#but I love to think theories about these details

[shai-manahan]

hi, I sincerely hope I'm not being pushy or anything, and that you're doing ok! I saw your post about the devastating typhoon in your country and know that must be heartbreaking. if it's okay to ask, is Hollowed Minds still being written? I completely understand if it's not, since I (and other readers) know you have probably been going through a lot. I still love and think about your IF everyday to the point it's become a comfort game of mine and gotten me through some tough times with its engaging mysteries and angsty, touching moments, and though I would obviously be sad about it, the mental health and personal circumstances of authors are so much more important than a fan's feelings. I wish you good luck with life regardless of whether this IF is continued or not!

Hi! I appreciate the concern and your love for HM and don't worry because I'm still working on it <3 I know it's been a while, and admittedly it also distresses me that I haven't updated the game yet after all this time. But please be assured that this isn't a story I could ever let go of or even think about canceling no matter what.

Honestly, our country's been through a lot these past few years. My family, friends, and mentors have been through a lot as well. There is increased hostility targeted at marginalized communities everywhere and it's made a huge impact on my writing and my perception towards my own characters. I also find I relate to a lot of them now to an extent I never wished to reach.

It's partly why I decided to make MC someone with Filipino (specifically Tagalog) heritage, why I made their personality a little more preset (while still allowing space for headcanons and a few trait choices), and why I'm making some revisions to make certain details clear upfront.

Also, I suppose I'm just afraid a lot of readers would not get the point of the series itself. We're still at a very early stage of the plot, and while I've gotten anons whose theories have made it clear that they understand what this is eventually leading to, I do get the sense that some might still think of it as a mere cop thriller story when I actually aim for it to be a critic of policing institutions and the system itself. This is something that would be made clear anyway as we progress, but I at least want it to be apparent that MC will never ally nor respect some characters throughout the series, and that there are actions they would never find justifiable/fair.

I haven't posted significant progress updates lately (which is also why Patreon billings are still paused atm) because I don't think I've made enough progress to talk about. I will still answer asks, however, so please feel free to send them if you have questions/concerns/fun asks!

And I'm really glad HM has helped you get through tough times :') I know writing it helps me as well.

[jthealien]

To key or not to key, that is the question. (Aka I wanted to put my two cents into the “Buddy is a key” theory since Book of Deacon had more people talking about it, for good reason.)

So what do I think? Uh. Well. It’s complicated. I’ll try to keep this organized, but man do I love tangents.

TLDR: Buddy’s not a key, not not a key, but a secret third thing.

First off, Book of Deacon established some pretty major things, specifically that keys can go into books and what keys look like inside of books. I’ll focus on the latter for a bit.

While much more human looking, Silver still retains a lot of her key (ha.) features: partially gray skin, gem eyes, a general sparkliness.

She’s so shiny :D

I’m going to make an assumption that most of those traits (especially the first two) apply to the other keys’ human forms.

And Buddy? Well he doesn’t have any of those. There’s absolutely zero color on that guy that isn’t #FFFFFF, and while his eyes do kind of stare into your soul — they also look like normal human ones.

But we do know that keys can make minor appearance changes to their users. Considering skin modifications like tattoos are possible, who’s to say any key-like features could just be covered up? It hasn’t been stated otherwise, so that can’t be discounted as an option.

But, in Dreams by Night (it’s not one of my rants without me bringing up that episode) we get our first — and to date, only — actual glimpse of Buddy that isn’t in a book or dream.

From what we see of his ear, it doesn’t look very key like. Silver’s ear had some of her key skin tone, so if Buddy was a key, his ear would be a different color as well. It isn’t, though.

But, hypothetically: if Buddy was a key, what key would he be?

I’m almost certain the answer is Violet.

I’ve pointed this out before, but they look really similar. Like, down to the eye color, eye shape, and weird little smirk.

It’s likely not a coincidence. I can’t really think of a reason why Violet would make any other key look like a more masculine version of herself — or if that’s even possible for her to do.

So yeah, he’d be Violet. (I’ll get into the implications of that later because oh boy.)

If that's the case though, can keys put themselves into books? I mean, maybe?? But I feel like that wouldn’t work. Another reason why I don’t really believe that Buddy is a key.

But I can’t ignore that there’s definitely details that’d be explained by it.

That thing around Buddy’s neck in his dream? Other people have pointed out that it kinda looks like a keyring. And yeah, it really does. I’m not quite sure what else it’d be.

How does Buddy know every detail of every story Chase goes into? Keys have that ability.

Why doesn’t Buddy like water? Well, metals can rust.

There’s another thing I can’t bring up because the episode is in fastpass jail as I’m writing this. But it deals with keys not enjoying being stuck as keys with the keyring. (Other fastpassers know what I’m referring to, I think).

All that being said, I’m going to go over some possibilities. Kind of in order from how little to how much I believe them

1. Buddy is a key, but not Violet

It’s not impossible, but I’ve already mentioned the reasons I’m convinced that if he were a key, he’d be Violet. So I’m going to write this one off for now.

Well uh, I would if it weren’t for Chekov’s Gun (or I guess Chekov’s Keyple, in this case).

Why would Punko use a whole episode to establish that keys can use other keys for books, if that wasn’t going to come up again in some way? I suspect that payoff is going to happen this season. Otherwise, it’d make more sense to introduce this detail later.

Unless the focus isn’t meant to be on that ability of the keys, but rather what the keys look like. In a way this might be meant to prove Buddy couldn’t be a key.

But, for the most part, I believe this option the least.

2. Buddy is a key, and Buddy is Violet

I don’t really think this one is true, but it might be my favorite just for the pure symbolism and potential. I might make an AU about it tbh.

Them being one in the same would be the simplest(?) explanation as to why they look so similar.

It’d also mean, technically, Buddy/Violet is in some way trans. Besides me just thinking that’d be neat (source: I’m trans), it’d also have some fascinating story implications.

Like, Buddy has some pretty heavy identity issues, what with him thinking he has to fit the role of the villain, because he doesn't know how to act outside of that. Chase then shows him he can be more than the expectations placed on him by others. Buddy being transmasc would defensively fit into this too.

It also fits with the story’s themes of breaking conventions. We already see that with Chase and Buddy’s having two keys of the four keys that are gendered — and also the only two specifically stated to be for a female role. What else would be a bigger upheaval of conventions, though, than for the personification of the villainess role to actually be a man?

There could definitely be something there too, of Buddy feeling trapped in the wrong body by resenting being a key.

Do I think the story will go down this route? Eh, probably not. But it’s fun to think about! (I think that’s how I’d describe the whole “Buddy is a key theory” in general).

In terms of evidence against this, barring what I’ve already talked about, there’s one thing. However it's in a fastpass episode, and I’m hesitant to say anything about it because I’d feel really really bad for spoiling anything. It's not that major, but I’m going to be on the safe side. Just take my word that it’s pretty solid proof Buddy and Violet are not the same person. (It’s from that scene in ep. 53, if anybody wanted to know.)

Side Note: This section might be the best place to add this, but the name Violet comes from the Latin ‘Viola’. The most well known use of this name is the main character in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. She spends the majority of the play disguised as a man to work for a duke and ends up falling in love with him. Not trying to say this is how it’ll work in Cinderella Boy, but I just think it’s interesting.

Anyway, the next and last option.

3. Buddy is not a key, Buddy is not Violet, but is related to her in some other way

Somehow the theory I believe the most in is the one I’m the least sure how to explain, lmao.

Based on everything I’ve said, I’m pretty sure Buddy is a human. At least from a narrative standpoint it’d make the most sense, because Chase dating one of the keys just seems kind of… weird? (But maybe liking keys runs in the Hollow family, who knows.)

If Buddy was a key, then the other keys would be his family. He really just doesn’t talk about them like that, though. In Rules of Engagement II, he calls Silver “it” and “your key”, and I just don’t think the keys would do that to each other.

So, my other explanation as to why Buddy and Violet look similar is that Buddy is partially a key. How? Why? Great questions because I also don’t know. The closest answers I have are almost purely speculation.

Maybe Violet is Buddy’s mom?? Walk with me here.

By mom I mean like, some kind of magic was used to either create a human version of Violet or infuse some of her powers into a human.

It would account for their positive relationship, considering she’s willing to make Buddy pretty outfits. It’d also explain why Buddy has a lot of attributes of a key (omniscient knowledge of a book, needing to see the story to completion, etc), and make all the key symbolism around him more metaphorical.

Unless she is literally his mom. (Don’t ask me how that’d work because again I don’t know.) In All That Glitters III he hesitates before he says his key did his hair.

Assuming that Violet actually was involved and he didn’t do his hair himself, what was he going to call her? Mom? Sister? Second cousin once removed? Friend? Maybe after his and Chase’s little talk at the end of Beach Boys he realized “oh yeah Violet would be a familial figure/friend.” I’m not sure, but I thought I’d bring it up.

As for the ‘why’ — perhaps Ex Libris wanted someone who is like a key but can also gather Narratonin. Yknow, for efficiency or something.

It’d tie back into Buddy’s identity issues, too. Because yeah I’d also be pretty messed up if I was created for a specific purpose that my entire worth hinges upon. I’d also be really pissed if Some Guy chose to just waltz into the stories, chose to deviate from the plots, chose to gather Narratonin — when I’ve never had those choices.

Case in point, I think this option is the most likely because I really don’t believe Buddy is a key. But I also don’t believe Buddy is completely unrelated to Violet.

[pigeon-ponders]

cx-2 is tech because of his movements and behavior: ❌️

cx-2 is tech bc he said "domicile": ✅️

[iamhereinthebg]

A lot of theories have been out with the new tbhk chapter (101). And one I saw several times is the idea that Amane was a clock keeper of the present when he was alive. 

It’s understandable to see that so many people think this with the new chapter which seems to go into a new clock keepers arc, who are probably for now, one of the biggest question marks of the manga. 

In the new chapter, Amane is seen to repair a big clock. One which is now in a sealed auditorium. He was given the task to repair it, until the end of the festival. 

The idea of memory loss is the biggest point here. Because Hanako even remembers stuff from when he was 4.

If Amane was a clock keeper of the present, how would he have forgotten everything about them? It is possible that every clock keeper of the present forgets anything related to supernaturals once their contract ends, hence why it was never really implemented in the rumor that one of them is a human. 

Hanako is also far from being Amane, he is supernatural . Or there is the chance that he forgot all of his memories related to some stuff when he was sealed by Minamoto Grandma. He may have forgotten everything related to supernaturals involved with him when he was alive. Since we have no idea if he remembers Nene from when she traveled in time during the festival. 

 There are a lot of possibilities on why Hanako may have forgotten about all of this. 

Time is also a theme which is recurrent in a lot of things that concern Amane/Hanako. And this new page seems to highlight it.

Hanako is a ghost, a being stopped in Time. Time being stopped has a lot of time been associated with death in tbhk. And he is obsessed with Time, the idea to stop and manipulate it, and he has been since a long time in the manga. His first idea to save Nene was probably linked to the clock keepers, and he has a strange interest in Akane and his powers, going as far as to try to blackmail him to have something out of him. He wishes to stop Nene’s time or time in general. To save Nene, to enjoy the present, and to prevent his friends from moving on without him. 

Amane is the only human who got his fate changed. Aoi and Nene were about to have it changed too. I strongly believe that a supernatural being/occurence needs to be here for a fate to change. It’s not a stretch to imagine for Amane, that all those back and forth in time altered his fate. With Nene going back in time to see him twice, stealing a key in the first memory, and making him accidentally make a wish to see her again in the second. Tsukasa also has been back in the future and back to his time, and a supernatural thing was always the cause of it. 

So did the clock keepers change Amane’s fate or at least push him into this direction?

Even if Amane wasn’t a part of the clock keepers, there is a high chance that this clock is still linked to them. If the clock he was repairing was the clock keeper’s, then he would have had his time taken away, as the rumor said.

But it’s heavily implied that Amane killed himself. I personally don’t think it’s the clock keepers’ clock, because the one presented in the mysteries meeting is way closer in terms of imagery to the clock keepers’ clocks. It may be though, the clock keepers’ clock from the rumor. 

The clock we see during the mysteries’ meeting is probably in a boundary, so far away from human’s eyes. The one people may have seen may be the grand clock Amane is repairing. Amane may have been known for trying to fix this clock, and he died. People definitely knew he did, a (probably) murder-suicide in school would have been talked about between students, resulting in creating or altering the rumor of the clock keepers. Rumors and Legends always have a part of truth, but a lot of things in the rumors told by humans are wrong. About n°2, n°4, n°6 and even °7. Even if this is a stretch I still think it’s interesting to point it out.

There are a lot of question marks around this plot tbh or if this is even a real theory. There is also a lot which doesn't really add up for Amane to be part of the clock keepers.

The first one is the most obvious. The lack of reaction when Hanako met the clock keepers. Even if Hanako is really good at hiding stuff he doesn’t want people to see, his reaction to the clock is absolutely not controlled. Hanako never talks about himself, or at least tries not to divulge information. When he talks to Nene here, it’s mostly from shock, because he knows something happened, but he can’t remember what and why he was asked to take care of this clock. He fears not remembering things because he has no control over it. He acts like this in all his encounters with Tsukasa for example. When he meets the clock keepers, either in flashback or just meeting Akane, he has absolutely no reaction contrary to the way he is in front of the grand clock in the auditorium. If he was part of the clock keepers for 1-2 years (since he died at 13) I think he would have some reaction if it was such a big part of his last years of life. 

 The mysteries are absolutely awful at socializing but they still recognize and know each other, even if from far away. Some of them know what has been going on, and who has each seat. Yako and Hakubo still instantly recognized him as number 7, even if Hakubo clearly isn’t the type to go out often and Yako hasn’t seen Hanako in a long time. The only one who is not well known is, understandably, Akane who has been here only for 3-4 years.

The only character who knows absolutely everything that is going on, is number 5, Tsuchigomori. Who is also Amane’s teacher. I think their relationship would have been different if Amane was involved with supernaturals. He calls him Yugi and not by any number and he acts a lot with Amane, playing the role of the teacher, which he rarely does when he is known to be supernatural by the person in front of him.  I am pretty sure Tsuchigomori and Akane know each other from far away, Tsuchigomori dropped the biggest set up about Akane not being fully human after all when talking to Nene. 

I won’t cross the idea that AidaIro just wanted to hide it if Amane was a clock keeper, but I still think it’s strange. Especially when we know that this memory we see in the 4pm bookstacks is coming from Tsuchi and not Hanako.

So except if Hanako has lost all memories of the clock keepers (which is a pretty weak plot point in my opinion) I don’t think Amane was the clock keeper of the present. 

After all, what do we know about the clock keepers and especially the one of the present for now? 

I think there is a possibility that Akane is the first human clock keeper.

Let’s only focus on what we know in the manga for now,  it is pretty obvious that Hanako doesn’t know where the boundary of the clock keepers is. 

And it leads to some questions: We can see that Hanako here is talking with two clock keepers, except if Mirai can change shape, it is safe to assume that those two here are the clock keepers of the present and the past. 

Why would Hanako say this if he actually met the clock keeper of the present before? The first idea is that it is someone like Tsuchigomori, but Akane is human. Even if it makes sense for the representative of the present to be like this (he is living in the present with people contrary to all supernaturals) the idea that the present is a human, or at least, hiding as a student, is also a supernatural’s only rumor. This is something the humans who spread rumors never ever heard about.

 Number 6 seems rather shocked/confused to see a human stopping time. Akane can’t hide his presence from other supernaturals even with his glasses. Hakubo didn’t check if he was related to the supernaturals or not when Akane was not even wearing his glasses. Was he even aware of the fact that one of the clock keepers was human in the first place?

As I said before, If the clock keepers of the present were humans even before Akane, the only reason I can think of for them to never say anything or just continue with their life is because they forget everything once the contract ends.

The fact that the Minamotos never interfered when they did with Number 7 in the past (Minamoto grandma) is also pretty strange. Supernaturals, especially the mysteries aren’t supposed to drag humans with them or hurt them. Teru said that the mysteries are a threat now after the story with Yako and how she put students’ lives at risk. The clock keepers endangered  Aoi and Akane’s life. If they always used such methods to recruit each clock keeper of the present and then turned a human half supernatural, I think it’s enough to make n° 1 at the top of the ‘to exorcize’ list of the Minamotos. Teru even insists on the fact that he let things slide only because Akane is human.

 Another big point, is the names. Even in a bonus Hanako doesn't hesitate to name a dog with Nene and Kou. 

If the clock keeper of the present before Akane was human, they would have already given a name to them in my opinion. It’s a natural thing humans do, not caring/giving names is a really supernaturals thing.  Hakubo never had a name before Sumire gave him one either, his master despite being his parental figure never had a name, the mysteries call each other only by numbers (or insults). Sumire gave him one because she acknowledges him as a person she cares about, contrary to all the exorcists who had to give him orders before. Mirai uses the name Akane gave her to name herself a lot, even Kako reacts when he is being called. Akane doesn’t even like the clock keepers, says that he doesn’t care about how supernaturals are called but he still gave them names because they didn’t have any before he became one.

Mirai is canonly stupid, like really stupid.  Kako has more restraint so it makes sense for him to show absolutely nothing. But Mirai is really really attached to Akane, she doesn’t hesitate to jump on him or annoy him whenever she wants.  And she is also the one who noticed Akane when he was only a first year to recruit him. I really think if Amane had anything to do with the clock keepers she wouldn’t be able to hide it. Especially if she gets attached like this to the clock keeper of the present. 

Even if Akane is not the first human clock keeper of the present. I still hope we will have answers on what they really are and on how they are chosen, and where are the ones who were here before Akane, what happened to them?

 We are close to a new clock keepers arc with all the clocks imagery in this chapter. The clock keepers also have the power that most people want to use and which is acknowledged even by strong characters as a real advantage/threat since the beginning of the manga. A power that both side has been trying to have (mostly Hanako vs Teru first and now probably the main characters vs the broadcasting club). They also are the oldest mystery, and Kako always appears to have a lot of authority even if he isn’t techically the leader.

Natsuhiko coming to see Akane at the end of the chapter is also for something. The manga has been building up the fact that Akane is the weak link of the three and he has been approached by nearly half of the cast at this point. And not to have his help as Akane, but clearly because he is n°1. He has less knowledges than the other two, and mostly he is human. He has weaknesses and is mortal, he is way easier to approach and blackmail than the other two even if he is as he says ‘the lowest of the clock keepers’.

The next arc will probably be about number 1, and the grand clock has something to do with them. The red house imagery having so many clocks and the Yugis having so much time travel in their story must be for something.

I also really wonder what will happen if the grand clock start moving again and what needs to be done for making it work.

I can’t wait to see what AidaIro plan to do with all these characters and how linked to the clock keepers the Yugi backstory will be.

[butterflieswhisper]

hiiii ^^ beastlife fishie analysis. spoilers ahead. etc etc

okay so. the main point of this is simple. I don't think the salmon head cursed c!fishie. Explaining that is the harder part I think. also i'm going to refer to the salmon head thing in e5 as "the incident" from here on out because frankly i think it's funny

Let's start with the incident. The big day. etc. What happened? Why did it happen? Obligatory third questioning statement? Well. She was gifted the salmon head for her birthday by kiwi(or like. someone in the kiwibird system. -bird system. the birds). Immediately upon receiving it she relives parts of season one and fishie herself doesn't really acknowledge it. The other players definitely notice but im not caught up enough in any other pov yet to like have thoughts on that I'll come back to that point someday. Fishie seems shaken, sure, but she moves on so quickly, especially considering what happened just there. 37 seconds of standing frozen, unresponsive. she recovers in 5 seconds. And seeing how she reacts later on to realizing the memory situation--if she was aware that happened, she would probably be concerned by it. She puts it on for a brief second at the end of the party and takes it off immediately. She's otherwise normal -- well. as normal as she is otherwise up to that point. Because that is also how she acts with pretty much any salmon head, even just kiwi herself.

I raise: Episode one, about 8:20 in. The slow zoom on kiwi as the static overtakes every other noise. This is the *exact* same behavior displayed when fishie receives the salmon head, albeit without actual concrete old video footage style flashbacks. In episode two (28:55ish) the same thing happens when she looks at the salmon head in moch's house, but this time there is technically a flashback -- kiwis grave. Fishie moves on immediately and doesn't acknowledge her behavior at all, and, seeing as it is fishie, im inclined to believe that means she does not know she is doing it. Fishie (when alone) will discuss all of her problems in immense, and usually misguided detail (bestie i promise kiwi doesn't hate you???) to the audience and/or herself. I mean she's not alone in episode one, and it is technically presession, and i guess getting struck by lightning is a decent distraction from your problems, but in episode two? She is completely alone. There is nobody with her. She went looking for moch and moch is not there. She still doesn't acknowledge the fiveish seconds she is completely frozen. This happens again and again with kiwi and salmon heads.

And then that leads you to e5. The incident. She's. well. she's doing worse. 0:50. "This will distract me if i leave it up." This is the first mention from fishie herself about how fucking weird she's being, and even then she doesn't seem concerned. I think she does not realize she's being so so incredibly weird about it. If the static and freezing is what's referred to as "distraction" then keeping it in her inventory makes it worse actually so it wouldn't really make sense unless the way it is distracting her is NOT the. well. whatever the fuck is wrong with her (affectionate). After she puts the head on there's the static all the time but for a short brief amount of time she's like significantly more normal and i don't really know if that means anything i just think it's really funny.

And then we all know what goes on during the incident i'm not analyzing this video frame by frame. um. i could. but i am not going to right now. And then she has the conversation on the table with kiwi where she like is normal for 5 minutes. Like genuinely the most. i guess stable? fishie's thought process is is like in the moments directly after the incident. She is immediately understanding with the antikiwi situation, they come to an agreement that they're like. okay now. "thank you for everything and im so sorry i couldnt do more" / "it was short, but it was nice" "i knew what i was getting into when i married you" etc etc and then they kind of rush it at the end because people won't stop dying. But then fishie is fishie and takes it in the complete opposite extreme (from. um. whatever was wrong up until now. to "oh kiwibird must secretly hate me because" and then there's no real good reason she's just like that) and it's also an issue. And i think the season two memory thing is also a part of that but this is so long already and so i'm not going to get into it rn. So bringing all of this back to my original point: the salmon head was not the cause of the curse(?) because she's been so weird all the time forever and the salmon head thing was just like. an effect. of whatever went Wrong(tm) in the season transition. like the head was a vessel to Be Worse about it but i feel like it would have worked with any salmon head she got her hands on and that it happened to be kiwico was a coincidence and also that the head wasn't cursed at all there's just something deeply wrong with fishie s3 in general and uh yeah 👍

I'm so sorry this is so disjointed i had a thesis statement and everything. alas

[funnyjokespuns]

Hello your sleeping beauty art is scrumptious. Also what is the sus quest like. Does everyone get in on it. Or bad touch. What about that.

You don't have to answer ofc.

Awee thanks im glad people like my stuff!

As for the queries… Well… When you’ve got someone like loop, who has done the house over and over again, yet completely fumbles at other things… and generally seems uncomfortable with everyone… Other Ideas Begin Appearing.

That is to say: I havent *fully* thought out sus quest yet (i forget it exists half the time, to be honest, since i never did it) but it ends up being pretty central! Things which might have caused siffrin to loop back immediately might not have quite the same effect with loop, if you catch my drift…

Bad touch, though! I think about it so much anyways so i will say this! Nope!

Well. Not really, at least. Loop wouldn’t dare. Less out of respect for isa, even (not like they dont respect him. He’s isa. Duh.) but more out of “i could Never do this to someone who isn’t Mine” complications. No smooching! It’s not allowed! Not as if there isn’t any equivalent interactions that make loop feel Worse, though. Everything hurts just a little bit more when you know you can never really have it all back

(or… can you?)

[lunaryuwu]

the interrogation questions dont help with progressing the theories but it does help with progressing the angst and honestly im all for it

[chirpsythismorning]

I haven't been active in the byler fandom, why would redditors be mad at the play being canon?

Most, not all, but most active reddit users on the ST sub have been bombarded with byler evidence for the last year. So to remain sane through it all, they have resorted to insisting that almost every detail fans come across and try to share on the sub, are just mere coincidences.

This is because they've realized that if they are considering other really minor details meaning something bigger, that means they might have to start considering the possibility that the details pointing to byler are also intentional. This is how they cope.

You would think after saying 'it's just a coincidence' for the hundredth time, they might be starting to rethink their position on things, but the reality of the situation just isn't setting in I guess (aka they don't want it to happen so they are refusing to let themselves truly consider it until they have no choice).

The reason I still partake in the reddit sub, despite losing braincells over half the takes on there, is bc there are still a handful of users that are really smart and do great analysis on the supernatural side of the show, in particular things I have no knowledge on at all and would greatly benefit from looking at to expand my understanding of things and different perspectives.

The really smart ones that exist are usually indifferent to the romantic arcs in the show, although they do have a milkvan bias bc the straight bait is straight baiting. And so these are the few posts theorizing, that consider the details meaning something more, that just so happen to get support from the hardcore milkvans on there. And it's bc as long as it's coming from someone who doesn't think byler is going to happen, they will listen.

I will say the one thing that is sort of obnoxious about all of this is that regular fans without any ship bias, will pop on there semi-regularly with a post, accompanied by basic common sense questions like, 'wait this makes no sense...' or 'why did they do this this way?' in many cases, with the confusion surrounding the build up of Mike and El and Will's role in all that. These people aren't milkvans or bylers, they are just fans picking up on obvious subtext and they are looking for insight about it from fans. And every time they get bombarded with condescending and bitter milkvans that are having to defend mike and el's honor, and s4 really made this a full time job for them lmao. That sort of resentment has manifested into hating anything and everything that considers deeper meaning in relation to Will and Mike, but especially in Will's case. Because that's the thing, they have to deny any importance of Will's role bc Will being important fucking terrifies them. It means that everything could be important basically. It's their worst nightmare and they will hound you for even speculating something. It's insufferable to watch unfold honestly.

I say all of this bc it's important in the context of the play, given that there are a lot of theories out there swirly around, theories that mostly reside on Tumblr. Many of those theories are viewed by redditors as being crack theories that have no evidence supporting them (bc they come from bylers), like the weirdness around Alice not being in the play (and potentially connecting to Karen), or the fact that they insisted the silhouette of Henry's actor right before the cast announcement couldn't be him bc he was too old to be Henry (umm time shenanigans, duh), or that the truth about Brenner's involvement runs a lot deeper than everyone assumes.

And so naturally, leading up to the play, a lot of active (very vocal) redditors in both the main sub and the Hawkins AV Club sub, have commented on posts related to the play, trying so hard to convince others (themselves) that this play is not canon and we shouldn't waste our time with it because it wont matter in the context of everything going on in the literal show. They go as far as to insist it's not canon, even though it already was said to be canon.

And now with this post, they are again having to face the reality this show is a lot deeper than they have had to insist it to is combat byler speculation. All byler evidence is seen as reaching to them. And they'll do everything they can to insist anything bylers are speculating is delusional, which includes theories surrounding the play. All of that denial has led us to this moment, which will only hurt their ego as time goes on and they are being hit with sign after sign after sign... that it might just be that deep.

[triglycercule]

This is a question related to the mtt hobbies answer that you wrote, the murder trio go around the multiverse and live in a place together, then what happend to horrortale au and horrortale papyrus? If the murder trio got to meet horrortale papyrus how would it go? (The meeting propably wouldnt end well with more canon mtt haha)

aaaaa i dont think it through to be honest when i talk about that concept. they just do. maybe horrortale's issues are already solved and aliza's already gone through horrortale and somehow fixed the hellhole (ALIZA MY GOAT PLEASE SAVE HORRORTALE I DON'T CARE IF IT TAKES 10 YEARS‼️‼️‼️) by the time that horror somehow meets dust and killer (since i dont see a feasible way that horrortale could be fixed outside of aliza or outside intervention.) or maybe he just visits from time to time. and by time to time i mean probably quarterly weekly. idk sorry i cant be bothered to think about it,,, they just do. anyways bad answer i KNOW I KNOW put the tomatoes down pls PLS

if the mtt met horror paps? horror would obviously do his little bantering thing with paps (he's probably revealing every single one of horror's embarrassing moments to them as they speak and horror's desperately trying to get him to shut up because he can tell. dust and killer are piiiiiiissed.) dust is probably like eerily calm during the whole thing. he manages to hold up a conversation pretty well with horror paps and gets along with him good enough without mentioning that theres a ghost version of him screaming asking why dust is ignoring phantom paps. meanwhile killer is mostly silent during it too probably only responding when he's spoken too. i mean like killer already doesn't like being around papyruses (papyri? papyri is so shitty i dont like it we will be saying papyruses) and then seeing horror's papyrus??? what the FUCK happened to horror paps??? sunken in eyes and cracks in his bones and those jagged teeth AND THEN THE FUCKING CROOKED SPAGHETTI????

needless to say once horror paps is gone all of them get into a biiiiig fight. dust drops the cool act because he's not gonna lose his cool around a papyrus but also he's absolutely fuming. he can tell that the changes that phantom papyrus has gone through have something to do with horror with the way that he's acting. killer is also incredibly irritated too (surpringly. being around papyruses just gets him like that) and seeing papyrus like that just gets him upset and angry. like wtf horror did you even TRY with keeping your papyrus safe??? at least killer reset his au and now papyrus is living an unharmed life (with minor concerns about killer's whereabouts but he'll ignore that for now) but horror paps looks so fucked up that there is no WAY that horror tried to prevent him from getting to that point

obviously they fight and many many many many MANY words are said about eachother's characters and the state they left their respective papyruses in. horror knows damn well that horrortale paps's state is because of him but he regretted telling paps to eat humans and neither dust nor killer knew the struggle of living with that guilt and how much he regrets it so they dont get to drag him for not trying hard enough to keep papyrus safe. dust is definitely getting some low blows here and there (but he's getting fucking assisted by phantom paps so he's got some of the deepest hitting insults) and he's definitely getting ganged up on for killing his papyrus and like. not even attempting to leave him alive in someway shape and form aside from the absolute insult that is phantom paps. surprisingly killer is winning this fight because he left his papyrus in a relatively good state. even though he's in a more emotional state than he normally is and would've absolutely OBLITERATED dust and horror in the fight in stage 2 he's actually doing pretty well. probably because hororr and dust dont really have anything to drag him on. they might bring up how something new papyrus is searching for killer but like,,,, is that really that bad compared to how they left their papyruses

[nthflower]

I don't care about denji's sexuality but I think about his gender a lot right now.

[fridayyy-13th]

sooo i hear you finished malevolent

indeed i did!! holy shit!!! it was amazing! and now i can finally unblock the “Malevolent spoilers” tag!

various thoughts (i have many but here’s a handful):

listening to the first episode, after John asked Arthur to look in the mirror and said he had the demeanor of someone not to be fucked with, i thought “…i’m sorry but no. this man is a sad wet cat. get him a warm blanket”

speaking of part 1, i was listening to it in the backseat of a car with headphones in so that was a game of turning up the volume to hear dialogue over the road sounds and turning it down to not demolish my eardrums when John shouted

by the time i was wrapping up part 4, i started to wonder if “John Doe” was a name the fandom made up for him, but when he explained to Arthur that he really liked the name and wanted to be called that…my heart absolutely melted. can you tell John’s my favorite? he’s my favorite :)

the one bit where Arthur is asked questions directly tied to everything that had happened since being bound with John? fucking impeccable. i would’ve said “ohh shit” aloud if i weren’t in public at the time

at some point i saw a post about someone taking an empty wrapping paper tube and mimicking John’s “Arthur!”

i tried it

it very much worked

i was promptly ecstatic due to this revalation. the tube wasn’t empty but it still worked great lol

speaking of John’s “Arthur!,” the way his tone shifted from part 1 vs part 28 still makes me emotional. holy shit

Kayne! what a guy. motherfucker. i had glimpsed some fanart of him eating popcorn or something before reaching part 28 so when i heard crunching in the background of That Part i was just like “ah. that’s why. Goddammit.” he’s a lot of fun and i like him a lot

ough hearing Yellow alongside Larson. Fear. excitement for what that means for the story, but also Fear.

during my binge i was working on a lego set i got for Christmas, of the house from Home Alone, and i legitimately nearly cried while hunched over that lego set when Arthur played Faroe’s Song right before John came back

and speaking of John coming back! Kayne said he had some sort of ulterior motive! what the heck! i haven’t seen much in the way of theories yet but John’s slip-up about being gone for a long time, i definitely don’t think he’s telling the truth. that said, i don’t think he wants to hurt Arthur in any way. especially considering he was trying his damndest to save him during that entire conversation

the piano strings guy. holy shit. what was he called? the butcher? absolutely terrifying, and now he’s coming after John and Arthur. fun!

the dynamic between Arthur and John is incredible. not romantic not platonic but a secret third thing (*vague gesture in their direction that does not explain what the third thing is*). they’re just Them. not to mention i nearly cried over the fact that before John named himself, when he and Arthur still didn’t like each other, Arthur still took to calling him “friend.” i’m shaking them like a pair of glowsticks.

absolutely cannot wait for part 29. i’m so excited to see where this story goes.

[torgawl]

fontaine and furina having this theatrical motif around them has always felt intentional. the way furina was characterised in the first two patches almost being the personification of the ostentacious nature of european, and more precisely, the french monarchy has always come across as aforethought. the same way furina was presented as not having her nation's sympathy and indulging in her own pleasures is very akin to marie antoinette, as we all probably know (and this makes even more sense now knowing she has a similar fate of being sentenced to death by the guillotine, which we can almost infer is also related to treason by acting against the security of the "french state" or genshin's version of it: fontaine). now, to make my point i want to quote a few characters and expand a little on what i have interpreted of them.

let's start with lyney who is introduced and has a bit of a monologue on magic in the teaser for fontaine.

"the essence of magic is getting people to believe a lie. and the most important part of this is what people see."

lyney tells us, the viewer, the interpretation of a lie depends enterily on what you see and how you see it. doesn't this resonate perfectly with the title for fontaine's last archon quest and the theme that was presented to us all the way back to toy teyvat's teaser narrated by dainsleif, "masquerade of the guilty"?

"people don't realize how much they expect their eyes to tell them the truth. but it's not real it's all a show. and every part of the show is carefully controlled. controlled how? by choosing the right time, the right place and the right people."

i pointed out how lyney talks to us as the viewers because i think we're very quick to exclude ourselves from being seen as a character. it's easy to infer that a major plan is taking place thinking of one character (or a group of characters) fooling the others. but i always thought it was curious the way these things and the emphasis on being part of a play was pointed to us (you and me, if that makes sense) like we were going to be the ones fed a lie so that the curtain could fall eventually at the end. you know what's curious about this specific lyney quote? how the camera pans to clorinde and neuvillette as we heard the words "the right people". specially after seeing the trailer for the last part of the archon quest, having neuvillette aknowledge he now knows his role and hearing furina say at the end she hopes he enjoyed his part in the play ties perfectly with this.

"but keep your eyes peeled, and you might be able to turns thing to your advantage."

weather you think of yourself as the viewer or not, this phrase feels like a presage for what the future might look like.

after lyney's monologue, arlecchino chimes in and the conversation stirs a little.

"in a nutshell, magic is what you see with your own two eyes. very fun, but it's not enough."

she seems to be indicating that having a trick inst enough, that making people believe the lie is what makes the show. this trick has to be so perfect and believable that it's impossible to see through which she then compliments with:

"let me make something clear. you think of yourselves as magicians. but when you're on the stage, you're first and foremost actors. good actors hone their craft to mesmerize the whole crowd."

arlecchino makes a distinction between magicians and actors and, this way, the narrative of being part of a play is introduced once again. which makes me think of her hand creeping out from behind furina in one of the posters for the next update. so it has me wondering what her part of the play may be. seeing arlecchino characterised as a wolf in sheep's clothing and someone who would betray the tsaritsa in a heartbeat almost makes me wish for that to be the case. but i also wonder if she is doing something in exchange for the hydro gnosis. theories apart, she's definitely weaving her threads in there somehow.

i could skip the next part since we already know the furina we meet is but a superficial layer of who furina actually is and her role as the hydro archon. but the way she is introduced in the fontaine teaser really ties with everything mentioned in this post, making it clear she's the main character in the play.

"ugh boring! why do I even bother? when are we going to finally see a real twist for once?"

she's described by dainsleif in the teyvat teaser as someone who "lives for the spectacle of the courtroom" as we all have seen through the first patches. it also correlates to the whole theme of justice as entertainment which many people have expanded upon. she asks to see "a real twist" and who better to do that if not the queen of flamboyance herself?

i wanted to point all of this out because, since the beginning, i think it's been obvious furina as a character was always implied to have people change their view on her. not only by other characters but also us, who are part of this big play by following fontaine's story. this was highlighted by the sheer difference in the way traveller is treated or used in fontaine compared to other regions, having other characters play the big important moments as if we were side characters (loss of protagonism), and the ammount of control we are given over (our influence in court and our role as a lawyer, for example). this change in opinion furina was fated to have has always beem hinted to be triggered by some sort of sacrifice. being so influenced by marie antoinette, having furina turn into a scapegoat or a martyr and getting people's respect after death (either real or metaphorical) feels to fit the narrative. this is why players not liking furina has never really bothered me. i believe furina was not characterised - when she was introduced to us - to be liked, quite the opposite. it was faux, a way to manipulate our own perception and opinion on her. i think part of our "role" was to be tricked, much like what we are hinted at throughout the narrative.

[lilliekun]

Hi tumblr, hi twisted wonderland fandom, 'tis be my first post on this website that I never thought I'd make but given the recent reveals about chapter 7 I HAD to make one

Spoilers alert maybe ?

So they apparently revealed Sebek's grandpa's name to be something along the lines of "Bauru"

Bauru seems to be a shorter version of the name Baurusuchus, which is a genus of crocodilians from the late cretaceous

And, also, it happens to be one ancestor of another genus of ancient crocodilian, called Sebecus

[red-dyed-sarumane]

hiii this is unprompted but how did you figure out that the aru sekai series is like. a series

hiya! i figured it out when kyuuyaku was posted. i'd already been listening to aru sekai shoushitsu a lot before that so when it got to about 4:48 in kyuuyaku & mainly 5:16 i was like WAIT A SECOND. THATS THE SAME AS MELODY AS THOSE LYRICS IN ARU SEKAI ISNT IT??? & it was. the nami no ne no lyrics/melody. which made me actually look at the lyrics and see that hey the first part of shoushitsu starts with kyuu & kyuuyaku hankagai ALSO starts with kyuu (same kanji) & it's emphasized in the video too. & then when shuuen touhikou was posted the shuu is the next kanji in that order in the shoushitsu lyrics AS WELL AS it also has the same melody mixed in in the back of the chorus (say, 1:19 for example is the first instance). & every song in the series up until kugutsu ashura has that same melody or at least part of it Somewhere. so that really cemented it for me. theres other ways to tell besides that but thats how i realized it.

[midnight197]

I have a little theory/explanation of how the Circle works exactly. (maybe) Especially the Circle of Reincarnation.

First you get born and if you get killed by anything, your consciousness and memories transfer through the circle to the next timeline in which you didn't die.

If you die at old age, it kinda works similar. But instead of waking up as yourself again, you get reborn. Maybe as the same species, maybe as a different one. Maybe it depends on the amount of Karma you had when you died.

So I think it could be very likely, that some of the Ancient, didn't ascent, but instead got reborn as a different species instead, when they died at old age

[daz4i]

yknow it would honestly be really poggers if someone (fyodor/dazai/fukuchi is likely) ever broke the fourth wall and like acknowledged that they're in a story. idk if there's a chance of this happening but if it did then that'd be cool