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dean-winchesters-clit · 8 months

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Another theory post about OFMD S2 because it's all I think about anymore

I had a theory forming about the pearl necklace Ed is wearing that I wanted to share with y'all. I was originally speculating about where Ed got the necklace, thinking that maybe he stole it off one of the wedding guests or even the bride because you can see a lot of the women wearing pearl jewelry in these shots.

But the only pearl necklace we see is much larger than the ones Ed is wearing, and I did some digging and found out that pearl necklaces mostly went out of style in Europe due to a war and the church getting all uppity about people being excessive, so it would be unlikely that any of the other women would be wearing pearl necklaces, especially when the earrings and hairpins made with pearls were usually larger and more uniform than the ones we see on Ed's necklace.

So, where did the necklace come from? I think it makes perfect sense that Stede gave it to Ed because of course he did, but when? It's hard to see Ed's neck in any of the shots of him raiding the wedding ship or in the captain's cabin aboard the Revenge, but I think it's safe to say that he doesn't have it at that point in time.

The first time we see it clearly in the trailer is when he's in the forest, confronting the mysterious figure (who I have a theory about, but that's for another time).

So, Ed gets the pearl necklace some time between raiding a bunch of ships as Blackbeard and getting stranded on an island. What could possibly happen in the interim that could cause him to acquire a pearl necklace from Stede?

Well, we all know Mysterious Merchant Susan is definitely the Chinese Pirate Queen Shi Yang/Zheng Yi Sao/Ching Shih or some approximation of her (since the real Zheng Yi Sao was born in 1775). We also know that she's masquerading as a merchant for some reason. What if the scene of Stede and Oluwande at the market happens before Stede sends his message in a bottle to Ed?

What if, when talking about Blackbeard and Ed, Susan convinces Stede to buy a string of these?

Chinese freshwater pearls. They're smaller and less uniform than the pearls we associate with classic European pearl jewelry. And they match up in style and size pretty well to the pearls on Ed's necklace.

What if Stede buys these pearls from Susan and places them in the bottle along with his message to Ed? Then, when Ed gets stranded on the island, he finds the bottle on the beach and the pearls inside. That's why he goes from no pearls on the Revenge to pearl necklace on the deserted island.

Just some food for thought!

Edit

So, @naranjapetrificada pointed something out that kinda sinks this theory, but I do really like where this new info leads us.

Ed is wearing the pearl necklace before being stranded on the island. You can see it in the "fuck you, Stede Bonnet" frame, but it's easy to miss.

There she is, when Ed is very clearly on the deck of the Revenge.

So, this does burn my theory to the ground, but that's okay!! That's the fun of theory crafting! Someone noticed something I didn't and flipped the whole script!

I love the implications that the necklace is something Ed chooses for himself, rather than something he is gifted. He still likes fine things and wants to feel pretty and finds something that makes him feel that way. Babygirl is having a rough time and deserves some happiness, dammit!!

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pinkeoni · 9 months

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The Show is Telling Us That Will Shouldn’t Have Survived

Inspired by a conversation with @aemiron-main I wanted to point out how it seems that the show is deliberately telling us, that Will shouldn’t have been able to survive the Upside Down.

In season one, there is this brief exchange a lab worker and Joyce.

He makes note that the atmosphere is toxic, to which Joyce remarks “But my son’s in there.” There isn’t really a resolve to this line? We never hear how Will was able to survive, just this suggestion that his survival is odd without much elaboration.

And Will does seem pretty weak when he gets to the hospital, but this is also post-agressive Hopper CPR. Either way, Will was at least keeping alive until he was taken and had a vine shoved down his throat. Who knows how long he could’ve stayed alive without intervention.

And then we get this line about water from Erica in season 3—

So the human body will die without water, and yet Will survived in the specifically waterless Upside Down for a week?

I feel like these lines are here to plant the seed in the audiences mind that Will’s survival in the Upside Down is strange, and that there is something that is yet to be revealed in season 5.

#will byers #will byers has powers #stranger things #the upside down #my theory #theres something going on man…

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alexisnoir · 7 months

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When I see this scene from the preview for episode 6 and 7, this makes me so nervous. Because you can tell he's in pain, besides the glowing thing is a dead giveaway. Someone IS HURTING STEDE and I won't stand for it.

Earlier in the same preview we have this:

I promise you what we see in the end of the preview is before THAT scene on the deck him being hurt with the violin bow.

Besides the crew gets tortured and so does ED

I wonder who is THIS guy, this violin player? What's his name? Why does he want to destroy REVENGE and its crew?

I think this is going to be like this:

Lucius and Pete are getting married so the whole dancing, colorful scene we have on the Revenge are their wedding. This guy with the violin poses as a musician but in fact is THE VILLAIN with a grudge against Stede and/or Blackbeard/Ed.

So he does as he promises, tortures the crew. The question is how are they going to escape HIM?

We can tell they're going to escape with their life because:

Stede here has a wound on his left shoulder, collarbone. That is AFTER everything bad happens. Yeah, it's better if they avoid all near death situations. No truer words were said and Ed says them in the preview.

So what you guys think of my theory?

#our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd s2 #our flag means death s2 #our flag means death season 2 #our flag means death preview #our flag means death episode 5 #our flag means death episode 6 #stede bonnet #rhys darby #taika waititi #edward teach #blackbeard #ed teach #gentlebeard #ed x stede #my theory

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still-a-morosexual-help · 1 year

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Okay so I briefly mentioned having a theory about this to @pandapantslovesyou in the notes on one of my posts and then completely forgot about it ✌️

The Witch Theory 🧙

Okay so from Obey Me! we know:

• Witches are somehow different from sorcerers.

• Sorcerers are registered at the Sorcerer's Society and need a licence to practice magic in The Human World

• There's always a distinction made when they (specially Mammon) talks about witches vs MC & Solomon (who are sorcerers)

• It's not a gender thing because MC (they/them pronouns in the game - undetermined gender depending on the players) is a sorcerer

• Sorcerers and Witches can both potentially make pacts with demons

• The demons and angels were at war for a long time. This affected their relationship with The Human World as well. By the end of the war the three worlds were at peace but (for the most part) kept closed off from each other:

a.) Despite The Celestial Realm, The Human World & The Devildom being the three big worlds and so Angels, Humans and Demons being the three main species, we've seen there are other species, capable of higher cognition, that have a smaller presence and so weren't as directly inlvolved in the war & have more freedom moving between the realms. Eg: Reapers who have contacts with humans & demons (& presumably angels as well), ghosts who live and work freely in the Devildom, fairies who lived in both the human world and Devildom but later moved out of the human world, banshees, centaurs, dragons, yetis/the snowmen

• Demons can further be broken down into sub-species (or if you want to be technical/biological about it; Angels, Humans Great Apes, Demons are different biological families. Demons can be broken down into different genera so the "lesser demons" mentioned in-game would be one genus. These can further be broken down into different specific species;) Such as the Sins, Incubi, Succubi, the little Ds and those little ant sized demons (these can't only be considered as different races/ethnicities the way humans have because there are very significant biological changes between them <ant-sized vs Sins> rather than being differentiated due to culture, environment/location & small changes in appearance, though it's quite possible the Devildom has different races/ethnicities as well <The Night Lantern People>. Most possibly the different species of the people of the Devildom acts as another factor in defining their different cultures and so defining their ethnicities)

b.) Until Diavolo's exchange program, which opened those boundaries back up. S1's exchange program can be considered something of a pilot study and, as with Simeon & Luke being the first angels in the Devildom, Solomon & MC are the first humans.

• Though the general citizens become more accepting of the presence of humans (and angels) in the Devildom, as the game & events progress, the exchange program is never expanded at a larger scale (with only two new students - neither a human). And even in S4 there are still those that are against the whole exchange program and everything it stands for.

• HOWEVER, witches are present in The Devildom. They're just casually there, despite originally being from The Human World, supposedly being human and humans outside of Solomon & MC not being allowed in The Devildom. Despite the brothers actually questioning how human Solomon can be considered given how old he is and MC displaying many non-human characteristics starting from S1 itself, neither are allowed to stay long term in the Devildom without supervision/without an affiliation to Diavolo/RAD because at the end of the day they're still more human than anything else. Witches however are just living in the Devildom with no seeming connection to RAD or the exchange program.

• Furthermore; Maddi arrives in The Devildom from The Human World. Given who she is (one of the oldest and most powerful witches) she should be considered one of the leading figures of the magic users in The Human World. Aka one of the most important figures, in this context, from one of the Big Three Worlds that have been maintaining a tenuous peace for thousands of years. Though The Human World isn't one of the main warring factions this should still be given at least a somewhat similar significance to Michael visiting The Devildom. At the very least Diavolo should be there to greet her given how peace & balance is his goal and rightfully she should be a main part of achieving that. BUT, though they treat her with respect and go out of their way to meet her wishes it's not given this significance. Diavolo deliberately doesn't come out to meet her and has apparently already met her during previous visits.

And those are all the canon facts.

The main theory then?

Witches aren't humans.

Or rather they're a subspecies of humans (or maybe more accurately they're, like humans, a species originating from the genus homo that never went extinct like the neanderthals & rest).

Appearance-wise they're more or less physically indistinguishable from humans. The main thing that seperates them is their magic.

They're much lesser in number than humans but unlike humans, where only a select few have magic, all witches have magic.

Their magic could be more natural? Whenever I think of witches I think of little cabins in the woods and large cauldrons and that always makes me think of nature. But more seriously, the sorcerers have their Society and need a licence to practice magic - this gives the impression of strict rules and a very rigid system. The game never makes a connection between the Sorcerer's Society and how witches practice magic. So what if this is because their magic is more natural and doesn't fit into the rigidity of the Sorcerer's Society.

They're different enough a species than humans (& much lesser in number) that they fall into that small group of species that weren't as affected by the post-war regulations. Meaning like the fairies they were able to travel easily to The Devildom despite living in The Human World

Anyway that's my theory 😮‍💨

All those words to essentially say that Obey Me!'s humans & witches have whatever The Owl House's humans & witches got going on

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jacktoria4ever · 28 days

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I've decided...Dolly and spencer are the same person...

@fclklqre and @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles are always only online when the other is too...like ALWAYS

Theyre the same person

Ngl Vinnie too (@diqldrunks)

#My theory

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kiddoryder · 3 months

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Lute is Eve

Hey guys! I know it been a while since I done something like this, but thanks to the new hazbin series, I got a bunch of theories and here’s one of my major ones:

Lute is Eve:

Think about this:

First of all: Lute is short for Lieutenant and she is Adam’s top partner. And she agrees with everything Adam does.

And second of all: in the religious stories, Eve was created by one of Adam’s ribs so of course she would be similar to him. Since he represent the toxic male influence and being a “Chad”. Lute was represent toxic females and a “Karen”. I mean look at her hair

Also during the trial, she keep on trying to push her’s and Adam views on demons can’t be reform.

My best guess is that when she was offered the apple by Lucifer, she along with Adam got punish for it as well. Instead of taking responsibilities, she just decide to it better to blame the person or people not responsible by killing them.

With Vaggie, I believe that she was either jealous that Vaggie was the top killer, or was her best friend. Or even her girlfriend. When Vaggie showed mercy to a sinner child, Lute felt betrayed and automatically took away her halo and wings. It also show that she would show no mercy to her own kind as well.

So anyway, I believe that Eve is Lute. I don’t know if it true but I would be surpised if it is.

#hazbin hotel #lute #Eve #Vaggie #my theory #theory

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cthulu-in-a-ballgown · 8 months

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I think people who get upset about xenogenders are missing the point. Xenogenders read to me as a satire of gender, operating on multiple levels. The first joke, the only one that people skeptical of the concept pick up on, is that xenogenders are ridiculous. The second joke is that the things that make xenogenders - preferences, aesthetics, activities - are the exact same things that make man and woman. Xenogenders are just as valid as the traditional genders, which is to say, not at all.

People with xenogenders are ridiculously cool. They are loudly asserting that gender is arbitrary nonsense, so if you have an arbitrary nonsense hole in the brain, you can fill it with ANYTHING. You COULD pick the fashion-and-childcare gender or the vehicles-and-manual-labor gender if you WANT. . . . but the hole is just as easily filled by something unique to you.

Nothing has meaning, so anything can have meaning. It's the metamodernism of gender.

#xenogender #neopronouns #my theory

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krislgfox · 5 months

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So, out of curiosity, I decided to check how Dogday's figure looks like, and I noticed he had these things, so looks like he really legless lol

(Also, why this mf has such Hollywood fashion model figure!? 😭)

#poppy playtime #smiling critters poppy playtime #smiling critters #smiling critters theory #dogday #my theory #looks like he's really legless lol #but why he has such sassy/j figure damn!? 😭

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3llex0xo · 2 months

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AKITO SHINONOME CARD THEORY!!??!?1?1!1?1??1?

Yk Akito's let out the lambs/kick it up a notch card...? Well I have a tiny little dumb akito stan theory that low-key makes me wanna bawl 💯

We all know akito hates/is scared of dogs, correct? And what do dogs wear? Muzzles. What is akito wearing in this card?? A muzzle. Could this mean that this card is referencing akito possibly having internalized hatred for himself??? Mayhaps... Am I most likely being stupid and delusional and trying to sound smart? Once again, mayhaps... BUT as a person who has read through all his currently released focus stories on the EN server I can't possibly think that this card COULDN'T be referencing that. But yes it's probably just a little coincidence and I'm most likely being a dumb little akito stan💔💔💔BUT HEAR ME OUT BRO. AND IM 90% SURE NOTHING LIKE THIS HAS BEEN REFERENCED IN HIS EVENTS, OTHER THAN HOW HE CONSTANTLY FEELS THE NEED TO GET BETTER AND IMPROVE IN SINGING AND WONT LET HIMSELF BE HAPPY WITH HOW MUCH PROGRESS HE'S ALREADY MADE.

#akito shinonome #project sekai #kick it up a notch #vbs #my theory #get akito therapy bro please #what do i tag this #sobbing #akito project sekai

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harmonyverendez · 6 months

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Rafal vs Rhian ( Parenting / Parents Debate )

Rafal would be the time to be alarmed if his children cough. I feel like he would be the type to always monitor and make sure his children are okay, he would always be up to date with his children. Like Rafal children would love him so much, that they'll come to him for anything.

Rhian on the other hand, I feel like he just doesn't want any kids. Like he'll be the type to leave his children in the house for days and come back and realize that his kids are there. He'll be neglectful and just... Forget.

Now his children would be close to Rafal's children if they had them together, they would have a bunch of sleepless and fun holidays together.

I also feel like Rhian would be the type of parent to teach them to be bad, like do evil things and such.

Rafal would be the type to read his children bedtime stories and kiss their forheads goodnight.

While Rhian would be the type to scream at them to go to sleep or some evil shit like that.

I also feel like there would be a difference in how their children would come out.

Rafal children would be spoiled, but they would know the difference between good and evil.

They would be obedient and never talk back, only one time did that happen.

Rhian children would be entitled and feel like everything belongs to them, they would immediately belong to Evil and this time without hesitation and they would not bat an eye at that.

Rhian and Rafal children would get along up until the point where they go to sge school and things would change.

They would go their separate ways.

Which would cause problems between Rhian and his brother Rafal.

They would not understand what the issue would be... Until everything is in the open.

Now I feel like Rafal would name his children after God's and Goddess.

That's just my opinion.

And Rhian?.

Just random ass old boring ancient names he found from Google or some shit.

But everyone can have their own opinion, I'm just stating mine.

What do everyone else think?.

Everyone/anyone can comment their own opinion ------->

@thescarlettshrimpernel @liketwoswansinbalance @abeehiltz1159

#Rafal Parenting #Rhian Parenting #rafal the schoolmaster #rafal mistral #my opinion #fall of the school for good and evil #rise of the school for good and evil #rotsfgae #fotsfgae #fotsge #rotsge #my analysis #theories #my theory #my theories #everyone can commne their opinions #my post #harmonyverendez

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zyzix · 1 year

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There's this aspect of Joshua Kiryu's character arc that I'm sort of flabbergasted to realize might be basically un-analyzed these past 15 or so years. I still kind of expect someone will pop up and point to something they've already written, but i'll talk about it anyway. This might also create some analysis ideas for NEO?? Ideally, anyway.

Essentially, I think it's really likely that Joshua misunderstood way more about his situation with Hanekoma, Minamimoto, and Neku than people tend to think. Not only that, but the idea that he had these misunderstandings kind of colors his relationship with Hanekoma. It also adds to him and Neku being foils. Where do I even begin.

I guess just with this scene that always made me go "hm, that's weird." Joshua: Think he's got a thing for you, Neku? Neku: What!? How the hell do you figure that? Joshua: Oh, please! The way he follows you around? Neku: That's just because I'm a Player. Joshua: I don't see him chasing after the other Players. Neku: (He's right… So why me?) Joshua: …Or is it my fault? Neku: (What? That's right… He might be tied in with the Reapers.)

So, what's so weird about this? Am I actually proposing that Joshua really thought Minamimoto was following Neku when he asked this? YES. I AM. That might sound nonsensical, and that's because it kind of is! But there's a reason for that.

When you know what happened in the Udagawa back alley a week and some change prior to that scene, it's reasonable to ask "why would Joshua think a Reaper was after some random RG guy?" Minamimoto came at him with a gun! But then why did Joshua even ask Neku if Minamimoto was following him? If he's trying to trick Neku into thinking this, he wouldn't immediately propose the truth afterwards. Maybe he's trying to make Neku distrust him as he does earlier (Neku scanning him, general sketch behavior perhaps) but not only is that redundant, it still doesn't answer why he asked about Neku in the first place.

So what happens if we take Joshua at face value here? Are we to assume Joshua thought he was the target at Udagawa, but Neku is the target now? I have no idea what the thought process would be behind that. Are we to assume that Joshua thought Neku was the target the whole time?? That still seems illogical, but maybe instead of asking why Neku would be the target, we should shift our focus and ask "why would Joshua think he isn't the target?"

I find that a lot easier to answer because we have Hanekoma. And Joshua thought he did too, basically.

We know from Secret Report 9 that the only person who should know Joshua's RG identity here is Mr. H.

SR 9: Minamimoto knows the Composer's RG identity (secret even to the Conductor), and has chased him to the Realground. The Fallen Angel may also have supplied him with this information.

Even in this report, it's proposed (by Hanekoma's misdirection) that someone else, some other Angel perhaps, could know Joshua's identity. We know that there isn't another Angel who told Minamimoto this information though. It was just Hanekoma. The only person in the story for Joshua to suspect is Mr. H.

Yet he doesn't. Or, I don't believe he does anyway. Let's take a look at our options.

Why does Joshua not seem to be wondering who sold him out? We have two branching options to start with: "He already knows who did it" and "he doesn't realize he's been sold out."

Lots of people assume Joshua already knows Hanekoma revealed his identity to Minamimoto. Because like… how else would he have known? Literally what else is Joshua supposed to think after being shot at? I mean, I've been explaining what else Joshua could have thought, but the point is it's a fair assumption. The only issue is that Joshua doesn't behave like he knows Mr. H betrayed him until Week 2 Day 5.

That is a long delay between then and when Joshua should have first known this information (before the story even starts.) I don't know when definitively Joshua put it together, but W2D5 is the first time we can say we KNOW he knows. And it really might have been that moment, because what happens right afterwards?

Well, Neku and him get attacked by Beat and Joshua learns about Kitaniji's "special op." But what happens right after THAT?

Joshua tells Neku that Hanekoma is CAT. An eye for an eye, I guess.

Part of the idea that Joshua did know Mr. H betrayed him from the start is that maybe Joshua was just putting up with that fact. That maybe Hanekoma was too useful, and couldn't do more harm anyway. Or that Joshua really didn't have any other options. I can understand why people think that, but I don't think we can bet on any of those. There's no reason for Joshua to think Hanekoma couldn't do way more harm than just tattling on him, especially as the week goes on and Taboo Noise crop up. Also, while it's impossible to prove one way or the other, there's no reason to think Joshua couldn't have built his game plan sans Hanekoma from the start if he thought he'd betrayed him. All of this assuming that Joshua gives a shit about what Mr. H did, admittedly.

On the other hand, if we posit that Joshua found out later about Mr. H, and that he'd give a shit about that, there should be some kind of change in his behavior towards him. This seems a little hard to to prove because that scene on W2D5 is the last time we see them interact (or even see Mr. H at all) until the ending of the game. That said, it's probably very telling that in TWEWY Mr. H is Joshua's sole confidant, and in NEO Mr. H has no idea what's going on with Joshua at all. I find that very interesting, but we're gonna put a pin in that for later.

Aaaaaaaaaall of that's to say that I don't think it's very likely that Joshua knew Hanekoma told Minamimoto his identity from the start. He shares information with Mr. H too easily for me to think that's the case. What's our next option?

It's possible that Joshua believed he already knew who told Minamimoto, but he was mistaken. However, I said before that there isn't any other suspect in the story and I don't think we can give Joshua another suspect to focus on without just making stuff up. Haz and Coco come to mind as people who might be able to share Joshua's identity, but we can't escape the fact that neither of them even existed at the time Joshua's main character arc was written. We would probably also have to invent some connection they'd have to this particular Game despite them being absent. I think this option is less likely than Joshua knowing about Mr. H the whole time, so I'm striking it off.

What we have left is the "Joshua didn't know he'd been sold out" option. Aside from what I've been arguing, the only other option is "Joshua thought Minamimoto found out on his own somehow." There's no solid reason for Joshua to think this, but it's possible he did anyway. The only reason I think this is less likely than the possibility that he didn't realize Minamimoto was after him is because of how Joshua talked to Neku back there. We have evidence that Joshua might have thought Minamimoto was after someone else; we don't have evidence that Joshua might have thought Minamimoto was able to discover his identity on his own. That said, after the conversation Josh had with Neku W2D2 it's possible his assumption shifted from one to the other as he was trying to figure things out.

So yeah, I believe it's most likely that Joshua didn't realize he'd been sold out at all because that would require him to think Hanekoma would do that to him. Because of that, he believed for more than a week that Neku was Minamimoto's target when they were all in the RG.

You might think that this idea would run into a lot of inconsistencies but I've found it to be shockingly coherent. (Honestly the whole background plot of this game is shockingly coherent for how overt it's themes are. I guess that's beside the point.) Like, let's look at the scene in Udagawa.

It starts with Neku looking up at the tag mural. Then Joshua runs up with a gun from Neku's left. It appears as if Joshua may have been looking behind him. Then Joshua fires in Neku's direction. Neku falls to the ground, but he is unhurt. Then Minamimoto is revealed to be behind Neku with a gun. He is clutching his shoulder. Minamimoto raises his gun, and Neku shields himself. Then several shots are fired towards Joshua. Joshua stops the bullets with his powers, and silently threatens to shoot Minamimoto again. Minamimoto runs off, and Joshua shoots Neku while he is looking after him.

If Joshua already believes that his identity is safe, none of that would clearly contradict that idea to him! Why did Josh think Minamimoto shot at him? Because Joshua already shot Minamimoto. Why was Joshua running if he didn't think Minamimoto was chasing him? To get to his target before the Reaper.

Conversely, why would Joshua be running from Minamimoto if bullets aren't going to hit him?

To us it's obvious that Minamimoto was chasing Joshua and tried to cut him off at the other end of the alley. But to Joshua at the time, he thought Minamimoto was going for the guy in between them.

This does raise some other questions, but there's enough of a case here that I think it's worth speculating off of. Did Joshua even have a theory as to why Minamimoto would be after someone in the RG? Maybe he thought Kitaniji sent one of his Reapers after his potential proxy. Why would it matter to Joshua if Minamimoto killed Neku instead of him if he needs the guy dead? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Joshua only leaves that extra Player Pin-- his trump card-- on Neku after Minamimoto leaves.

Kind of wild so far, right? Well we're not done because I think this idea that Joshua may have had created ANOTHER oversight for him.

Week 2 Day 7: Minamimoto: I was hoping for a little reenactment. Same spot, same setup as last time… Neku: (Last time? Nrrgh! Not now!) Joshua: You OK, Neku? Neku: Waaaugh! [incomplete Neku death cutscene] Neku: It… it was you? Joshua: Neku… Neku: You killed me… You stole my life!

What's with Joshua's reactions here? Did he not realize that Neku was getting headaches around Minamimoto?

(yes)

It's understandable if you think Joshua is faking it here, but if you're with me about this so far you also have to admit that Joshua's surprise can be pretty genuine. I'll be honest, I thought this way before I thought anything else I've put in this essay so far just because Joshua and the situation seemed sincere to me. Why wouldn't Joshua notice this, though?

See, there are four times that Neku, Joshua and Minamimoto are all in the same scene. Neku gets a headache from all of them, and this is what they look like:

Maybe this is just me, but the sprite direction in all of them but the last one makes it seem like Joshua stays between Neku and Minamimoto, and that he does not take his eyes off of Minamimoto the whole time he's around. And compare day 1 to day 7. Even though Neku's sprite is the one in the middle, he retreats backwards when he gets the headache, giving the suggestion that he's actually sort of behind Joshua. That doesn't happen on day 7 though, meaning Neku is definitely far enough in front that Joshua can see him-- and that's when Joshua finally reacts.

How could Joshua misunderstanding Minamimoto's target contribute to this? Regardless of the misunderstanding here, it's clear to me that Joshua views Minamimoto as enough of a threat that he doesn't even glance at Neku while he's having a memory migraine. But the fact that Joshua does notice on W2D7 seems a little less random if that misunderstanding had cleared up for him and caused him to be less zeroed in on Minamimoto. Keep in mind that these four events split evenly into "before W2D5" and "after W2D5." That means that the first two, Joshua would have thought Neku was the target, and the last two are when Joshua knows he was the target all along.

It makes some sense that Joshua might be so focused on Minamimoto that he doesn't notice what's going on with Neku if he thought Neku was being targeted, but what's going on W2D6? Joshua should know by then it's not Neku that Minamimoto was after. Hell, Minamimoto saved both of them earlier that day so why is he so focused on him then but not the next day? I suspect it's because this was Joshua's first time talking to Minamimoto while knowing he tried to kill him, and he was very absorbed in it.

So on days 1 and 2, Joshua was totally focused on Minamimoto because he viewed him as a threat to his proxy. Day 6 Joshua is focused on Minamimoto but it's not about him being an immediate threat, and on day 7 Minamimoto is at his most dangerous, but Joshua thought he could relax more because he was the target and not Neku.

There is one more thing that might keep this from the list of "Shit Joshua Did Not Know About," and it's the fact that Neku… talks? He talks while he's in migraine pain. Joshua may not spare a glance Neku's way but he can hear. Would that not tip him off earlier than W2D7 if he wasn't just ignoring Neku? Funny that-- the dialogue is actually sort of clever here.

Neku talks a decent amount when he's getting that memory migraine around Minamimoto, but the most suspect lines Neku has aren't spoken by him out loud.

Week 2 Day 2: Minamimoto: You fractals have no future! QED. Class is dismissed! [Minamimoto leaves] Neku: (Finally… The pounding's stopped. What language is that guy speaking?)

Week 2 Day 6: Neku: !? Zetta… Neku: (Nrrgh! My head… again…) […] Neku: (The pain's fading… Are he and I connected or something?)

Earlier on (as in the two days Joshua is most focused on Minamimoto as a threat) Neku does also speak out loud about his brain suffering. If Joshua isn't looking at him as well though, they're all things he could interpret as Neku simply complaining about the Weird Math Guy Who Says Confusing Things Through A Megaphone. Neku doesn't like people being loud or people speaking nonsense after all, and uh… Joshua also didn't have the highest opinion of Neku's sociability. Assumptions are a hell of a thing.

So Joshua went into his Game with Neku completely unaware that Hanekoma betrayed him and that Minamimoto was trying to kill him specifically. Then he carried on for nearly the majority of this game without knowing that Minamimoto-- or perhpas the combination of him and Minamimoto-- was giving his proxy debilitating headaches. What does that mean for his character?

Little, but interesting things, I think. I find it pretty compelling that Joshua missed something big about Neku because he was so self-involved even while trying to protect him. It's a neat thing to point at and go "yup, Neku's not the only one who looks stupid for writing people off." I think it also lends well to the idea that they were both getting to know each other in week 2.

Also-- we're coming back to that pin from earlier-- I think it helps flesh out a difference between Neku and Joshua's situations at the end of the game.

Neku: I'm glad I met you guys. You made me… pick up on things, I probably would've just gone on ignoring. Trust your partner… and I do. I can't forgive you, but I trust you.

If you've collected all the secret reports, after Neku's ending monologue and the credits, there's the secret ending. And I feel like the idea of "trust vs. forgiveness" is a palpable element when the ending is viewed as a whole like this. TWEWY doesn't touch upon the idea of forgiveness nearly as much as it does the idea of trust, but I can't help but see a distinction between the two in Joshua just as much as Neku. Only where Neku trusts Joshua but doesn't forgive him yet, Joshua forgives Hanekoma but doesn't trust him yet.

Think about it, doesn't "forgives but does not trust" perfectly describe all of Joshua's future behavior towards Hanekoma? He'll hang around Mr. H in the Room of Reckoning and 104, or talk with him casually about the destruction of a neighboring city. But he wont talk to him if he's upset, or tell him any of his plans anymore. He doesn't seem to hold any of it against Mr. H but he refuses to confide in or rely on him. That turnaround feels really strong if you look at how much Joshua relied on him beforehand. Or if you view his impression of his assassination attempt as contingent on his trust of Mr. H.

The crumbs of information we get about Joshua and Hanekoma's relationship after the betrayal might seem sort of circumstantial. Joshua doesn't want to talk about his feelings for Neku in the secret ending. That carries over into A New Day, and seems to be about Neku. And then in NEO Joshua doesn't give any information to Mr. H for… unknowable NEO plot reasons. But there's something else between og TWEWY and NEO to suggest that Joshua doesn't trust Hanekoma with shit.

A New Day- Hanekoma (over the phone): If that kid is who I think he is, then he probably doesn't know a thing. If he's who YOU think he is, then he probably won't say a thing.

At first this reads fine because Joshua spent his week with Neku tight lipped and evasive as hell. But still, isn't it a little weird for Mr. H to be saying this? He tells Mr. H stuff, doesn't he? Not anymore! It feels like this Hanekoma is talking pretty universally despite having been the exception. But he doesn't know shit and he doesn't propose he can help them know shit if it's about Joshua. And maybe Coco's fake Shibuya has something to do with that, but it's hard to say.

Honestly, aside from gaining the perspective to not destroy a whole city (important), it's easy to look at this and wonder if Joshua came out of TWEWY worse off. And… yeah, NEO really doesn't seem to help that. But I'm going to end this off with some really vague NEO speculation.

What if it's REALLY just Hanekoma who doesn't know shit about Joshua now? It's probably impossible to know the extent of this, but for some reason Shiki and Beat seem to treat Joshua with a slight sense of familiarity now…? The fandom also (quite reasonably) assumes that the real final day of NEO is the first time Neku has seen Joshua since the final day of TWEWY but we don't actually know that. Some food for thought.

#twewy #the world ends with you #ntwewy #joshua kiryu #twewy analysis #sanae hanekoma #sho minamimoto #neku sakuraba #my theory #idk if this counts more as theory or analysis but i can tag both #twewy meta #<-there thats probably better #scabby.txt

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