#this could all be baseless conjecture but haha theorycrafting go brrrr

[great-axepectations]

P!Apo Theorycrafting

So on last night's stream viewers were allowed to ask one question regarding p!apo's lore. My question was "Who is the most important person in his life?" and the answer was a cryptic "a reflection". He also mentioned there's something in his first pirates episode that no one's been talking about. So of course that's been buzzing around in my head all day so here's an attempt to coherently present my thoughts:

Missing Moon God

In the stream where Martyn and Sausage were cursed, one of messages they both received was (verbatim): "The warmth of the Sun and Moon fully vanish from your skin... As if not even the Gods can help you now..." We've seen our beloved admin sun god, a sun god cult, and sun god artifacts and chapels. Where's the moon god? Why was the word 'Gods' plural? And 'sun' and 'moon' both capitalized? If there is no moon god then why mention it? I've seen a bunch of light vs dark dichotomy in pirates lore, with light not necessarily the 'good' side. A bit of a moral gray area if you will, much like pirates themselves.

Spooky lore tweets from the official account say "look to the light in the darkness". The sun is a light in the day. The moon would be a light in the darkness. (Or stars, admittedly. There's a lot of star imagery on pirates.)

What Are Pirates About

There is a small section in the middle of Apo's pirates episode labelled 'What Are Pirates About' with the following dialogue:

Graecie: Listen, I know you're here for for the most glorious battles and stuff Apo: Well yeah, obviously. That's what pirates are supposed to be about, right? At least that's what I was told. Acho: Do you make all your decisions based on what you're told?

Acho's question could be conveyed as "Do you think for yourself? Or are you doing this because someone told you to?" Who told Apo what pirates are about? And why is he so intent on following their expectations? Are his motivations his own, or is he doing things because someone told/expected him to? Acho and Graecie then talk about how being a pirate is about being free to make your own choices. Is that the direction Apo's character growth is going in?

"A Reflection"

So how do these connect? The moon, while bright in the sky, does not technically shine with its own light: it reflects the light from the sun. And maybe it's the terminal brainrot I have from being a fan of the traffic life series and how that exposed me to the sublimely sad music of The Crane Wives, but I can't help but think of the lyrics to The Moon Will Sing:

The moon will sing a song for me I loved you like the sun Bore the shadows that you made With no light of my own I shine only with the light you gave me I shine only with the light you gave me

Now I'm not quite sure what a connection between p!apo and the moon could be (other than the fact that he safely washed up on the faction isles under the light of the moon), but the metaphor still stands. If the most important person in his life is a reflection, is Apo just the mirror? I also joked in the chat that it could be 'a ghost trapped in a mirror', but what if that were true? I haven't seen every stream, but the writings in his book seem to be addressed to a loved one, and I've seen people theorize it's someone who has passed on. Is he trying to preserve that light by reflecting it? And again, where is the moon god?

And knowing that cc!apo has a penchant for creating tragic little characters, is p!apo going to start finally living for himself and then die in a horrible traumatic way that fucks me up for weeks?