is sort of like cartoon magic, like visual gags we see that the other characters also see. It's a supernatural weird "sixth sense" But, the characters often don't percieve this reality.

In terms of "this world isn't real" there is many ways to do it and interpret it- Truman Show esque, Sims worldbuilding esque, OK KO, Cartoony world like Toontown or Goofy Movie (several parallels with GM's lore and Pepper Ann tbh) Like all these shows do the "world isn't real" thing differently. But I do think they live in an unreal yet "real" world, it's a more toned down version of OK KO where the main character straight up learns he isn't real lol. Both shows even do the "we're on a set thing" (UPN bumpers and the episode Let's Watch the Pilot)

Time differences would be explained in cartoony shenanigans like TGIF, these characters just have lived thru groundhog day more then what we saw.

The exaggerated stuff is just PA's autobiography again but also her possible commentary on ableism and ageism + American culture (yes, you read that correctly) Also, anything can be explained if you try hard enough

What I find interesting about PA as a character is that she is written to be "endearingly weird" and usually characters like these tend to, and from what I've researched tend to be neurodivergent/mentally ill/mentally unwell coded or correllated with weirdness. Which in itself is a whole can of worms in itself but in PA's case they often staright up say it. Pepper Ann allegedly sees a therapist and has canon paranoia traits, several characters closest to have implied neurodivergencies within their traits like ADHD or autism (?) or hell- even OCD type fixations, social and other forms anxiety, depression, grief/ teen angst and even implied dissociation/derealization (Nicky- Career Daze etc). PA and Milo in their own world, Moose and her personality traits + her friends traits, Nicky and her fixation with goodness/morality and fears of the future etc. Add this to Hickey's obsession with PA (and later the trio) as trouble makers and it feels very obvious. Even Hazelnut is a town "for the crazies", which hasn't aged well but is interesting. Which is how I'd sum up the whole show to be honest!

A lot of things that are interesting about this show is the subtle depressing undertones. For example, we have people minimizing PA or others emotional problems/sensitivities just because they are feelings so we got a lot of bottling them up (Crying Girl, Dear Debby, the whole Hazelnuts and Bolts fiasco, Gutter Clowns thing, Trinket reacting to Nicky crying, Unhappy Campers, "needlessly depressed 7th graders"- I could go on)

What's also interesting is PA's sense of justice outside of this, but also her tendency to be hypocritical arrogant and selfish. She cares about the world enough and believes it can be changed by being the loudest in the room and to be forceful with your message. The show shows how well meaning people still cause harm. As a contrast to other characters like Hickey, she has literal political views coded in her character. "White liberal tween/teen" is literally in her character and since her conception I'd argue (we see some of this and how she thinks about this stuff in the YM comics, and even in the DA comics.) Normal surface level observations about the world viewed as "weird" and "crazy". Yet when you want to force an idea that makes "plain sense" to you and your worldview without putting critical thinking and yourself aside sometimes you are weird (Flaw and Order showcases this as well as Dances with Ignorance) She has awareness of these political issues but is still a tween who is influenced heavily by media and messaging even when she does attempt to think critically and just doesn't have a lot of awareness with the issues she claims she wants to fight against, just a sense of morals and has desire for change in the current structure. She is hypocritical even when she doesn't want to be. Perhaps even the show is hypocritical in some jokes or aspects (compare some jokes made in Reality Bytes vs the themes of Dances with Ignorance, or the homeless jokes the show might make even if it is somewhat sympathetic to homeless people)

Then with ageism, we have several moments mentioning growing up- "regressing" (finale, jaybirds, many episodes), emotional maturity levels

Pepper Ann also has many foil characters who many would say are mature for their age, but the show never implies that to be a good thing and also implies it's based on the household enviorment one lives in. Constance literally straight up says this:(paraphrasing it though)

"Constance, do you know what makes you and me different?"

"Genetics and upbringing?"

"No... I push the envelope."

The identity of Pepper Ann as a show works so well with the character that it reads like an autobiographical story thru her own lens about her time in seventh grade with a lot of satire and self depricating humor. Like, I could see this being a book or show made of her life within universe sometime when she is older. I can easily see it as a rambly silly book with caricatures of people she knows with these sort of bittersweet undertones. PA the show and the character feel oddly connected.

This can also extend to how the characters are portrayed: for example Stuart showcased some good qualities but at first, but as someone who caused Nicky a lot of pain the way he was "seen" changed related the shift in writing. The way they are seen by PA changes how the characters act.

A lot of characters act related to how PA maybe "sees" or "saw" them. Dieder for instance, lived in Hazelnut for a long time but is only seen as the foreigner.

So, the reasoning here of the weirdness of PA as a show is that it is her story affected by her life views at the time or whenever as well as how she wants to tell it.

A lot of things can be explained away as well: for instance, Craig wears sunglasses indoors all the time and gets away with it, maybe not just cause he is cool and has coolness/older grade swag but cause he has light sensitivity. Milo is the only character with an asymmetrical face? Maybe that's not just cause he's a "weirdo", but maybe has his own face difference. (in universe) Which would further alienate him.

A lot of times the characters are more than they are like the goth kids who admit and even Cissy who admit they are insecure people putting on a persona. Think about almost every character is easily catagorizable and has their own persona besides PA, who's main trait is "difficult but still trying her best often". It's very interesting when you think about Pepper Ann as a story she is telling to us, from her (and her friends a little too maybe instead rather than a story about her life) and about her. Like, if an older PA looking back had some sort of omnipresent narration within the cartoon that's how the 7th grade was forever. If 7th grade and 8th grade weren't too different they would also blur together I'm pretty sure. or maybe to her it really felt like 3-4 years instead of 9 months so that's what we are going to see!

anways yeah those are my PA conspiracy theories... bleh... at least the show wasn't written by mr. "i'll make this character forever pregnant to make a joke about the show's logical inconsistencies" lawndale as that would take forever to explain (but tbh like watching a show like this when it's airing vs when it is not is a very different experience. also cartoon characters experiencing linear time. their time and our time the same? very interesting implications there.)

[justchillandshipit]

There is some confusion about the meaning of The Fourth Wall and a theory.

I've seen this a lot today and from multiple people, so I'm not calling anyone out about it. Just a little information dump.

The term "breaking the fourth wall" refers to when actors/actresses acknowledge the audience. This can be done by speaking to the audience or acknowledging the script. 

As far as I know, there is not a specific term for when fans cross the line with actors. (Other than occasionally creepy or disturbing.) It certainly happens though. My theory is that a false sense of familiarity is the main reason it happens. Most of us know the difference between actor and character, but even the most diligent fan can fall victim to this false sense of familiarity. I've often joked around about climbing Oliver Stark like a tree. I would never do this in reality. I make the joke based on a false perception I have of the man through his character. Whatever my motivation for saying this, I'm self-aware enough to never say it where I think he will see it, at least I try to be.

Actors often put part of themselves into a role, and in interviews, they talk about various things. However, even in interviews, they are sometimes directed to lie because of spoilers. Even when it strays to the personal, no actor or actress completely reveals their inner self. Why would they? They don't know us, and that's the heart of it. As much as fans think they know the actor/actress, the actor/actress does not know them. They don't know when we're joking, being sarcastic, or anything else.

Pointing out behavior that will get them in trouble or pointing out behaviors and insinuating what you think those behaviors mean are not always going to be appreciated. If a fan doesn't know them in real life, then they don't know for a fact that the actor will not be offended. That's why it's best to save some remarks for fan spaces. A lot of people in fandom share the same level of freak so it's easier to laugh about it and move onward. Now, if an actor hangs out in those places, that's their choice to make. They will see what they see and hear what they hear, but please don't seek them out in their personal space and say offensive things you would never say to a stranger. LOL

Sometimes Oliver Stark does those question-and-answer sessions. Maybe the next time - if someone is brave enough - they should ask what his boundaries are. Not me, I'm not made like that.

[jasperandhenryslovechild]

HEAR ME OUT GUYS.

HEAR ME OUT.

the ONLY way that the henry danger movie will possibly eat up this fucking concept will be if they go full dp and wolverine on this shit and make it entirely for the fans

the teaser is lwk littered with references to the show (literally like 3) but it gives me hope that they haven't COMPLETELY forgotten about the actual plot of the show(s) the movie is based on!! i grab movie!jasper by the neck and shake him around violently because he's my only saving grace for this entire post

JASPER'S MUSTACHE!!!!!!

slight callback to season 5 episode 11, grand theft otto, when the subplot thingy / running gag for that entire episode is that he went to ioa for his cousins wedding i think and grew a mustache which ray ends up lasering off on accident by the end

look at my boys fugly mustache and tell me it's not a reference to it

oh jasper my boy i miss you so much

ALSO JASPER'S BLINDFOLD!! because his entire subplot in the finale (that helped charlotte, piper, and the hart parents defeat the cavemen goons drex sent after them) was that he was learning sleep fighting and also spanish and blindfolded himself to fight and stay asleep

@ninifever1006 commented that on the henrys new costume bashing post i made and this is the entire reason why i remembered this information not gonna lie id forgotten a bit when i watched the trailer (fake fan i know someone cancel me/j) so THANK YOU TO YOU BRO🗣️🔥‼️

also the fact that the concept of a multiverse being in existence isn't just something that they made up for the film because as much as i hate multiverse things because they oftentimes stretch way too far (i say with 293883929 aus under my belt/j) im glad that it wasn't made up specifically for this, it saves a lot of exposition because they don't have to go through that whole "the multiverse is REAL? $! $? $? $?" arc because bill evils interdimensional transporter from danger things & the knight squad crossover, the entirety of the theranos boot episode, etc all established this previously

when new teasers come out because they most likely will, they bombarded the world with thundermans movie shit when that movie came out so im praying for them to do the same, it'll either confirm or deny my film theory

either way i hope any part of this ramble makes sense because if it doesn't ill cry im just buzzing with excitement about this thing

[elisaintime]

Woah, I must have missed something, why are people jumping down your throat?

From what I can gather at this point, it seems like they feel like anyone who likes Anne Rice herself and the books better than the show=automatically racist. Even if they ALSO enjoy the show and support the race change of the characters and all the racial conversation the show incorporated into its adaptation.

Personally, I think it does a disservice to the fandom to assume that the only reason one could like the books over the show is because of racist reasons. Anne's books speak to so many people in so many ways, especially those who have ever felt like outcasts or apart from mainstream society, and many fans have extremely personal connections to the books for a huge variety of reasons.

Like I said in my videos, I was excited and intrigued to see this AU version of the story (I love AUs!) but my complaints with the writing of the episodes mostly came back to when the show was trying to stick TOO MUCH to the books.... Because the show was really making its own thing with its own versions of the characters and all these new ideas, but then suddenly it would shove in a scene/dialogue straight out of the books which would contradict or make no sense with everything else the show had already worked to set up with the new direction it was taking itself.

Critiquing sloppy/weak writing does not mean I or any other fan who feels the same is doing it for racist reasons. Much of my criticism was about how the scripts changed Lestat's character to make him so much worse than he was in the books (which would be fine, it's their story, whatever--except the show runners told us over and over again that the whole reason Louis was doing a second interview was so that this time we could see the real version of Lestat and how Louis felt about him instead of the mean, insulting version he gave in the first interview). There was a lot promised by the showrunners about what their adaptation would be like that was not delivered ("closer to the books than the 1994 movie," "true to the spirit of Anne Rice" etc). The entire reason I made my videos was to evaluate how well the show measured up to those promises.

Worse than making Lestat so irredeemable, the way the first season ended in a way that made so many fans believe that Louis might have been lying about everything didn't sit well with me at all--it's a harmful stereotype to make the black man a liar, especially when it comes to abuse. I know the "the DV didn't actually happen and black Louis was lying or mind controlled by his evil non-white boyfriend" became a running fan theory, but I personally don't believe it one bit. But I can see why so many fans do--again, sloppy/weak writing on the show's part.

Like I said in my video, the only thing Louis actually lied about in ep7 (and he was lying to himself, not deliberately lying to Daniel) was the depth of his love for Lestat at the end. And that's entirely canon for Louis to deceive himself about--admitting how much he truly loves Lestat always came hard for him. I personally don't think it's going to turn out that anything Louis told us in season 1 was a lie. I think the show would have revealed that at the end of the season, not waited another season (or two or three) to reveal that. And the theme of season 2's promotional material has all been about memory, not honesty. I don't think Louis could mistakenly remember getting dropped from a mile in the sky and the months/years of recovery afterward, so I personally think all those memories were real.

The first three episodes of season 1 made Louis's struggle with race its primary focus, and the series description began with how Louis was chafing at society as a black man. But then from episode 4 on, the focus of the show shifted entirely. Obviously racism still existed in Louis's world, but the show pushed it all entirely to the background with little things, like segregation on the bus, and we saw the characters quietly taking in stride, not making any plot out of it. Suddenly all of Louis's character-driving moments weren't about that anymore and we were in a whole new story, when his battle against racism had been the entire theme of the first three episodes. This was something I noticed and pointed out in my videos--I didn't say it was a bad thing (after all, seeing people be racist to Louis on screen, while "realistic," isn't exactly fun for anyone, and we'd already seen plenty), but I did think the sudden dramatic shift in story focus weakened the show's themes and throughline.

Again this comes down to writing, and the premise/script was written by white people. I think they could have done much better with much more non-white involvement on the writing level. I think the show could have been stronger with some more care taken to create consistency and smoother transitions between episodes (like when they take Claudia out to feed in episode 4, suddenly all the race riots are gone, when everything was on fire 2 hours ago). It's common for shows to have each episode written by a different person, even though they all collaborate in a writer's room, but to me it felt like the show lacked efficient script supervision to make sure all the scripts flowed into each other without any contradictions or inconsistency.

When I talked about these things in my videos, when I said I would have liked the show to do better with the way it missed the mark sometimes in handling racial aspects (even though other parts I commended as being great), and the way I critiqued the inconsistencies and contradictions, some people took that to mean I hated the show entirely. The point of my videos was to see how well the show measured up to Rolin Jones's promises that it was so faithful and respectful to the spirit of the books and that all he wanted to do was honor Anne's work. I know the books back and forth, enjoy having a ND hyperfixation that gives me near-encyclopedic knowledge of the texts and Anne as an author. So people ask me questions about them all the time, especially in comparison to the adaptations. Who better to make videos evaluating how well the show measured up to RJ's promises and claims of faithfulness? But some people took me comparing the show to the books to mean I thought it was a bad thing that they weren't the same, and I hated the show entirely for not being the same as Anne wrote it, and therefore that meant I (and anyone else who loves the books) was racist 🤷

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

About the whole "Fyodor-switch personality" thing: We don't have enough information to confirm whether it was real or fake right now, and besides, both possibilities are really interesting.

If the switch was real and Fyodor was lying to cover it up (...because 'you know characters can lie, right' could mean... this part of it was the lie too...), that could easily be made a reference to Dostoevsky's The Double, as I was kindly made aware of. We've also already had an image of a young woman who looks like Aya from potentially a long time ago, given the outfit and that it is Bram's memory we're presumably seeing there, which may tie in interestingly with "what year is it?" The knife he pulled out also is genuinely a unique design for the series, and looks like it might be an old make. If this original is very old, then something in the takeover of personalities may explain why he hasn't seemed to age. Fyodor being a separate personality created from his ability and kicking out the original could tie in with his ability not attacking him in Dead Apple. This also raises more questions about Fyodor's motives, and I think opens the path for some pretty fascinating theory making. It also places Fyodor as something both human and not... intriguing for the ongoing theme of humanity in the series.

If the switch was a fake and Fyodor was being a completely hilarious little shit (which, we know the Joker is part of his inspiration and he is often contrasted with Dazai, Nikolai, and Mori, for whom this kind of behaviour would be expected - it's characterization, that's not 'done for no reason'), it would quite possibly be the funniest thing he's done in the series so far. But! More importantly, it strengthens Fyodor's connection with the Book (or rather, with altering the narrative). He's told a lie that sounds completely ridiculous but makes sense given the world and situation he's in - and notably, could fool Sigma... and the readers. Fyodor also managed to change the lightness of his eyes without changing the state of his soul - something that no other character seems to be able to do. (I know Dazai can feign the shocked expression, but that's not the clear lightness we saw in Fyodor's eyes in this panel. Nikolai's eyes change lightness but that actually seems to be genuine.) While this doesn't help us discern anything more about Fyodor's motives, it does emphasize his expertise at information manipulation - we cannot trust a single thing this character says, not just in universe, but out of it too. We, the readers, cannot listen to Fyodor and take anything he says as supporting evidence for theories. If this is true - that's fascinating. The other characters will have to solve the mystery of this man completely indirectly, and so will we.

Of course, there is the secret third option: it was a lie mostly, but there is an element of truth to it somewhere, which is actually par for the course for BSD as a whole. It is very rare that a character turns out to be lying completely. The question then becomes "what part is true and how much is it true", which is also very compelling. This, personally, is what I'm ascribing to for now until new info comes up.

Anyways, the last thing I wanted to point out is that if it was genuine, then remember The Double was inspired by Hohol's works, and if it was a lie, then that is very similar to the bait-and-switch performances that Nikolai has done multiple times in the series. Either way, it implies some influence on Fyodor by Nikolai and of course vice versa, which probably means the return of the clown (finally!) and more focus on their dynamic, which is a funny thing to show Nikolai having apparently had influence on Fyodor (even if in more of a meta way) as he is actively trying to kill him right now.

Love wins/loses?

[kangoneko]

Moonpaw Theory Discussion

[Elder's Quest spoilers below the cut]

In the newest book many facts were revealed about Moonpaw, which as a Moonpaw fan I was very happy about. I was also pleased to see the voice being something similar to what I imagined them to be... as well as surprised by other parts!

It's revealed at the end of the book that Moonpaw has a dead sister who died stillborn. The voice confirms this is her. Some people doubt this, but given the tone of the scene I'm inclined to believe her.

This is odd for a few reasons. For one, it's been established that kits who die before they're ready to be born can still go to StarClan, so many theorized the voice was a sibling that she absorbed since Moonpaw as a chimera has two sets of DNA. For this to happen to a chimera like Moonpaw by chance feels odd, especially when her sister resembles her so much that Moonpaw thinks the vision of her sister she sees in a reflection of water is half of her own face. The voice also seems to take Moonpaw's form when she lures Sunkit away from camp.

On the other hand, I think having her be her stillborn sister still works. Chimera cats, as I understand them, form so early in development that the "absorbed twin" isn't even a fetus yet. It's an interesting red herring, and prevents any misinformed reader from getting the misconception that chimeras actually absorb their twin as opposed to little more than a clump of cells. It also makes a lot of sense that Moonpaw might look near identical to her sister. Many sisters who aren't identical twins are mistaken as such in real life! I could easily see Sunkit, in the dim light, thinking the voice is Moonpaw. (If the voice wasn't actually possessing Moonpaw's body anyway.)

Whether this was some kind of writing retcon or not I think it still works. That said, I've seen the theory that maybe the dead sibling wasn't the voice and that the voice is lying. I don't believe this idea as much but given it's still early on in this series it might be worth entertaining.

Anyway, what I want to know is WHY her dead sister did this and no other kitten so far. If it's so easy for a dead kit to stay with their parents, then why haven't more?

I think the problem might lie in the fact that we are calling it "the voice", "her sister." What if the problem is that the kit never got a name?

This might sound silly, but Bayshine mentions that he named Moonpaw because her face resembled the half moon the night she was born. This means they didn't pick out names beforehand, or weren't settled on any anyway. What if the dead kitten was waiting for a name that never came? What if after a few days she decided to stay permanently, and absorb the love and attention Moonkit was getting that she never did?

Otherwise it seems like the voice just had a natural inclination to stay, which feels a little less likely. You'd think a cat might come down from StarClan to collect the kitten eventually. So maybe StarClan decided to let the kit stay until she got her name, but then the name never came and subsequently the kit, and eventually it was too late. StarClan also seems to know about the problem with "the two-faced cat", so I wonder if it might be because they already know Moonpaw's sister has been a problem.

Beyond that... I'm not sure if this is biologically possible, but I wonder if the DNA Moonpaw absorbed was the monozygotic twin of the voice. Because if Moonpaw hadn't absorbed that DNA she would have had two siblings, given the voice survived. I wonder if sharing the exact same DNA has allowed the voice to cling to Moonpaw. And in that case, what if we still get the absorbed twin plot, and another different voice pops up?

I still expect this arc to throw a few more curve balls at us, but Moonpaw's sister being an antagonistic presence in the arc has me curious. I feel like it would be odd for the soul of a dead kitten to become evil and dangerous, so I wonder if there's something else going on...? Maybe she's being corrupted or influenced by the Dark Forest somehow, and will eventually take control of Moonpaw's body to cause mayhem. So many entertaining possibilities... either way, poor Moonpaw!!

Given this theory relies on Moonpaw's sister never having a name, I'm thinking Moonpaw's sister might be reformed after she finally receives a name. There's a trope in ghost stories about a ghost having "unfinished business" and haunting people or places until it's finally resolved. Maybe Moonpaw's sister's unfinished business is as simple as getting a name. Kinda cheesy, but it could make for a bittersweet ending? I don't know.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far! If you have any theories of your own I'm eager to hear them.

[mrs-apocalypse]

Vegas for the character ask thingy? Latest chapter of Trolley Problem absolutely shattered my heart 🥺🥺

Hi!!! First, I will not lie, my intention when writing this fic is always to cause pain to my readers. I enjoy making everyone feel the same gut-wrenching desire I do for these boys and a happy ending.

Onto the character ask, AHHHHHHHHHHHH! Okay, so:

How I Feel About this Character:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! So, while I look at Pete and see the perfect vessel for all the sour, rotten feelings that people experience about life (much of those feelings being strangely in tune with how I felt as an emo fifteen year old), Vegas is who I believe to be a perfect symbol for all the physically grotesque aspects of being human, something I personally feel really close to. At the risk of scaring everyone, I grew up being called a freak by all my classmates. I'm into bugs and monsters and horror (supernatural and real), I collect embalmed animals and bones that I find in the woods, and nothing sounds more romantic to me than being handed a piece of jewelry with a human tooth (I know, I know). The point is, I love him desperately because he symbolizes all the darker aspect of humanity that are villainized when there is so clearly romanticism hidden inside them. (Idk maybe I just have a very gothic view of love).

In addition, I love the unknown depths of his character. We know who he is, and we somewhat know why, but not really. We know his father hits him, but nothing more than a slap (Has he ever experienced anything worse?) He solves every problem with sex. (Why? Is there a reason? Was he raised to believe his body is the best way to seal a deal?) How did his mother's death affect him? There is so much we suspect, but don't know for sure. He is a well of questions and quirks that are off putting and captivating all in one! UGH, I love to pick his brain and figure out how each and every action of his can be traced back to a certain experience (He makes me feel like a forensic profiler lol).

All the People I ship romantically this character with:

Pete. No one else.

I know a lot of people can see Vegas with Porsche, but truthfully, I can't think of any world where Vegas would pick anyone over Pete. Even in the show, you can see just how forced his feelings are with everyone outside of Pete. Pete is the only one we know of who has seen the vulnerable, humiliating parts of Vegas; Vegas has been flayed open for him. Vegas doesn't need to explain himself because Pete has seen the reason for why he is what he is. And, most importantly, Vegas does not need to force his own. vulnerability (something humiliating for a Theerapanyakul to do) because Pete sees it without any help, meaning Vegas can seek him for comfort without having to explain why. Pete just knows. They understand each other on levels that I think no other person ever has, and that is why they only see each other. God, I love them.

My Non-Romantic OTP for this character:

This is going to sound very strange, but Nop. Maybe that's because I've invented my own version of Top for Game Theory, but I personally like to think that this guard who has seen him through Pete, and has stayed with him for so long, would know him in a way that after the walls have fallen in the end of season 1, would leave them open to a friendship. I could see him remaining his guard after Vegas' fall from grace, first to protect him, and then because Vegas has made extra for dinner and 'Just stay, Nop. It's not a big deal." leads to "Pete's gone out with his friends. Wanna have a drink with me?" to "Nop, we've got to get you a partner. You're spending way too much time in this house." (I have a bad habit of falling in love with my interpretations of small, nearly nonexistent characters.

I also see Vegas becoming good friends with Tay in a world where he eventually wises up and leaves Time. They have so much in common with their gossiping and cattiness. I think they'd enjoy each other's company a lot. Pete comes home from drinking with Porsche, Tankhun, Arm, and Pol to find Tay and Vegas drinking wine and whispering about what who their wealthy peers are fucking in private.

ANYWAYS, give Vegas some fucking friends, dammit!

My Unpopular Opinion about this Character:

I DON'T KNOW WHY MY UNPOPULAR OPINIONS ALWAYS INVOLVE PORSCHE I'M SORRY but I just don't think Vegas was ever interested in him. I think people give Porsche too much credit. I think people often believe that he eventually got to a point where he actually liked him, but no, I'm sorry. I've watched the entire series over 10 times and every time they talk, it feels so forced by Vegas. The motorcycle ride, the flowers in the hospital, the party and bathroom scene,,, nothing about that felt nearly as authentic as after Vegas fell in love with Pete and helped Porsche find his uncle. That was the only time I felt like these two's emotions were both honest. So yeah, I just don't think he likes him near as much as a lot of the fandom thinks.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character:

LET HIM HAVE THE FUCKING RING, DAMMIT. Listen, Porsche would be shit at running the family. I'm sorry, there is no real world where the man who struggled beating a man who fed secrets to a competitor would willingly run the enterprises of a family that deals in drugs and sex. I know we love Vegas, I know he's our poor little meowfioso, but he is cruel. His circle of caring is small, and it does not include the victims of the industries that family most probably deals in. If Korn's goal is to ruin his own family, then putting Porsche in charge was a great idea. If he wants actual profit, give it back to my baby!

Anyways, those are my opinions. Please remember they are OPINIONS and I totally do not expect everyone to agree with me. I just enjoy ranting :)

[personwithatophat]

everyone always insists ranboo is the "hero." Showfall dubs them the hero so the audience is okay with it. A hero is supposed to have trials, right?

What if this version of ranboo is actually like... a bad person and Showfall basically put them in purgatory to make up for it? Showfall insists he responded "naturally." Screw some kind of major happy time filter, it just allowed ranboo to behave as per usual not thinking anything more for it

Now we're cooking with gas! excellent question and theory Both of these points are actually incredible examples of audience manipulation that is written into genloss. This is the general idea that showfall doesn't nessesarily have to convince us that what we're seeing is what's really happening, just so long as the characters believe it's real and the surrounding supports it. To the first point, The Hero feels more like a title of mockery. Ranboo gets puppeteered, strung along, and actively has a hand in several of the shows deaths because showfall prompted him to. Ranboo tears into charlie Ranboo points ethan to the wrong door He shoves austin into harms way He abandons sneeg to the sharkicklester etc etc etc. Through the show, ranboo portrays more like a survivor who proves that when his back is to the wall, he will choose to save himself instead of others. but that he does so with tremendous guilt. this is another reason why the end was so poignant, because he believes he killed these people. As soon as escape clearly wasn't an option he preferred not to live then continue on if the sacrifice wasn't worth it. As for ranboo 'acting natural', this would actually be part of The Filter. The filter doesn't just make things look different, it's the live censoring of information that not only we experience but the cast themselves. The filter is why they can't see past the fourth wall, it's the reason why ranboo can get driven around by us instead of solving puzzles the way you typically would, it changes the perception of how they view the world around them. one way to think of it is like in a dream when weird things happen but you just don't question it? kind of the same idea. it keeps the cast in line and the show running smoothly without having a huge chunk of the plot being dedicated to "how did I end up in a warehouse, why does this door travel to hell, why do my eyes hurt if I look at the fourth wall" This kind of audience manipulation is what I mean when I say if the characters act normal then the audience perceives it as normal. if you're interested in more stuff like that, I made a bunch of other theories like cutscene theory that go against that grain of what showfall shows us so check them out if you're interested :) Remember that we have no reliable narrators, any information we see is being curated, and that they WILL lie to you!

-Tophat

[d1sc01nf3rn0]

So I have a big theory and I don't know where to put it, so here it goes:

The thing that's gonna incarnate in Yuri's stomach isn't Aono. Is the patron god of the village, Kubinashi sama. The dark Aono is the real Aono.

Based on the whole thing with Sota and the school inventory, we know the ghost always come back, because you're not supposed to offer them anything, and as soon as you do they're turned into evil spirits. We also know from the Sota situation, that every time someone comes back, a part of the patron god, with them. In Sota's case, his "friend". The part where Aono says that it isn't Yotsukubi sama, nor a ghost, but at the same it is, shows that the existence of Kubinashi is not something that's fixed. Furthermore, my theory is that Kubinashi sama is feigning being Aono (the "good" one) due to Yuri's agreement.

Think about it. Yuri and Aono were only dating for two weeks, yet Aono seems to be the perfect boyfriend, despite Fujimoto knowing that he only dated Yuri because he felt bad for her, and that he didn't really knew her. My theory is that this Aono is the part of the agreement of Kubinashi with Yuri: it gave her her perfect vision of Aono, so that she would be satisfied with it and never taking back her agreement. This is why this Aono doesn't have complete memories of how he died, or his childhood. Is an incomplete version of Aono. This Aono also evolves with the time. Every time Yuri changes, Aono also changes to satisfy her desires. This is why the normal Aono didn't know about what happened in the aquarium, but as soon as Yuri learned about it, he suddenly was able to.

Dark Aono is the real Aono, which is why he only comes when certain steps are taken. As the boyfriend of Yuri he doesn't want to hurt her and he is technically part of the deal with Kubinashi. Similar to Sota, who is part of the deal, and is seemingly the perfect brother, that is also part of the deal; Kubinashi only brings back the parts of the deceased the one making the contract remembers. The "dark versions" that appear are the real ones that have grudges and can't pass on. This also explains why he wanted her to eat food of the other world, that way if she gets stuck there, her agreement with Kubinashi will be void.

Dark Sota holds a grudge to his mother for "forgetting him", and to his brother for "causing his death". Dark Aono does not hold a grudge to Yuri, but as a dark spirit, both of them have the desire to grow stronger by getting offerings and sacrifices. The reasoning of this is that those things are different; offerings are usually made directly to the deceased, normally on their tombstones or the family altars, sacrifices are made to deities, and can be done anywhere. So far all the offerings have been made directly to Aono (the food, the eyes) which is why only the dark Aono, the real Aono takes them. The normal Aono can't take them, cause he's not real one, thus they aren't his to take. This explains why the normal Aono couldn't enter the storage room, but dark Aono could. This also gives a possibility: normal Aono can't afford to let Yuri know that he's not the real Aono, cause otherwise that would void the agreement. In agreements, the spirit cannot lie, but they can hide things. This is also shown on the agreement to bring back Sota, Hiroto wasn't told that he was gonna come back as an evil spirit. In the same, Yuri wasn't told that Aono was gonna come back as Dark Aono, and to make her less suspicious, Kubinashi decided to disguise itself as the perfect Aono. If Kubinashi has control over all the spirits in the village, then he could keep dark Aono at bay, except when Aono is called directly, cause that's part of the rules. That's also why normal Aono remembers everything Dark Aono does, cause technically, spirits are part of Kubinashi's domain; not enough to control what they do, but enough to know what they do.

So, Yuri sacrificed herself, offered her life in exchange of Aono. Now based on the Kubinashi ritual, we know that every ghost agreement isn't made with the ghosts, but with Kubinashi sama; the ghosts are only part of the exchange. And Kubinashi sama makes use of the sacrifices however they seem fit or convenient. In the kids case it involved a game, but in Yuri's case it involved being reincarnated. We also know ghosts can't really come back, except as well.. ghosts. So that further solidifies that argument.

Part of this theory is that Nozomi's family is a family of ommyoujis. But that due to the times changing, and the lack of sacrifices, they probably left that tradition behind, and thus Nozomi was never really talked about her heritage. This part comes from the fact that Nozomi's grandma seems to know a lot about the village story with Kubinashi, and despite being a ghost she has powers that ghosts otherwise don't have, like taking over Nozomi without her permission, entering her dream, or taking control of the snake in Nozomi's dream. This also comes from her clothing, which are clothes people wear to funerals (the visitors are the ones that wear it, the deceased usually wears white clothes), but black clothes are also associated with the highest rank of Shinto priests.

Furthermore, Nozomi's grandma is effectively Nozomi's shikigami as of now, one out of devotion and not sacrifice. This is why she helping her during her dream was accepted, she is technically an extension of Nozomi.

Another part of why the agreement with Yuri is different, is because they're kids. Yuri is a virgin who's in age of conceiving (the chapter showing her having her period wasn't a coincidence). Ghosts cannot come back, but deities can, given they have a vessel. In this case, Yuri's stomach. The fact that Yuri's family has a history with Kubinashi isn't out of the question, neither. It's is possible that like Nozomi's family, Yuri's family must have a tie to the Kubinashi ritual in some way. If the Kariya family has a tie to sacrifices, it could even possibly explain what happened to Yuri's older brother. Let's not forget that in some traditions you're supposed to sacrifice your first born. This could also explain the situation behind her older brother.

Now I know this is wild but, my theory is that Yuri's parents had to sacrifice his older child, and had Midori hoping she could be sacrifices instead. As per the rules, only the first child was accepted, and they grow to hate Midori because of this. They had Yuri either as an unplanned pregnancy, or in hopes of having a second boy to replace the first one, but it failed. This is also why the first child is never really talked about.

So, not only the Kariya family has something to do with sacrifices, and abnormal virgin pregnancies related to deities; Yuri would inherently be sacrificing her first born by making her birth a god.

So, the theory is this: the village where Yuri lives is controlled by Kubinashi, and her family has a tie to it by doing sacrifices, and Nozomi's family by being priests. Yuri didn't make an agreement with Aono, she made an agreement with Kubinashi to bring back Aono, and now she has to birth Kubinashi, while Aono returned as just a dark spirit.

[cookinguptales]

Out of curiosity, do you have any theories for why the bizarre narrative shift wwdits had circa late s4 happened?

I've gotten some uh. Pretty intense anons for saying what I'm about to say, for some reason, but sure, yeah. I'll talk about it. This will be pretty long because I haven't written wwdits meta in a long time, but. Oh well.

For s4 specifically... There's something that Anoop Desai, the actor who plays the Djinn, said in an interview once that I thought was really interesting. He said that they initially only wanted him to be in a few episodes of s4 and told him they'd go from there. As we all know, he ended up doing a great job with the part, the Djinn ended up becoming wildly popular, and the role was expanded.

But when you think about it... a lot of things in the back half of s4 only happened because the Djinn was around, right? The wish for Marwa to like whatever Nandor liked (and its subsequent issues), the wish for Marwa to become a Freddie clone... Those can only happen the way they did because the Djinn's wishes were available as a plot device. It's entirely possible that they were going to happen anyway, just another way, but... I don't think it's really going too far to say that there had to be rewrites of late season s4 in order to incorporate the Djinn, and we just have no way of knowing how extensive those rewrites turned out to be.

I think certain aspects of the end of s4 still had to have been there (a boyfriend for Guillermo, the wedding going poorly) but the exact way that things played out? Well, it did kind of smack of last-minute rewrites to me. We know there was also a lot of confusion about episode order, too, with the wedding seeming to have been originally placed closer to the end of the season... (Based on slates seen on IG.)

So... it really does make you wonder if things might have gone very differently if not for the Djinn's presence. I always kind of felt like I got monkey pawed because I love the Djinn, I really wanted him to be around longer, but then... oof.

s4 was kind of bewildering because it had some truly wonderful episodes, but there was a sense that they were building up to something that just never happened. A lot of themes, like Guillermo learning he can't lie to his loved ones and still keep a strong relationship with them, were really emphasized only to be dropped when they should have been very important with Freddie and all of s5.

Even what I'd argue was the most successful part of s4, the relationship between Laszlo and Colin, was really kind of unceremoniously dumped in s5.

I feel like s4 was where we really started to see a lack of payoff in long-running arcs. s2 was really the last time a season finale cliffhanger had much of any impact on the long-term events of the show (and s3 was when there was a showrunner change, so that could partially be why) and I think that fans were hoping that we'd still see those long-term arcs for characters, especially when s3 on seemed to focus more on characterization and relationship-building.

But what's actually ended up happening is that we constantly get these build-ups that either fizzle out, go nowhere, or worse, get retconned altogether. There's been a real lack of canon consistency the last few seasons, and what felt like small momentary lapses in consistency (like Nandor suddenly being better at hypnotism than Laszlo when the opposite was true in s2) suddenly felt much more dire when fundamental character changes seemed to happen with characters like Guillermo.

I've noticed a real divide between s1-s2 Guillermo and s3, s4, and s5 Guillermo, with him starting to get... almost Flanderized, honestly, with his whole uwu I could never hurt anyone thing. It seems to get worse every season, and this last season making it canon that he feels no guilt towards killing vampires but could ~never~ kill a human (despite being totally blase about it in early seasons) really seems to turn the whole conceit that he loves supernatural creatures (and can't meaningfully connect with humans due to his social otheredness) on its head. Personally, I'd consider that a core aspect of not only Guillermo's characterization but the overarching themes of the show, so it really kind of shocked me.

(In other words, I'm not actually disappointed that he didn't become a vampire. I always kind of thought that was how things were going to happen. But to make it be because he's too gentle?? Because he values human life over vampire lives??? Oof! That lack of character consistency is rough!)

I guess... the reason why I thought the end of s4 was rough was the rewrites. It really did feel rushed, and often themes/characters/relationships seemed to be chucked out in favor of jokes that weren't even all that funny. But I think the overall quality dip (imo) of the last season and a half are due to larger problems. There's a lack of commitment to things established in early seasons that I find troubling, and a total inability to commit to the arcs they're writing now, too.

It's odd. I feel like the first two seasons were more episodic and were less concerned with big arcs, but they still pulled off slowly growing character changes well -- Guillermo finding out he's a slayer especially. Since the showrunner change, they've been much more ambitious about characters, relationships, and long-running arcs -- but they never seem to stick the damn landing! They're aiming higher (building expectations) and landing lower. Which is a bad combination.

So then you have s5, which kind of feels like a culmination of all this. Characterization choices that don't always make sense, season-long arcs that don't go fucking anywhere and ignore previous canon (Laszlo was particularly egregious here), important characterization moments being thrown out in favor of jokes that no one fucking liked. (God, those fucking hybrid creatures.) And in the end, they again refuse to commit and instead send things back to a status quo, now made even shittier because they've closed off a narrative path.

I would hope that this season finale would mean something and we'd see the characters dealing with everything it brings up for the next season, but that didn't fucking happen the last two times, so... I have low hopes. I'd love to be proven wrong, but. I do feel very tired.

Finally... In retrospect, I actually think the death knell came very early on in s4. It was the time jump. Instead of really dealing with the way that any of these characters would have to function with the set-up they created in s3, they skipped all that. I'm not sure Guillermo ever really made that much sense after that, especially, and I think it's because they simply didn't think about what that year would mean to him very much. In interviews, we've seen that Harvey had to make up a lot of backstory himself, we've seen that Harvey and Al independently came up with two very different backstories for how Guillermo and Freddie met and how long they knew each other, we know that the writers often didn't really seem to know what Guillermo was doing in London...

Like. I hate to say it, but that's lazy writing. A time skip doesn't have to be lazy writing, but it often is. It's often used to skip the hard work of getting from characters from A to B, and the only way to do one well is to still know what happened during it. But once they did that, we started to increasingly get these [scene (and characterization) missing here] periods that really brought down the momentum every single time.

So... I guess I think that's been the overarching problem. Rewrites, a lack of loyalty to early canon and worse, a lack of loyalty to the stories they're writing now. If they're not invested in the story arcs they're making, why should we get invested? The way that the whole Laszlo and Colin thing was barely ever mentioned again in s5 was egregious. It was treated as lasting trauma in s4 and then Laszlo seemed totally fine in s5, even going so far as to have sex with the man he'd seen as his son like... two weeks before. For a while, we kept thinking that his weird behavior towards Guillermo was a form of transference, but that never really amounted to anything, either. I think we were just putting too much faith in the writers, maybe.

I guess, in the end, that's probably the biggest problem of all. The writers did some really amazing stuff in the first three seasons. They had a lot of long cons, so to speak, and it was hugely fun to see those pay off. We came to trust the writers, and now we keep thinking that these confusing plot arcs are just one more long con.

But they're not.

So we just get annoyed and let down every single time because we keep expecting payoffs that never come anymore, and in the end we just get kinda bitter.

That's just my two cents, anyway. And it really is still possible to turn things around! But uh. There's not much more time to do it. lmao

Fingers crossed, I guess. (But not around the vampires.)

[rosetterer]

i think it's very good and important of oliver stark to point out that the buddie fandom has always harassed female actors for playing love interests as well :( this isn't just an attack on tevan and lou ferrigno jr, and this isn't a one-time thing either. it's a very clear trend and there is one common demoninator: it is and has always been about buddie shippers deliberately attacking everybody who "stands in the way" of buddie canonization. i've reached my breaking point with the fandom years ago because of this type of behavior. i'm sad to say that i'm not at all surprised that this is happening again, and i'm 1000% sure it'll keep happening with every new love interest until the show either ends of buddie is canonized fr. i'm a bit scared to say but out of pure unadulterated spite, i hope buddie never happens,,, This Is Not Love. buddie will never ever be the representation of a beautiful canon long-term queer ship to anyone because of all its vile fandom history. the hardcore stans have ruined and continue to ruin everybody else's experience. bleugh

Yeah, it was nice that he talked about the fact that the other actors have felt unfairly treated by some fans. And it would be a lie to say that that has not happened. I used to be one of those buddie fans who would go after every little theory and make it all about buddie and while I don't think I ever harassed any actor, I think and hope anyway, just kept it to myself. It was still wrong.

I'm sure it will continue. There is nothing you can really do about it, except stay positive and in the real world bc it is just a tv-show, at the end of the day.

I've tried to stay away from thinking that I hope Buddie doesn't happen bc of the way that some fans are but it is sometimes hard. Shipping is supposed to be fun, which is why I don't want to hate on it but yeah, I get where you are coming from.

There is a reason why I haven't posted pretty much anything related to buddie in a long time. I just can't deal with it rn and will only focus on the couple that we do canonically have bc it's part of this story and I will enjoy it. They are sweet as well 🥰 I've, at times, regretted joining the fandom bc of certain fans but I've been doing a lot of blocking which has helped a little...

So people, just step out of your bubbles every once in a while. It will do good for you.