#annual time-loop theory rehashing

[parf-fan]

Annual fan-theory rehashing:

The shire of Mount Hope is caught in a time-loop, the same day repeating over and over.

Not always, mind you. This event only seems to be triggered by the presence of royalty in the little NightVale-esque village.  And even then, not all those present will be caught in it.  There is no real rhyme or reason to who will or won’t, but one can live in Mount Hope one’s entire life and never be caught in a loop.

Those trapped in the loop do not notice right away.  Oh, the ones who’ve done this a dozen times, of course they can tell immediately.  But most will not.  How could they?  All they will perceive at first is a vague sense of déjà vu.  As the loop progresses, things will start to seem actively familiar.  Folk meeting for the first time will already know one another.  They guess what is about to happen, and they are always right. They mentally recite the words of others as the words are first spoken.

Some may spend time privately questioning their own sanity.  Others will take counsel with those they trust as soon as they sense something strange.  The loop is openly acknowledged at different rates by different individuals, in part based on the speed at which it is recognized.  Some – particularly those whose minds most resemble those of the Fae – recognize it at once.  The very second time they live this day, they know they’ve lived it before with only slight differences.  Those with more typical minds take over a month’s worth of days to discern what is happening.  But sooner or later, all do.  And as they recognize it, they speak of it, mostly only to those they are closest to.  After a time – a little under two months’ worth of looped days, to be precise – all those within the loop have acknowledged and spoken of it with at least a few others.

Yet time loops are fickle things, and more often than not, the actions of the loop are determined by the attitudes of those within it.  So it is with the loop of Mount Hope.  Once everyone has spoken of and acknowledged the loop, it changes.

Against all rationality, something new – someone new, often – enters the loop.  An element of the supernatural previously absent.  It throws everything, everyone off.  The day begins as it has for months, but then it changes.  Nobody is prepared for this.  Some may think that perhaps they had dreamed the loop, that none of these events had truly yet transpired.  Others merely stare in disbelief, mentally mouthing phrases in the spirit of what the hap is fuckening.

And so they must begin again, recognizing the repeated events.  As before, the Fae-like minds catch on at once.  But the process for all is more speedy this time, for they’ve already recognized a loop once before.  And as they start pinning down this altered loop, they begin to accept. After all, bizarre though the past weeks of their lives have been, they cannot deny that they have enjoyed themselves immensely.  They are living a festival day, after all!  And through that time, they have all bonded with each other deeply.  One by one, they all come to the conclusion that, well, if they are to be stuck in the same day for the rest of eternity, they couldn’t have chosen better company with whom to be stuck.

But acceptance is just what the loop has been waiting for, precisely what was needed to free its prisoners, to end it.  The inhabitants of the loop are somehow aware when it is the last day.  How?  Who knows. Mount Hope is a strange place, and some things within it do not brook questioning.

And so the visitors and denizens of Mount Hope make their way through one final day.  In many ways, it will be a relief to end this, of course; yet there is not one among them wholly pleased.  For all have come to love one another immensely, and the routine of the day – moderately terrifying at times though it may be – has grown strangely soothing.

They live through their day one last time, and they stand on a stage and sing one last farewell.  A very few eyes may be dry, but these are in the minority.

And then it is over. New-reigning Catherine and Henry depart the village, promising to return someday. The Bavarian representatives stay some days yet, and then they, too, must turn their faces away. The Court of France scarce remains longer before setting off for their own realm. Her Majesty, newly crowned, and her cousin, newly redeemed, take their leave of a village newly at peace. Crisis averted, the newlyweds begin their life together, as the remaining civics folk scramble to rectify whatever other ills had been wrought by the architect of the crisis. Two queens, each both fallen and redeemed in differing ways, bid farewell to that setting of upheaval and most of the supporters who had helped enact such tumult.

Yet there is not one who e’er departs that shire who does not vow to return – for a day, a week, a month, another loop.  For such is the power of that strange place, that all who pass through its gates leave a part of themselves there, and all who leave that part of themselves do so because in that place, if only for a little while, they have found their home.

[parf-fan]

Annual fan-theory rehashing:

The shire of Mount Hope is caught in a time-loop, the same day repeating over and over.

Not always, mind you. This event only seems to be triggered by the presence of royalty in the little NightVale-esque village.  And even then, not all those present will be caught in it.  There is no real rhyme or reason to who will or won’t, but one can live in Mount Hope one’s entire life and never be caught in a loop.

Those trapped in the loop do not notice right away.  Oh, the ones who’ve done this a dozen times, of course they can tell immediately.  But most will not.  How could they?  All they will perceive at first is a vague sense of déjà vu.  As the loop progresses, things will start to seem actively familiar.  Folk meeting for the first time will already know one another.  They guess what is about to happen, and they are always right. They mentally recite the words of others as the words are first spoken.

Some may spend time privately questioning their own sanity.  Others will take counsel with those they trust as soon as they sense something strange.  The loop is openly acknowledged at different rates by different individuals, in part based on the speed at which it is recognized.  Some – particularly those whose minds most resemble those of the Fae – recognize it at once.  The very second time they live this day, they know they’ve lived it before with only slight differences.  Those with more typical minds take over a month’s worth of days to discern what is happening.  But sooner or later, all do.  And as they recognize it, they speak of it, mostly only to those they are closest to.  After a time – a little under two months’ worth of looped days, to be precise – all those within the loop have acknowledged and spoken of it with at least a few others.

Yet time loops are fickle things, and more often than not, the actions of the loop are determined by the attitudes of those within it.  So it is with the loop of Mount Hope.  Once everyone has spoken of and acknowledged the loop, it changes.

Against all rationality, something new – someone new, often – enters the loop.  An element of the supernatural previously absent.  It throws everything, everyone off.  The day begins as it has for months, but then it changes.  Nobody is prepared for this.  Some may think that perhaps they had dreamed the loop, that none of these events had truly yet transpired.  Others merely stare in disbelief, mentally mouthing phrases in the spirit of what the hap is fuckening.

And so they must begin again, recognizing the repeated events.  As before, the Fae-like minds catch on at once.  But the process for all is more speedy this time, for they’ve already recognized a loop once before.  And as they start pinning down this altered loop, they begin to accept. After all, bizarre though the past weeks of their lives have been, they cannot deny that they have enjoyed themselves immensely.  They are living a festival day, after all!  And through that time, they have all bonded with each other deeply.  One by one, they all come to the conclusion that, well, if they are to be stuck in the same day for the rest of eternity, they couldn’t have chosen better company with whom to be stuck.

But acceptance is just what the loop has been waiting for, precisely what was needed to free its prisoners, to end it.  The inhabitants of the loop are somehow aware when it is the last day.  How?  Who knows. Mount Hope is a strange place, and some things within it do not brook questioning.

And so the visitors and denizens of Mount Hope make their way through one final day.  In many ways, it will be a relief to end this, of course; yet there is not one among them wholly pleased.  For all have come to love one another immensely, and the routine of the day – moderately terrifying at times though it may be – has grown strangely soothing.

They live through their day one last time, and they stand on a stage and sing one last farewell.  A very few eyes may be dry, but these are in the minority.

And then it is over. New-reigning Catherine and Henry depart the village, promising to return someday. The Bavarian representatives stay some days yet, and then they, too, must turn their faces away. The Court of France scarce remains longer before setting off for their own realm. Her Majesty, newly crowned, and her cousin, newly redeemed, take their leave of a village newly at peace. Crisis averted, the newlyweds begin their life together, as the remaining civics folk scramble to rectify whatever other ills had been wrought by the architect of the crisis. Two queens, each both fallen and redeemed in differing ways, bid farewell to that setting of upheaval and most of the supporters who had helped enact such tumult. A pair of twins begins the arduous and worthwhile process of dissecting and processing their ill-upbringings to better themselves, as the other leaders begin the process of applying their newfound bounty to better the village.

Yet there is not one who e’er departs that shire who does not vow to return – for a day, a week, a month, another loop.  For such is the power of that strange place, that all who pass through its gates leave a part of themselves there, and all who leave that part of themselves do so because in that place, if only for a little while, they have found their home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I formulated this headcanon just before Oktoberfest 2017 and have interpreted the Faire through its lens ever since. It serves several functions: most notably making a place in-universe for the repeated day, but most importantly explaining the character-development over the course of the season; as well as why the audience only sees a fraction of the people who must surely reside in this township, not to mention why those people are different even when only a few years have passed in-universe – we only bear witness to the folk caught in the loop.