Some theories abt Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea ou llea beibeh (one took me 1 day of investigation btw).
THEORY 1: THE REAL SPECIES OF UOMI AND MIKOTSU? (Hint: Koi carp).
Okay, so now that the title's been said, this theory is probably the shortest and easiest to explain (in fact, there's a reason I didn't originally consider it, and I think it borders on the realm of HCs, but I still think it's worth mentioning), so...
To answer the somewhat poorly worded question in the title directly, they are simply koi carp. And yes, you might be wondering why that type of fish instead of any other, and... The reason is surprisingly simple, yes, disappointingly simple I would say, but interesting nonetheless... And the reason, then, is the myth of the dragon that was once a koi. So (and of course, so this theory isn't too short): "The legend of the dragon koi (or dragon fish) comes from Chinese and Japanese mythology, where a koi perseveres by swimming upstream, overcoming waterfalls (the "Dragon Gate"), and is rewarded by transforming into a dragon." In summary: With this I suggest that Uomi and Mikotsu don't have a dragon as their father just because, but rather it's a reference to this myth, a very, VERY vague reference, but present nonetheless xd.
So, with this brief, almost HC-like theory now stated, it's time to...
THEORY 2: THE POSSIBLE TRUE SPECIES OF SHEEP (and yes, again with taxonomy... I promise the other 2 are about other things, trust me :'D). (Hint: Lytoceras, whether fimbriatum or cornucopia xd xd, or actually any within Lytoceras but f or c just to give a species I don't know xdn't sorry).
Okay, so even if this theory answers somewhat the same question as the previous one, given that there's no mythology to offer clues, Funa didn't make any statement either, and his design isn't very indicative for many, then the procedure for resolving this is more complex. And well, regarding what procedure should be followed, if Funa didn't say anything, then the only thing left to do is compare and...
(Nautilus).
(Ammonite).
Okay, quick results: Of all the cephalopods that have a shell, two are closest to Sheep: nautiluses and ammonites. And yes, it's unfair to compare a living being to a fossil taxon that lacks preserved soft tissue, BUT... Since the nautilus shell generally doesn't match Sheep's in color and shape (yes, I know there's something called "stylization," but even so, they still don't have a real resemblance), and since it also lacks the "visor" that nautiluses have, so, although again, unfair, the closest are ammonites. BUT, since "ammonite" isn't a genus, much less a species, but an entire subclass of very, VERY varied cephalopods, the question remains: which ammonite fits best? And among all, seriously ALL, the variety of ammonites, I suppose the genus Lytoceras is... The best option, I mean: Their shells aren't super weird, they're not too big or too small (or at least not all of them are hobbits), and, yeah, they're not super famous, but, meh, they match with Sheep xd.
Conclusion: Sheep, by elimination, is an ammonite, but by elimination of elimination, it is a Lytoceras.
(fimbriatum).
(cornucopia).
(batesi).
Well, with that said, and with the penultimate theory and the last one before the really big one...
THEORY 3: THE ORIGIN OF SHEEP'S NAME?!? (Spoiler: It all goes back to Amun, the creator god of Egyptian mythology, yes, this is already a preview of how crazy this is going to get from here on out...).
Okay, so basically: Beyond the fact that their name possibly comes from the word "Sheepish" , which I suppose more or less fits, it also possibly goes back to the creator god for the Egyptians... And, well, about how it went from X to Y, well... Amun/Amun/Ammon/Amun-Ra (The creator god of the Egyptians) was generally represented carrying *ram's* horns, so, given the shape of ammonite fossils, they were called "ammonis cornua" (horns of Amun), then it became ammonite (or ammonita) and... Well, I assume you can see where I'm going with this (Amun, horns of Amun, ram, sheep, Sheep).
And well, with that said, I move on to the fourth and final theory of this post... And here, too, is the theory that took me a WHOLE DAY to research... Probably the most controversial and interesting theory of all in this post...
Okay, so... Finally, after 3 quick and I suppose not very "wow" theories, I present to you...
THEORY 4: THE TRUTH ABOUT SHEEP? (in quotes because it's just speculation based on things we know, therefore, I'm only suggesting, but I don't know, that name is better/more catchy xd).
(And no, Sheep isn't Etihw; the image is meant to say, "Do they look alike?" or something like that xd). ⚠️⚠️⚠️IMPORTANT NOTE TO ADD⚠️⚠️⚠️: WITH WHAT WILL BE MENTIONED HERE, I AM NOT INVALIDATING ANYONE'S IDENTITY IN ANY WAY, NOR DO I WANT TO AT ALL. IT IS ONLY SPECULATION BASED ON THE INFORMATION THE GAME HAS GIVEN US. IF YOU CONSIDER SHEEP TO BE ENBY AS HEADCANON, THEN THAT'S FINE AND TOTALLY RESPECTABLE, AS IS WHATEVER YOU WANT. ONCE AGAIN, AND TO MAKE IT CLEAR: I AM NOT TRYING TO INVALIDATE ANYONE'S IDENTITY WITH WHAT I WILL ELABORATE HERE. I AM ONLY TRYING TO BUILD A VERSION CLOSER TO WHAT FUNA MIGHT HAVE ORIGINALLY CREATED BASED ON CLUES, AND THAT'S IT.
(Alternative name: Is Sheep a Bokukko?) (Actually, that was originally going to be the name, but besides thinking the name I ended up with is more appealing, I also think it's more accurate since I'm not only speculating about this, but I also apparently "discovered" a character trait missing from the English version of Watgbs, therefore, the Spanish version and probably other translations). (Answer:... Just read what I'm about to share...)
Note: Well, before anyone comes along and points out that Sheep's gender is ambiguous, well... Yes, but one thing to clarify: "Ambiguous" doesn't close anything, it opens things up, so to speak. Let's say it's an answer, but not a definitive one, if we're talking about identity itself. Let me explain: - Ambiguous: It's truly unknown, it could be anything, there's a question mark, they could be male, female, etc.
- Non-binary: That's an answer, it goes beyond the male-female binary, there's no question mark, it's non-binary, that's it.
Okay, so... Let's see, first of all, yes, we have to address the elephant in the room before getting into the heavy stuff, or rather, other heavy stuff since this is already dense enough, so...: "Didn't Funa say that Sheep's gender is 'explicitly ambiguous/unknown'?"... To which I respond with the following question: "Did Funa even say that?" And the answer is... Sort of, I mean, she didn't exactly said "Hey guys, Sheep is ambiguous" or anything like that... BUT we have this excerpt from vgperson's notes: "According to Mogeko, the genders of Tarako and Sheep are explicitly unknown/ambiguous.", meaning that, yes, it wasn't a public statement, but she did tell vgperson that for his English version of WatGBS, so, dead on arrival theory, right? I mean... Those words are out, case closed... Right? (btw, here's the link where that's said: https://vgperson.com/posts.php?p=wadanoharanotes)... To which I reply that, well, no xd, there's a reason there's a theory... And, in fact, this case is similar to the case of another character, only a bit "milder"... And about this other character, well, as the "very well-made image here" that I made in Paint 3D indicates, it's Etihw, and, as I said, their case is just as bad, or even worse, than Sheep's, so to speak (summary: Etihw wasn't just categorized as "ambiguous" and that's it, but outright categorized as "non-binary," what's more, we all thought this if it weren't for someone else coming along and, well, read for yourselves: https://web.archive.org/web/20220914012736/https://twitter.com/Okegom_Wiki/status/1353767509191626753). And, well, if I keep saying this, what proof do I have besides "uhhh, this already happened once"? Because, well, this in itself doesn't prove ANYTHING as such, it's just a piece of trivia... And... Well...: 1. ONE: THE REPEATED USE OF THE PRONOUN ''BOKU'' (Something basic, for obvious reasons xd, otherwise where does the "boku" from "bokukko" come from xd, in fact, here's an article from TV Tropes that I forgot to include so you can better understand the concept xd: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Bokukko): Okay, this one's easy: Sheep uses the pronoun "boku" a total of 6 times, which, by the way, is the boku of the katakana syllabary, that is, "ボク" (which, according to Google: "is often used to give emphasis, denote a youthful tone, or indicate a forced or unusual pronunciation"). And, well, here are all the instances where this idot uses the boku: 1. ''「ああオルド...... どうしてボクを見てくれないの...?」'' (on turn 0 of their boss fight in Reboot).
2. Their item drop, also in Reboot, here it is 3 times in total.
3. The first time e-girl Omanyte refers to themself, both versions... I assume this is a screenshot from a Reboot gameplay, and, since this is basically an update several years later in a separate pack, then I ASSUME that at least this and many other dialogues remain the same xdn't.
4. Pre-battle dialogue, honestly I don't remember the order of this and the next but it doesn't matter, what matters is that Boku appears xd.
4. Another one, and the last one, see? 6 times xd.
Okay, so, with this shown, yes, so far everything I've said still doesn't completely prove what I'm saying… Yes, on the one hand, it's already suspicious that this has happened before, and, besides, they uses the ''Boku'' 6 times, which is a lot for their short screen time, yes, the groundwork is there but it's not yet conclusive (or well, all this won't really be conclusive but will rather end up as "it's not definitive but it is pretty suspicious, huh" so, yes, just a heads up xd), and, well, that's why, well, my arguments/evidence don't stop there but I have more xd, so…
TWO: THEIR PHYSICAL APPEARANCE (Yes, I admit it, maybe this is the most basic/lazy one so meh, or not so much, but next to other things this one falls kind of behind in terms of "things that took me a ton of time to find and research"):
Okay, I'll address this point quickly: Yes, their appearance is mostly androgynous, but it leans more towards "feminine" than something completely neutral or mixed (or basically: It's more "they look feminine but I'm not sure" than "I really have no idea what they are" or something like that, I hope you understand what I mean), but, and more important than the design itself, is its height (I swear it makes sense). I mean:
The height range in Okegom, from what I've noticed, is as follows:
-Children (and special cases like Wadda, Uomi, etc.): Approximately 110 cm to 130 cm.
-Women: 145-165 cm.
-Men: 170 cm and upwards.
And, well, guess how tall the character at the heart of this theory is. (Oh, and it should be noted that I'm talking about humanoid characters, not cases like Squid or Doloz, and, well, humanoids that have legs like us too xd, I'm not counting mermaids either since their height isn't listed).
Okay, so, fine: Sheep COULD be a bokukko because they use boku and their physical characteristics lean more towards the feminine than the masculine, and in general they lean too far to one side to be a middle ground... But... Didn't I said before that I ''discovered'' something else?"
And... Yes, and this time, unlike the other, I doubt it's so "possible" but rather something... And it is... "Sheep has a personality trait that they only have in Japanese," yes, weird... But let me cook xd:
Okay, about the missing trait I mentioned, well... Let's just say that to "jealous, gloomy, and rather weak" we could add "childish" (and judging by some artwork, also "clingy," but that's a separate issue that has nothing to do with it xd), and here's why: In their Japanese dialogues, besides the "boku" I mentioned and pointed out earlier, they also have a way of speaking that, well, could be described as more "youthful" or something like that (matching their pronoun xd), meaning they have filler words and things like that which give that impression...
In other words: -They laugh "shishishi" instead of the "mheeheehee" we read on this side, an unusual laugh that's basically a "mischievous little devil laugh" rather than, I don't know, a "hohohooo" or something serious (although in one dialogue they change it to "haha").
-And, more importantly, or so I think: In their speech they use a lot of things like "nee," "daa," "ii ne..." and "yo...", giving the impression that they speaks slowly/draggedly but playfully, as well as, for example, "ちゃう" which is the colloquial way of saying "shimau," or basically, outside of colloquialisms, they also draws out what they say.
-And, additionally, let's say that they doesn't speak directly but speaks in a "desirative" way, so to speak, that is, they says "I hope everyone suffers as much as possible... just with that I'm already happy" instead of "I will make everyone suffer-".
And well...
As a plot twist, a new adjective besides ''Jealous, gloomy, weak, sadistic'' and the ''childish'' and ''clingy'' that I added: ''mercurial'', or ''erratic'' or ''volatile'' if mercurial sounds too pretentious xd.
Okay, this is quick to explain, but: One of the things you can notice in what they say is relatively rapid and abrupt changes in temperament, that is: They goes from direct hatred → laughter → desire for general suffering → happiness at the pain of others. Or, for example: From sad/whining lament ("Why won't you look at me…?") → sadistic and mocking laughter ("shishishishi…"). From direct and personal hatred ("I hate you," "I won't forgive you," "It's all your fault") → generalized desire for the suffering of others ("I wish everyone would suffer as much as possible…"). From direct and personal hatred ("I hate you," "I won't forgive you," "It's all your fault") → generalized desire for the suffering of others ("I wish everyone would suffer as much as possible… Just that would make me happy"). Ye get my point, right?
And well, ladies, gentlemen, and colleagues who are neither of the above, with this I conclude my post. I hope you enjoyed it or at least found it interesting, and, well, see you later :'D. It really took me a while to research all this xdn't. Oh, and as a bonus:
Sheep without a face so you guys can give them a face, I don't know xd (I also removed the eyes from the little ammonite which I assume is them in their animal form xd).
(credit music idk lol, it's peak).
