#htp theory

[chaseszombies]

Something I noticed in the latest HTP audiolog. Young Markus has a gameboy a full year before it came out. Maybe a writing mistake OR evidence that D stole a prototype gameboy for his son. I like my theory best because its heartwarming and hilarious to imagine.

[machinepixie]

RAMBLY HUNTER THE PARENTING THEORY.

EPISODE 4 SPOILERS AHOY!

PROBABLY SKIP THIS IF YOU ARENT COMFORTABLE WITH TOPICS IN HUNTER THE PARENTING. BLOOD, GORE, MENTAL HEALTH RELATED TOPICS DISCUSSED WITHIN.

heads up my knowledge of WTA is not oh-so-deep, ive mostly just been on the sidelines of one particular campaign at one point. i know a good bit but my knowledge is largely as a mage player.

i think simon "spit" spires is a werewolf or other kind of rage-plagued werefolk, and just underwent his first change.

not sure if its a late change. possibly? i forget the specifics of when things happen.

triggered by the stress of his adhd medication withdrawal amongst other things, overstimulation, a spiral of anxiety and such.

fatigue is a scholar of lycanthrope lore also if you catch it early on. could have possibly noticed when listening to spit venting to him that he is at the very least a kinfolk or associate with werewolf kind, pointing it out, being the full on catalyst for that change.

first changes are often blind, violent rages, far from the more methodical killing of a vampire or their minions, hence the heavy gore and viscera, ending with spit in a state of horror, and confusion, a possible state after a first change.

smaller little thing. i think the blood test could be one aggravating factor in spit's anxiety spiral, as he may be worried it would out him as a kinfolk or as the potential mole. so, spit could very much be another mole, asked to befriend the son of a hunter. i forget if anything was stated about if git and spit knew brok for a while. being afraid of discovery would not help this situation

additional thing: i also think possibly some of the nightmarish things spit is thinking is from a bubbling of rage, boiling to the surface, he's horrified, he's rejecting those thoughts.

ANOTHER THING THATS IMPORTANT TO NOTE BY THE WAY: i do not want to simply say "oh these adhd symptoms mean he's a werewolf!!1!!!!!1!!" though, i myself am adhd and i dont want to seem like im just accusing this poor guy of being a werewolf for just having a breakdown, bless him, this could be a red herring or me overthinking about this.

(i dont think this is insensitive as a theory but if this comes off as such, my apologies.)

im spitballing and trying to sort this now after the rush of the new episode.

thanks for reading. cant wait for more HTP this series is awesome.

edit: forgot to mention literal claw markings.

[voidscreamintheories]

Kitten: Theory of a "Hunter"

Spoilers for Hunter The Parenting

So Kitten. He is our happy lil Br*tish hunter. He also is always wearing ski goggles, a sweater, and full face covering. Even in the one flashback image we have of him. As always we must acknowledge the DNA this series pulls from: Kitten was the Captain General in TTS, this is why he uses a spear with a gun and a stake at the end in HTP, it's a guardian spear by way of hunter. It was a running gag in TTS that his helmet was never removed, even all of his other garments were. Side tangent, 1. WHAT WAS SHE THINKING 2. I hope desperately Lockwarden and Santodes return in HTP, because both of those characters were immaculate and we didn't get enough of them. Side tangent complete.

TTS acknowledgement aside, let us consider what Kitten might be. In the audiolog between Kitten and Big D, kitten seems to question the existence of some supernatural creatures, like the witch. Yet two of them he is unphased by them being mentioned: The vampires, which makes sense as the family is hunting vamps and Kitten has fought a vamp (important later). And the werewolves. This is the sticking point to me: Kitten not only is unphased about the existence of werewolves, he in fact says "wait hang on you know about werewolves" to Big D. Now that's a might curious, why wouldn't Big D, master-hunter and well known supernaturalist know about werewolves, and even more so, why would Kitten know and Big D not?

My theory is that Kitten IS a were creature. But not a wolf. In World of Darkness there are a few species of shapechangers like the werewolves. The wolves are the most common, but the other kinds know of each other's existence as well. I propose that Kitten is a werecat. Not only this, I suspect Kitten is a specific kind of werecat, a metis (can someone who knows more about WoD tell me is this is pronounced Met-iss, a made up word, or May-tea, a real word for a real world group of people who this does not necessarily apply to). A metis (in world of darkness, not the real world ethno-cultural group) is a shapechanger born to two shapechanger parents. When they are born they come out in their warform, the half-human-half-animal "hollywood monster" form. These shapechangers often have malformations of some variety, and this can include very obvious animal features even in human form. Say for example, cat ears and fur. I think Kitten wears his ski stuff, and has ears on his hood because he is a lil catboy under that hood. As a werecat he would be familiar with the shapechanger culture and practices, he'd know about other shapechangers (notice in the black shuck story at one point he says "and it is [black shuck]" not "and it PROBABLY is", maybe because he actually knows who black shuck is?), and he'd be supernaturally strong. Perhaps even strong enough to overcome a vampire that just fed. Kitten describes his encounter with the vamp at college, with maybe a Ventrue or Torreador vamp (I think Ventrue because he was charismatic but had a need for a violent feeding), while these clans aren't the normal muscle for the vamps, they are stronger than humans. Yet Kitten managed to beat this vampire, even though he was hopped up on blood. I think our lil cat boy was using his own supernatural strength. Another thing mentioned around this story is the tragedy that befell Kitten's parents, which left him with the house. If they are shapechangers, there is the potential that Kitten killed them during his first change, a not uncommon occurence in Garou families. There's also the possibility that his parents were killed in the war that all Garou are fighting, or because they broke the litany (werewolf mascarade) by having a metis child.

Now. Problems. Both Grimal and Markus have cannonically "broken that boy". Now is Kitten a "sorry babe, the ski mask stays ON during sex" type gamer? Or do Grimal and Markus both know? Not sure! Grimal could probably be convinced he was just REALLY into cosplay, I bet. And Markus may have known about Kitten being a cat from their childhood, depending when they first met.

But! This lets me talk more about garou society as evidence for Kitten being a cat. In shapechanger society, a metis is often hidden from the public until they can control their form, so as to not give the game away on werewolves being real. Maybe Kitten was isolated as a child, making it harder for him to interact with other kids when he did eventually get his form *more* under control. Maybe in the time before he was allowed in public, he became a true gamer. Maybe Markus was one of the few kids weird enough to hang out with him. Maybe those lack of social skills brought him closer to Grimal when they first met, two strange weirdos with similar experiences (please Alfabusa don't make Grimal the ghoul, I don't want her to get Arcanum'd)

Also! The werecats have some characteristics in their culture that might explain why our lil cat friend isn't just vibing with the other werecats. Some of the Bastet (Bastet means werecat, Keikaku means plan) are VERY curious lil fellas. They seek out hidden knowledge and talk to other garou clans to learn their secrets all the time. Maybe Kitten became a hunter because of his in-built desire to be a gatherer of lore. This would also explain how he knows all these stories, and finds secrets in games. He just HAS to know these things. This would further explain why he is SO upset about being blacklisted, he wants desperately to be able to study and learn, but has been cut off.

In brief, I believe Kitten is a werecat and his lil sweater ears are not just a fetish thing. He joined the arcanum/our hunters because it's a great way to sate his innate curiosity.

Now something to consider, as many of us know, curiosity does have a certain reputation regarding cats...

[aimzicr]

Hunter The Parenting plot thoughts (because I love mysteries and roleplaying and I keep waking up at 2am Thinking About This Plot).

Things that seem important (in various nonspecific order, though somewhat from timeline of video):

Giles is a better fighter than his mates, actually showing some skill (compared to Simon's existence as a wet towel and Brok's brute force)

Harry's focus on Highland Legend seems a bit at odds with his muscles being 'just for lifting things', given the link in pop culture with Highlanders being warriors who fight to be the only one. Still, there's more to study beyond the Hollywood thoughts, and I'm very curious to see what Scottish myths get brought up (if any). He also has access to Storage and Security.

Followup thought: if all the characters are in the World of Darkness (specifically The Reckoning/Vigil), then perhaps each staff and student's respective areas of study reference specifically to one of the games. Fatigue with The Apocalypse/Forsaken, Elise with The Dreaming/Lost (Lost seeming more appropriate because 'I haven't found a single fairy'), and so on. Horse's prophecy referenced 'kine, kindred, garou, milklings, elohim', so that's Hunter, Vampire, Werewolf, Changeling and Demons specifically mentioned. Would Harry's 'highlander studies' be on Mages or Prometheans? Will we see Wraiths/Geists, now or in the future?

Elise does not have access to Storage and Security. Also, I will respect her pronouns at all costs.

The Doctor - Scholar of Psychotronic Studies - the has taken at least two bumps over the course of the night (visible residue on her face at Occam's collapse and just before Brok kicks the door down). You can't show any withdrawal symptoms if you're high on something else (though as Chapman mentioned, even high-level drugs 'don't even compare', but it might take the edge off for a while). Considering her academic focus, she might have been able to make herself a Very Powerful Cocaine. (Actually no 'psychotronic' refers to low-budget movies so WHAT??)

Lord Fatigue - of Lycantropy (not Lycanthropy? A typo, or something else?) - I saw someone posting about him being quickest to recognise the symptoms of someone going through a change, and I highly agree. He's also a lovely old man ('toffee pud', wreathed in golden light from the Archives, etc) so maybe he just doesn't want to see anyone suffer? Kindness often gets punished in WoD games.

Brok is sitting on a different chair. His mother's chair follows him everywhere he goes, does it?

I'm calling it, Chekov's M60s Mounted On A Bus. BUT. Not for this particular arc.

If there are keys to steal, in order to get into the Archives, they would be taken from Occam, Blacklaw, Dr Waters, or Lord Fatigue.

There are no other entryways to the Archives but there may be passages around, beneath, or above the Archives. Walls thin enough to use Vampire Magic through?

Giles knows that Spit is out of Ritalin, which serves as an explanation for Spit's symptoms and proof that the guys keep an eye out for each other.

Spit seems to be the biggest red herring. Something is very wrong with him but it isn't being Ghouled (and it isn't just something that can be managed with Ritalin). Still, when he gives his blood sample, he doesn't give two drops: he hides out of sight and only delivers a blood-smeared chalice. We don't see him giving blood, and the sample is darker than the rest. Older blood? Stored and poured?

It's Elise that pickpockets Giles of all his worldly possessions (while Spit is being consoled by Fatigue). She even takes one of the smokes for herself, having it in her mouth at the top of the stairs and then as she descends. So, then, she handed the smokes over to Olivia at some point. Maybe when Elise was 'looking for Grimal at the time'. A gift? A trade?

At some point after the 'I said FOLLOW MY LEAD' fight, Blacklaw and Brok work to get the Cold Tessellation out of the wall. Where the hell did D go (and why is it under the stairs, digging through old newpapers). How did he get out of that fight?

Grimal is in the Security Room, crying, when Occam is attacked. Could she have seen who attacked Occam, or did she miss it because of her tears? ('Noises of insecurity' in the Security room is pretty funny, I'm sorry.) HOWEVER. Grimal does NOT have access to Security, according to her chapter card... but Elise did steal Giles' keys, so perhaps Elise let Grimal into the Security room? Now the question is, was the door locked behind her? Did Elise leave other doors unlocked as well?

Spit says he knows where Giles' things are. How? A good nose for it? Or just an excuse to get out of the room (where a lot of dead animals are)? He then goes... downstairs, to the Music room. Lord Fatigue says he will go look for Spit, but goes upstairs to the Staff Break Room instead, diagonally above Occam. The minimap shows Spit stressed, Occam tense/in pain, and Fatigue with... the same facial expression. Is Giles doing something to the blood? Is Fatigue doing something to the blood? Is there some direct line of connection between the three? Is there really only one way into the Archives, or is there a way up from below, or down from above? The placement of Spit and Fatigue on the minimap feels incredibly important to figuring out who attacked Occam (even if that doesn't have anything to do with the ghoul).

Elise is in the middle of taking her ponytail out when Kitten returns from his pacing and fuming and brief stop in the kitchen. As a ponytail haver, the decision to NOT undo the hair after starting to do so is significant. But then again, maybe giving her a different animation model wasn't in the cards for the episode. (She's hot enough already idk).

There are large claw marks on a lot of walls and doors in the Chapter House…

There are 15 people in the Chapter House, but 16 cups are strewn about when Occam is found. All 16 cups are bloody. Someone else is present? Someone left an extra cup, some extra blood?

Kitten is focusing on 'who could have attacked Occam as we were leaving' but is that really the timing of the attack?

'Your papa could never take a punch like that' says the man who has been fighting Blacklaw all evening. Playfighting? They've been playfighting this whole time? Yet the man can handle a bottle being thrown at him by Marckus, so he at least has some grit.

"Look. It's the same. Indisputable." So if Blacklaw cannot tell the difference between 'a bleak British man and a middle-eastern meat-slab', either his eyesight is shitty and thus he cannot be trusted to give any trustworthy visual evidence, OR, he hasn't looked at D in actual decades because D is the Devil and must not be observed directly. Which is kinda countered by how often they face off and glare at each other, so.

Other things that might be of note and/or are things I noticed:

Amanda's blue gloves - does she have a latex allergy? Or does the Arcanum not provide boxes of disposable gloves for the staff and they have to just make do with one set each? As someone who worked back of house in hospitality, this seems... bad.

Both Blacklaw and D have yellow and black as a major colour to their outfits, but inverse to each other (jacket and tank top vs jacket and vest). IDK maybe that's something worth noting, or it shows how more alike than they like to admit.

Hardcore Kitten steadying inhale in front of the portrait of the dead knight made me think to how TTS ended... Then again, the man out here killed a vampire with a shove and an iron fence while being badly hurt so like. Man's badass enough on his own.

Git works with the Lady Regent's favourite daughter. Could Poly have slipped him something, made him a ghoul without his knowledge? Man can reverse-drink a beer but his favourite food being available at his place of work could lend itself to some Manager-induced tampering of the safety seals.

Kevin was invited to the 'funny phrenology library' but decided to stay in the basement. He might have recognised the ghoul right away. He also might have gotten D's family Blood Hunted AND targetted by the Coalition, if that were the case. For reasons of safety first, comedy second and plot third, Kevin stays at home.

Hey uh what's the Penis Explosion Room on the mini map and why is it Elite Access and also why is it there and why is there no doorway to it and also what

Harry being able to get dressed very quickly between listening in at the door and then D showing up with the keys. I know he doesn't really do Anime but I feel like that must have been a magical girl transformation somehow (/j)

Guy Chapman might be the most dangerous ghoul at the moment: 'sharpened senses, inhuman strength, even the power to bend minds' He did drink the blood of Kevin, a Vampire Wizard. I'm thinking about Marckus' night pubbing, and how Chapman heard the beginning of the vampire talk, as well as the fact that Brok's first and second knife broke dramatically. The cop did it, with his new vampire magic.

The portrait on the wall (when Elise is doing D's hair) - baby Occam is adorable, I'm sorry his mother is a Blacklaw but she seems far more hinged than Remold, is baby Brok okay, is Brok's mother the blonde woman from the interrogation room - if so who is the woman standing with Blacklaw? And the slacker behind her? A Blacklaw Family Drama photo, I'm very pleased.

'Amanda never sweats, she's lower class' I've never seen a Rich Bastard in media who thinks this, this is fascinating. Normally it's 'sweating is for the lower classes' but here we are in the reverse. Does Blacklaw think the 'lower class' are literal automatons or

Fatigue dies in the room where his younger Hunter self is immortalised in a portrait on the wall. Taller, younger, still with the same glasses, nose, and ears. Just how old is he?

Side note: 'did anyone find out if Mummies are real yet' - yes, Marckus, they did, in The Resurrection/Curse. You were right.

[dcoolettes]

everyone shut the fuck up I was right about kitten and spit not being werewolves LETS GO

[aquaquadrant]

At this point I'm pretty sure we know tango is going to go back to hels, at least briefly. My only question is who all is getting dragged with him.

^ me struggling not to give too much away before the next chapter

[roguetelepaths]

5-HTP still makes me a morning person, good to know

[lunarcrown]

Hi hi hiiiii so ummm i read the latest htp chapter not too long ago (stayed up all night reading it because is obsessed) it was so good btw. I can't wait to see what happens next. It'd be so funny if Bravo and Timmy just saw Tango and Jimmy appear and they're just like "huh 🧍‍♂️" utterly confused. There's so much I could say and I have so many theories. I really liked that Tango slowly realized that he's loved because my boy my baby boy.. Heart been broken so many tiiiimes. But I'm glad that he's loved, that he gets to experience all this love and appreciation. Anyway, I am also obsessed with your Martyn design. He's sooooo pretty like.. Mmmmmmm pretty man pretty man. There's just something about him I can't describe. He's so gorgeous. So beautiful. Mwah mwah. Giving him forehead kisses. I also love your jimmy too. He has nice tits- I mean nice tits- I mean nice tits- I mean nice face. He has a very nice face. I rambled a lot but I am just excited for the next chapter already.

Firstly thank you for staying up ALL NIGHT TO READ!!! I hope that you got good rest after!!! And I’m so happy u ENJOYED!!

HAHAFG them showing up and it just being four people staring at each other is SO FUNNY DGHD

And YESS TANGO BE LOVED CHALLENGE, the foe?? Himself….

And THANK UUU HAHA martyn’s prettiness and Jimmy’s tiddy-ness make them so fun to DRAWWWW!! So have some big Dawgs!!

[possiblylando]

HUNTER THE PARENTING: WHO IS THE GHOUL? (CHAPTER 5 VERSION)

Alright lads attempt to at sussing out the ghoul. Now we must first establish the ground rules I am following with this theorization. 1. There are at least 2 infiltrators currently present in the chapter house (Matilda & The Ghoul) 2. Our 2 infiltrators were working separately. (There is currently no evidence the Werewolves & Vampires are working together as such the Ghoul and Matilda working together to achieve their goals while knowing each others identities is highly unlikely.) 3. The Ghoul is present within the chapter house at this moment (This is an assumption based on the fact HTP is still a story. The ghoul just not being present would be weird and arguably bad writing as it would be a needless subversion that accomplishes very little in the story except having our main characters run around like headless chickens.) 4. The Ghoul is not anyone who has already died. (Similar reason in #2 as that would be odd writing to have the Ghoul be killed by Matilda unceremoniously. This is possible however I doubt it. This is essentially just to establish that I do not think the Ghoul is Fatigue.) 5. The present or lack of presence of the Delirium is not a deciding factor in who is the ghoul or not.* (While present in older editions, in 5th edition the Delirium is able to effect more supernatural creatures. As such someone exhibiting the Delirium during the Matilda fight does not discount them from being the Ghoul.) *If you wish to see more about the Delirium there is a good post on reddit which categories who we see and dont see under the effect of the delirium you can see it here; Delirious Eyes Guide Reddit Post

6. THE FLY IS NOT THE GHOUL WE ARE LOOKING FOR IN THIS SITUATION! (There is a very funny and horrifying theory that there are fly ghouls present throughout the series. If you wish to see more of that theory you can see it here; Fly Ghoul Reddit Post ADDITIONALLY! I will be using the timeline I've established in this post for many of the assumptions and theories made here. My own Arc 2 Timeline Tumblr Post

It's not necessary but if you want that companion piece it is present.

ESTABLISHING RULES COMPLETE!

Now we can start by ruling out the group who I am certain are not ghouls.

D, Kitten, and Marckus are not ghouls. No further explanation needed.

Matilda is not a ghoul; She is a werewolf thus excluding her (technically) from the conversation.

Occam is a solar sorcerer which would make him highly resistant to being ghouled. Additionally if he was a ghoul he would have already given the information to the regent.

Blacklaw is not a ghoul for the same reasons as Occam minus the solar sorcerery bit. Additionally it would be too convenient for the one major detractor of the D-Clan to be the ghoul. It would essentially be; Well he's bad and also the ghoul so there's no nuance there.

Next the characters whom I am mostly certain are not ghouls.

Fatigue is dead and thus him being the ghoul would be weird writing.

2. Brok follows the same reasoning as Remold with the addition that he was with Remold & Security for the entirety of the time when Occam was first attacked. Further more I do not believe Giles is the Ghoul. 1. His boss at the 99p store is already a ghoul (assumably; It's possible she is a vampire though its doubtful) and there seems to be no acknowledgement between them of such. 2. He was with Brok for the entirety of the time when Occam was attacked. Thus he would not have been able to give Grimal orders. Additionally I do not believe Harry is the ghoul. 1. He was with Marckus during the period of time in which Occam was attacked and thus would not have been able to give Grimal orders. As such these two are; Possibly ghouls but ultimately unlikely.

This leaves our actual list of ghoul suspects. 1. Elise 2. Simon 3. Grimal 4. Gloria 5. Amanda

Lets go over the evidence for each. ELISE

Elise has a lot of evidence stacked against her. 1. She stole from Giles and which ended up being a major crux in Occam's attack. 2. She gave Grimal the smokes and told her to find a place to cool off [Grimal claims not to remember this portion] 3. Elise was alone while Occam was being attacked and thus would have had open reign to move wherever and do whatever in that time. 4. As we now know due to Chapter 5, The chapter house map takes place AFTER Occam was attacked (due to Matilda being in the kitchen) which means Elise's position on floor 2 could've been her heading away from the security room after finding out Grimal did not have the hunter Data. 5. She gave Grimal her hair tie to hide the sunburn from Grimal attacking Occam. 6. D chose to interrogate her first which suggests he found her most suspicious (or that he thought she had the most useful information). Our next Candidate; SIMON (Spit)

Simon does not have as much evidence directly against him but he is still highly suspicious. 1. He was alone while Occam was attacked which would give him the ability to give Grimal commands. 2. He has been acting oddly all night. Giles claims this is because Simon is out of Ritalin. However as was established with Guy; The Regent is not exactly good at keeping her ghouls topped up. It's possible he was exhibiting symptoms of Blood withdrawal. 3. He filled his goblet with blood out of the line of sight of everyone else. It's possible he did this to switch his blood so he can not be identified as a ghoul. (However I do not know how he would do this.) 4. He was singled out by Fatigue as being rather unusual. It's possible Fatigue suspected him of being a ghoul (or some other afflicted being) and wanted to help him. (This could also just be Fatigue being a good guy and trying to help someone he could tell was suffering an episode) 5. He was under heavy effects of the Delirium (Lasted atleast the entire length of Audiolog 4.1 and until he was put into THE COLD TESSELATION) which would suggest he has every low willpower. This would make him especially susceptible to being ghouled. 6. He left the Security group early on to look for Giles' smokes since he claimed to have an idea of where they were. Next up; GRIMAL

Grimal has the most evidence against her. 1. Grimal was the only one (Aside from Matilda, who as previously established, Is not the ghoul) who was present in the security room at the time of Occam's attack. 2. She had a pre-established tendency of sneaking around the Arcanum vents and thus would know about and would be able to utilize the vent into the archives. 3. Grimal had a burn scar on her hand which suggests she was burned by Occam's solar sorcerery. She assumes it was a lighter burn however the length of the scar suggest it was Occam. This means Grimal attacked Occam and stole the Hunter Data. 4. Grimal already has pre-established ties to freedom and her lack of it. She is jealous Kitten has no arcanum oversight even saying he should be happy that he doesnt have to deal with it. 4a. In audiolog 3.7 Kitten talks about wanting to help the chapter house ghoul. Due to his connection to Grimal (due to being her EX) this would help further establish both of their characters in such an extreme situation. 5. Grimal has been established to be very physically strong. She was able to lift/carry Marckus (Who is like 6'5'' or some ridiculous shit) in Audiolog 3.3 and was able to CLAW THROUGH BATHROOM TILES (This was right before Matilda attacked; 43:21 in the C5 video if you want to check for yourselves)

Furthermore she was able to survive a direct (probably) full strength hit from Matilda and still had enough energy to drag herself away.

As has been established several times; Ghouls get increased physical abilities just by being ghouls so its possible her strength and durability are a result of that. (She could also be built different but due to the BATHROOM TILE CLAWING I doubt it) 6. Remold chose her and Amanda to "interrogate" first which suggests he found the two of them the most suspicious. (However due to them both being women this could be Remold being a misogynist.) FURTHERMORE OUTTHERE EVIDENCE 7. There are theories that Grimal intentionally put the hunter data in the smokes when she took them from Matilda and threw them to Giles. However I do not believe this theory as it would require a slight of hand skill Grimal has never previously shown. Additionally we know Grimal is very emotional and was clearly angry while throwing Giles the smokes. Evidence AGAINST Grimal being the ghoul. 1. Grimal has no memory (or atleast claims to have no memory) of the time Occam was being attacked. This suggests she was under the influence of the ghoul while she attacked Occam. However I do not believe this is entirely solid evidence to her innocence (As I will go into more later). Next we have; GLORIA

Gloria has very little solid evidence as to her ghouldom. 1. She was alone during Occams attack which would give her ample opportunity to give Grimal orders. 2. She was suspiciously quick to appear at the Archives (As if she knew Occam had been attacked already) Finally; AMANDA

Amanda is in the same boat as Gloria. 1. Her location before Occam's attack and during it are unknown. Matilda was not with her after Occam's attack due to her going to security and ending up with the smokes and hunter data. As such she would have been anywhere at the time of Occams attack which would have given her the chance to give Grimal orders. 2. Remold chose her and Grimal for "Interrogation" which suggests he found the two of them the most suspicious. (Thought again; Could just be Remold Misogyny I'm not sure) 3. Due to being a cleaner she could've been a ghoul before being hired and found a way to get into the Chapter House via getting hired. Bonus! 4. She mentions 'I'm just processing the fact Vampires are real' which could suggest either that she isnt the ghoul (due to not knowing vampires exist) or she is the ghoul (and is lying about not knowing about vampires to cover her tracks). This piece of evidence is completely pointless as it proves and/or disproves NOTHING! So... Of our 5 suspects; Who is the ghoul?

From most to least likely I would order our suspects as such. 1. Grimal 2. Elise 3. Simon 4. Gloria 5. Amanda We have a few potential routes. 1a. Grimal is the ghoul and DOES NOT remember attacking Occam. 1b. Grimal is the ghoul and DOES remember attacking Occam (And is lying). 2. Someone else is the ghoul and gave Grimal the orders to attack Occam. Now heres the truth nuke; I think 1a is what happened. We know the Chapter House Ghoul's Master is the Regent. Since the Regent is a 7th generation vampire (established in the kevin audiolog) this means she likely has ATLEAST the 3rd dot on all 3 of her base Tremere disciplines. 5th Edition is PROBABLY the version they're taking the most inspiration from for the vampiric abilities in HTP due to the older edition rules for Dominate being much weaker at lower levels.

These classic rules would not allow for the ghoul to issue any orders to Grimal as complex as crawling through the vent, attacking occam, then stealing the hunter data. However the 5th edition rule set would.

All of this is just to establish why I think 5th Edition's rules are the more accurate ones in the HTP verse. Heres what I think is happening in situation 1a. Grimal IS the ghoul but she did not willingly attack Occam. I believe she was forcefully turned into a Ghoul and may not even be aware of it (Thought she might be). The Regent implanted an order into Grimal's head using the Submerged Directive ability and removed/changes Grimals memories of being a Ghoul using The Forgetful Mind. So lets play this out. 1. Grimal is ghouled and turned into a sleeper agent. 2. When backed into a corner w/ the D-Clan's arrival Grimal's Manchurian candidate memories activate and cause her to attack Occam and steal the hunter data. (I believe the orders are something like 1. Protect your identity as a sleeper ghoul; 2. Steal the hunter data & return it to the regent) 3. Grimal returns to the Security room and forgets about her activates while in the Archives. She puts the Hunter Data (probably just somewhere on the table, maybe even in the smokes I'm not sure). 4. Matilda enters the room and sees what's happened and snatches the data and the smokes. 5. After Matilda leaves, Elise enters security and sees that Grimal has been burned. Elise wants to protect her friend (she might believe Grimal is the ghoul or was just controlled by the ghoul) so gives her the hairband. 5a. It's possibly Elise would've tried to divulge this information but she kept getting interrupted both by the Blacklaw D-Clan scuffle and Marckus barging in on her and D's interrogation then again when Remold wouldn't let her speak after Grimal's burn was discovered. Alright then what of the other options; I think 1b is the least likely option as everything surrounding the Chapter 5 Grimal reveal suggests Grimal really doesn't have any memory of the events. If Elise is the Ghoul Elise as the ghoul is rather straight forward. She robbed Giles, Gave Grimal the Key and Smokes, Used Dominate on Grimal and made her attack Occam and steal the Hunter Data, She then got to security too late and found the Data was already gone (taken by Matilda). If Simon is the Ghoul Simon went to look for Giles smokes which could suggest him being the ghoul. If he claimed to know where the smokes were that could mean he met with Grimal in the security room after Elise gave him the smokes then he gave Grimal orders. He returned to security later and found the Data & smokes gone (again, taken by Matilda) which then causes him to start panicking. If Gloria is the Ghoul Same story as Simon. She entered security after Grimal and gave her orders. She then left (perhaps returning later to find the data and smokes gone) and lingered around near the Archives being worried about Occam's safety. If Amanda is the Ghoul Same story as the past two. During the time she wasn't with Matilda she gave Grimal her orders, probably going to get the data later when Matilda wasn't around. I think Amanda is the least likely because she hasn't gotten enough focus to suggest she's the ghoul. Additionally if Amanda is the ghoul she probably would know the Data was hidden in the smokes and might've made more of an effort to get them from Matilda. CONCLUSION! From most likely to least likely I believe the options are as follows 1. 1a (Grimal is the ghoul and isn't faking memory loss) 2. 2(Elise) (Elise is the ghoul and manipulated Grimal) 3. 2(Simon) (Simon is the ghoul and manipulated Grimal) 4. 2(Gloria) (Gloria is the ghoul and manipulated Grimal) 5. 1b (Grimal is the ghoul and is faking memory loss) 6. 2(Amanda) (Amanda is the ghoul and manipulated Grimal)

[literallys-illiteracy]

Oh boy time for me to do my thing and watch closely: New HTP episode released

When discussing the Regent of Great Yarmouth (referred to in the scene as "The master"), we see the background use the same silhouette as the figure credited as "The Monk" in the final scenes of the first episode.

I think that the theory of Kevin actually having telepathy, still screaming at D about the blender every so often (assuming he hasn't had time to meet Kevin since purchasing it) is very funny so I'm going with it. Kevin's dribble while going off script says "POWERFUL WIZARD LAZER".

-

The symptoms that Spit displays line up heavily with those of the Delirium (note that there are many many different effects that the Delirium may take), with one of the most common reactions being catatonia (essentially becoming unresponsive in shock/fear), also implying that Spit has a willpower of 1.

-

Crossing off the supposed kindred from being a "Vampire Wizard" (presumably not only relating to Tremere but we don't know how the family classifies them), Kitten proposes them to be a Sludge Lad (Nosferatu) or Humanimal (Gangrel), also making a joke about La Ghostra Nostra, which I believe is mean to be a pun on La Cosa Nostra (The Sicilian Mafia).

As the group is still going by the assumption that this IS a vampire, they are treating it as if Simon (Spit) has been dominated (See previous HTP post for Domination). That AND Matilda posits that he could simply be faking it I Wonder Why.

Also yeah I ship it.

Brok is genuinely pissed at the idea of Spit being the ghoul for basically no reason bar the fact that they are/were friends for a long time.

Now we get to the part where I get to talk at length about the Irish man.

to start off with, I haven't actually the best guess as to what Occam fully is (other than being a hedge mage). The amulet he is wearing has a sigil which is common in Celtic circles called the Triskelion, this also has ties to Hellenistic history (most specifically in Sicily, which being the second mention of Sicily sent me down a weird rabbit hole, allow me to elaborate:)

Basically, the triskelion is linked to Sicily, Hellenism (used as a common symbol during the period) and the god Hermes (Hermes helped Perseus fetch the head of Medusa). This isn't the important part but by God if I did this research it isn't going to waste. (also there is a theoretical link between the fact that the symbol is not too distant from the god Hermes and the Order of Hermes but I don't think that's important)

In Sicily, in WoD, there are pretty much only two things of note: In Syracuse (city within Sicily for those unaware) is the old centre of the Clan Lasombra, however it has not been in major use for roughly 600 years by this point (1400's-2000).

The second thing is that there is a Cairn there which... Werewolves I guess.

There was a third section which started talking about the Ars Goetia and how that could also relate back to Occam's sorcery but I cut it.

-

Back to the murder at hand(s) (claws?):

We can continue seeing Matilda be aggressive and defensive, we can also see her hands become visibly claw shaped when agitated:

Foreshadowing is-

Even while locked up, Matilda continues to direct attention towards both Spit and Git. Note how the episode consistently draws attention towards her, being the only non hunter who has more than a few lines (Non hunters being Spit, Git, Amanda, Matilda) and being the only one to directly point blame at any single person.

The time out box is back and with a full clear view of the symbol on the side.

The first thing I thought was mercury, due to the crescent shaped open top and the crossed centre line, however most depict mercury having a full circle and half stacked on top.

Then I realised that it was the symbol for the magic sphere of Matter. I then also found where/what the symbol properly was.

The only proper source I can find for this symbol is this researchgate proposal about unicode.

The fourth image lists the symbol as "amalgam", but oddly enough both figures 1 and 3 disagree with fig. 4 and with each other as to what the proper symbol for amalgam is.

Alchemy is weird like that sometimes, anyways I spent way too long on this moving on.

Referring to spit, the obvious odd behaviour he displayed throughout the last episode.

Funnily enough, this can be explained through the excuse Git gave before, his Ritalin (ADHD medication) wearing off. For those unaware, there is a side effect of prescriptions stimulants, specifically when they are wearing off, in which one becomes extremely tired, irritable, agitated, hungry, or anxious when their medication runs out of their system. This can be worse with children or those with comorbid mental health problems such as anxiety or depressive disorders; crashing or rebounding in extreme cases, like seen with Spit, can be a sign that the dosage of medication is wrong (too high), or simply that your body doesn't vibe with the stimulant, in which case you should consult your psychiatrist and change medications. Speaking from experience, it's never fun to crashland from being relatively normal into being a prick.

Uh considering that Git also has a nicotine dependency (seen through his desperation for getting his smokes back), I can't help but wonder what substance Brokham is using. Honestly looking at him? Anabolic Steriods.

Which is to say that... uh. Spit goes in the box.

Ok so I want to let HTP be its own thing for the most part but there is a 0% chance this isn't an intentional reference so i'll note it down:

these two paintings that mark the archive: the left is a reference to Ephrael Stern, a Sister of Battle known as the "Thrice Born" or "Daemonifuge". We can see this from the fact that she has the same blue lipstick and a cross-tattoo on the same areas as her TTS depiction.

For similar, design correlated reasons, it is safe to assume that the portrait on the right is inspired by Aurelia Malys of the Dark Eldar, whose TTS portrayal is below:

There's probably some sort of foreshadowing going on here related to Markus seeking entrance to the Archives, Magnus seeking the Black Library, and Ephrael being in the Library for most of TTS.

final note about the door, I cannot be bothered to try and find the meaning of the alchemical symbols on the door but they are there and unimportant if anyone wants to check it out.

-

These two books have visible writing.

"Immortal Divorce Court (1)" and "Vamp Dictionary"

Please skip to the next red texted note if you don't want to read Latin lessons.

"Oculus Empyrean".

When I was first watching this episode, I misheard this as "Oculus Imperium" and got very confused because that would mean "Eye control(er)" (or more strictly it would be "Eye's control")

Oculus Empyrean (sort of) translates into "Eye of Heaven". The "Sort of" comes from the fact that Empyrean comes from medieval latin/early middle english, and also because of inflection.

Taking Oculus Empyrean at face value means "Eye Heaven" (unless my Latin is finally slipping as I go senile). This is because both Oculus and Empyrean are in the nominative case.

For non inflection-language speakers: The nominative case is used when a noun is the subject of an active verb, eg.

"The Ball was kicked into a tree" where "The Ball" is the nominative noun.

"Good Girl" for example would have nominative singular Puella (girl) and genitive singular version of Bonum, Boni, (Good) to create the phrase "Boni Puella".

However, that being said, unless listing nouns (the door, the wall, the shelf, and....-) or making a direct relation between two nouns (Jon is a farmer = Jon agricola est), I don't remember a case for multiple nominative inflections in a row; This is why it is more accurately translated to just Eye Heaven.

To actually write "The eye of heaven" in Latin, inflect both Eye and Heaven in the genitive case to indicate a relation between the two (as neither noun is the subject of a verb):

Oculi caeli

(I just swapped Empyrean for Caelum because they both mean heaven) (also, if you check this on google translate, due to Oculi being both the nominative plural, and the genitive singular of Oculus (as is the case for second declination nouns) it will probably translate as "eyes(plural) of heaven")

ok back to the actual episode because ????

The newburgh group is one of the members of the Coalition (Second Inquisition), which heavily backs the arcanum.

Ok so back on the eye real quick

This isn't an alchemical symbol, believe me, I've done multiple hours of research about alchemy today alone (if I had a nickel for every time I researched alchemy in depth for a media series I would have three nickels-)

the closest I could find in any of my sources was

Attramentum Vitriolum (Black vitriol), which lacks the central dot, and Auripigment (Arsenic Sulphide, literal translation is "gold coloured"), which lacks the central dot and is tilted to 45%

We can see here that the eye projects some sort of "red beam" from its... iris? I guess? which then connects into Markus'.

The red beam may relate back to the concept of the Empyrean. We've had our alchemy lessons, we've had latin lessons, time for a mythology lesson for an esotericism trifecta.

Beforehand, when I said that Empyreum means Heaven, I wasn't lying, just simplifying. The Empyrean, in ancient european myth, is the heavens beyond our terrestrial spheres; the empyrean referred to the spheres of existence permeated and constructed from, the element of Aether, the fifth element.

This may explain the symbol of the eye itself, having 5 nodes on a cross representing the 5 elements, but that's conjecture. The important part of this potential connection to the aether is the fact that, in the 5'th century, there was an alchemical theory of "Quintessence", being a similar conceptual "fifth element" of which the heavens were made of.

Quintessence in fact literally means 5th element. Quintessence is also present in World of Darkness lore:

in essence, in Mage the Ascension, Quintessence is basically the fabric of reality. The entire tapestry of reality, all things within, are made of quintessence.

I've already gone on too many tangents so i'm stopping myself from going deeper into Mage.

I can't be fucked looking for another one, also im 90% sure that i'd be barking up the wrong tree because I do not recognise those triangle ones.

Technically one could interpret the boxes with circles inside them as being the sign for urine.

***

Update because I'm dumb:

as people have pointed out, these symbols are Hunter marks, symbols used by and recognisable to Imbued (mildly supernatural hunters).

In my defence, I'm not a hunter, so I wouldn't know.

The three symbols seen are "imbued" (on the eye), Danger (the rectangle one) and "Puppet" (Triangle)

-

as was very predicted by ms WILD who was always wearing gloves.

also from the sheer brutality, the delirium symptoms, the pinning of blame on others, the antisocial personality, claw marks all around the arcanum, and complete lack of surprise at the reveal of vampires existing.

Foreshadowing certainly WAS a literary device-

also would?

-

in the ensuing fight, D is fairly easily overpowered, gains a large neck gash from claw marks, and cuts off matilda's left arm

Remold also shoots with his... cane gun? a phosphorus bullet. Phosphorus is known for like one main thing and it is that it burns like crazy, hence why "no vampire could survive that"

-

I don't think that the reactions of each cast member are meant to actually reflect their willpower scores, except for Git and Spit who totally fit willpower 1.

That being said, time to organise each reaction into the different delirium reactions/willpower's:

Note how Grimal is strong enough to scratch into the tiling of the walls out of sheer fright.

That being said, every character in this scene, including D and Remould (which is why I'm saying that this probably doesn't fully reflect accurate stats) takes little to no action for this first section.

Also, immediately after we see the two elders, both clearly afraid, but still maintaining composure and fighting smart, think back to what D said back in the first audiolog:

"Trust your wits, not your fists"

probably somewhere around 9-10 range. 10 is defined as no reaction, and both are clearly afraid of the situation, but no matter your will, a werewolf running at you is scary.

Willpower 4, the berzerk reaction. As D put it "some may attack with extreme vigour"

In this scene here, we can hear the wound of the knife hissing after it has cut: either this is the knife "enchanted with death magicks" from the Guy Chapman audiolog, or the knife is made of silver. Either way this is called aggravated damage. Unless they changed something in W5 i've not played it.

Also this is probably just like a moth spirit or something, potentially this could be that one auspice that allows you to transport something from the umbra at will? unlikely though

willpower 4, berzerk.

Willpower.... 10? I don't think that this was an uncalculated action, I just think Markus is bad at math and doesn't know the strength of a werewolf.

I mean he had some of the shortest time between sight and thought out action, so at the very least a 7 (afraid but rational).

Also STAKE JACKET IS THE BEST IDEA.

We can assume that these are the spirits that Tilda (who from this point forward I will refer to as Tl;dr) has gifts from. Can't say which gifts, hard to say most things about spirits in general, so yeah.

in Audiolog one, we discussed: Vampires/Ghouls (which we have fought and met) Werewolves (just now fighting) (specifically Black Shuck) Witches/mages (Potentially seen?) Ghosts (wraiths); (Potentially seen?).

The mention of wizards was a specific tale of a witch, which remains unseen, and the "ghost" was that one with the well.

This marks the first named foreshadowed character appearing except for the fiddler/monk at the end of episode one.

Willpower 4: berzerk.

seems the spirit's name is Jambles? even more terrifying, the spirit might be french.

[marckus-in-umbra]

watching HTP with WoD lore is like my first time watching Evangelion while knowing a lot about the bible it is DRIVING ME INSANE AND I NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!! Btw you guys should look into the Mummy book if you want the crack theory on big D being one TEEHEE

[sensarna]

This is basically me going insane over a single name drop (spoilers and theories below)

So... Anton

The answer to the identity seems obvious, but I would not be myself, if I wasn't over-analyzing things

So let's do just that

The way the name was said - no explanation, no context - means one of two things: the person in question is either so inconsequential that he is not worth the breath to add the details, or is so familiar, that to add an explanation means going out of character. I'm more inclined to believe it's the latter, mostly because I don't remember a single character without even a little bit of background info added for the flair.

(Also Kitten didn't ask about him before or after D's story, so he is probably familiar with Anton. However, there is also a possibility that after.... everything, Kitten either didn't want to ask out of politeness; had no time to ask before D left with the dogs or missed the name entirely)

So, let's assume that this Anton is fairly familiar then. But who is he and what was he doing there? I believe he is one of three options:

1. He is a completely new character who's probably going to be introduced later. Most likely a hunter who worked closely enough with the family that Kitten either knows him or heard about him before.

2. He is one of the brothers. Again, Kitten either heard about him before or knows him personally.

And finally 3. Seemingly the most obvious answer, since he's the only person without a name - a Brother given to the Fey King as a thrall for 40 years. But I have a problem with this explanation. When Kitten tried to say the Lost Brother's name before, D stopped him. He asked Kitten not to say it out loud, clearly distressed and trying to calm down. So the idea that D would say it himself, with no pause or hiccup, seems to contradict with his previous reaction.

I, personally, think that Anton is one of the brothers - whether lost or still active only time will tell - and is more likely an Expy (exported character). Which means, that Anton - if you use the naming method of "sounding very familiar" - is the Extremely, Earth-Shatteringly, Unreasonably, Fuck-Ass Mad Boi Angron...which makes him an even better candidate for the role of this Lost Brother if you view him becoming a thrall as a twist on Angron's story in Warhammer, where he was enslaved at least twice: first as a gladiator, fighting for the amusement of the rich and powerful, and then when he became a Demon Primarch of Khorne.

So, yeah. Most likely an Expy of Angron. Might be the Brother given to the Fey, since it's the only person without a name, and the story itself has some parallels with the Warhammer Angron lore. But, D's reaction to the Kitten almost saying the name out loud doesn't match with how it was delivered later. May be Lost, may be Active.

That's all for me. I know it's pretty bare bone and doesn't have a satisfying conclusion, but there's not a lot for me to work with for now. I hope that in the future there will be more information about this character and I do hope that Anton is Angron, mostly because I want to see what kind of person he would be in this universe and what his relationship with D is.

P.S.: Not sure where and if I should mention this, but there were some ideas flying around on Reddit and Tumblr about what the other Primarchs might be like in HTP and I went with a more supernatural origin for most of them. I kid you not, when I've learned about Changeling The Dreaming I thought it would be hilarious if Angron was not a Werewolf or a Vampire but a Fae. Especially when I was informed of a thing called Redcap. Angron might not have anything to do with the hunger aspect, but he does have a mean attitude and a penchant for violence. So if Anton/Angron is confirmed to somehow be the 3rd option, then I kinda predicted it.

[ogrepoppenangleaksofficial]

Will there be more expansion on 'world of darkness' lore and stuff in HtP?

Is HtP going to help make the 'world of darkness' setting more easily accessible and, through its humour, digestible to the average newbie that never heard of WoD before HtP?

If the emporer had a tts device introduced me to w40k, the broadstrokes of its lore and core concepts. Ide ask my friend who did play 40k for info to give me context for tts jokes as the years went on, i began deep diving the wikis to give myself more context to some of the jokes.

Nowadays, I can often be found listening to w40k lore and theory crafting videos and podcasts (though I won't support Games Workshop in any financial sense and stick to just fan creations)

I know next to nothing on WoD outside of the HtP videos and that one video Speaker D narrated. Is HtP more for general fans of the setting or noobies like myself?

[voidscreamintheories]

The Return

I've finally watched the new audiolog

I have four pages of notes

I feel the foul madness returning

I know their secrets I see their hidden truths

I will theorycraft again

[secrets-and-streetlights]

My Theories / Thoughts on the new HtP audio log

Spoilers under the cut! Don't read unless you listened to the ghoul lore episode!! I will know!!!! (also massive post)

okay there is. so insanely much to talk about with this audio log. I have so many theories and thoughts, but I'll just share my main ones in no specific order.

Keep in mind that I'm no WoD scholar, so some info could be wrong or be interpreted by the Ogre Poppenang team differently. A lot of this info is coming from the White Wolf wiki.

The Lost Sons

I have a lot of theories on who the sons D lost were. My actual theory is that we'll never know so it remains mysterious. However, endlessly theorizing is fun so: 1.) D says that he lost a son and that it wasn't the first time. So we know at least two sons are gone. Assuming he has only lost two sons, they could be stand ins for the two lost Primarchs from 40k.

For those that don't know a lot about 40k, two of the emperor's sons are 'lost'. Thier names are never said and as far as I know their exact fates never confirmed (but assumedly killed). This goes with my actual theory of not actually knowing what happened.

2.) Anton. During the Australia story, D mentions Anton offhandly. I agree with @sensarna that Anton is a stand in for Angron. We don't know the exact details of that hunt so there is no way to be sure. Biggest point against this is that D gets very intense about saying "Markus' Brother's" name, so I doubt he would mention it offhandedly.

3.) I want to avoid using things not in the series but I'll be drawing on primarch fates from 40k for this. Fates are defiantly not one to one since Door is alive/has both hands, Horus is alive/a horse, and so on. But I immediately thought of Jaghatai Khan when hearing the Australia story.

Simplified for non-40k fans, Jaghatai is supposedly fighting space elf pirates in the space elf dimension, trapped in its endlessly twisting paths. In HtP, this could be interpreted as Jaghatai being trapped in a changeling freehold. Other primarchs are also trapped/lost in places (like Leman Russ and Vulkan) but Jaghatai is involved with the closest thing 40k has to cruel fae.

4.) The previous lost son(s) was not lost as in killed (necessarily) but lost as in changed. This has nothing to do with the Australia story but I'd be surprised if Markus was D's only supernatural(?) son. Leman is probably a werewolf or a gangrel, Lorgar could be possessed by a demon or a nephandi mage, Vulkan could be a wraith constantly possessing people, Roboute could be a changeling lost to banality, anything.

Markus and the Thing (1982)

We know a few things about Markus contacting the unknown force (which I will refer to as the Thing). The Thing is not a 'monster' or a 'demon'.

The Thing is described as or something from the Abyss (with a capital A, even). The Abyss is portrayed differently in every WoD game line, the descriptions conveyed by how that game's supernatural would interact with it. Its a cursed sea to Wraiths, a realm of sensory deprivation to Demons, and the realm of paradoxes and unreality to Magi just to name a few.

D himself says that he doesn't know exactly what it is or how exactly Markus contacted it, so he may be wrong in saying it is/from the Abyss. However, we do know from the Kevin audiolog that D was part of a hunt that killed a Lasombra Methuselah, whose clan has Abyss powers. I'm willing to give D the benefit of the doubt and assume that the Thing is related the the Abyss.

So, what the hell is it?

1.) While kind of a copout, we probably won't ever know its exact nature. The fifth edition Hunter book is full of creatures that don't fit into any neat classifications. It could be something totally unique to this story.

2.) While also unlikely, it could be a Neverborn. They are a major part of Wraith. Neverborn are forces of primordial destruction, endlessly slumbering while they wait for the end of everything. Their minds are the source of the Specters' hivemind, commands carried out through dreams. The 'million eyes' Markus caught a glimpse of could have been an endless hivemind trying to destroy the universe suddenly becoming aware of a lone child.

The big points against this is that getting into the world of the living is difficult for any single wraith/specter, more so for a whole group of them. Maybe whatever ritual Markus did made it easier, we don't know.

3.) According to D, Markus has had a 'sorcerous aptitude'. This immediately made me think of an Avatar. Avatars in mage are a kind of spiritual guide to Magi, always pushing them to realize their potential. Since Magi can have literally any paradigm (the way a mage understands magik), their Avatar can be literally anything.

I'm unsure if Avatars can manifest for anyone aside the mage, but during an Awakening anything could happen. From the picture of the Thing (assuming the photo is diegetic) we know it was visible. If not interrupted, maybe Markus could've even stopped the fae. Or he could've been consumed by overwhelming power and died.

I think this is best supported theory, especially since D has no idea how Markus did it. Markus didn't have to know how to do it. He just needed to believe that it'd work.

4.) Lastly is the most closely related to Changelings. Fomorians. The oldest nightmares of the Dreaming. They are too alien to describe properly. Whatever Markus was doing, he thought he was "channeling a rival power in the fae court". If we're assuming the main power of the court was Seelie, this would mean he was using Unseelie (or possibly Shadow Court) power. Fomorians are supposedly the predecessors to the Unseelie, so Markus might've tapped into something much older than intended.

So why isn't this my main theory? Fomorians fit the physical description (as in, indescribable), are related to the enemy the Family was hunting at the time, and are esoteric enough that D could possibly not know about them.

Because as far as I know, The Dreaming not associated with the Abyss in any way. Its quite the opposite, since its the place of dreams and nightmares. Where the Dreaming is overstimulation, the Abyss is deprivation. That is my interpretation at least. This theory would have to assume that D was just wrong when name dropping the capital A Abyss, which doesn't seem right to me.

The Funny Drink

So the whole Draught thing. This post is long and rambling enough as is, so my theories will be brief.

We know that the draught can bestow any of the following. Strength, Speed, Endurance, or (uniquely for Norfolk) Domination. D says that the Domination one could "give victims complex orders that can be carried out without question."

I think the two lines of thinking are the ones brought up by @possiblylando , mainly that the domination draught is a red herring or that it was used to make someone attack Occam.

The other draughts could also be in use instead, assuming the Ghoul only has one.

If the person that took out Occam wasn't very strong, the Strength draught could give them the edge to overpower him.

Whoever killed Fatigue could've used the Speed draught and cleaned up/fled quickly after making him suddenly explode.

More theory than example but Brok takes a punch from D in chapter 4. D says "Your papa could never take a punch like that.", which could be the Endurance draught at work.

Summary

What a good audio log. Can't wait for the next episode!

[pheonixson]

Spoilers for episode 5 of Hunter the Parenting.

Here's my theory for episode. HtP characters have TTS counterparts. Matilda in HtP is Scion Matilda in TTS. I'm guessing that her pack will be based off the other Tempustus Scions. Her Alpha might also be a certain Garou who is surprised to see his subordinate has kidnapped his baby brother.