Paranatural Theories and what have you

Here is a blog for Paranatural theories and discussion by Moon. Your questions and theories are welcome! THIS IS A BLOG FULL OF SPOILERS

[hoactzins]

Has anyone else realized that Mr. Garcia is constantly sleep-deprived/ trying not to fall asleep because he doesn’t want BL to peek into his dreams?

[archiveev-blog]

oh my god it just hit me

why would the activity consortium have a massive dreaming base of operations? how would it exist? how would they control who could and couldn’t enter?

because boss leader is the medium for a spirit of dreams.

this entire dream space - and the door links into every activity consortium member’s mind - were created by boss leader’s spirit.

[pnattheories]

wow duh

[pnattheories]

Ew I just realised my askbox doesn't tell me when people send me asks for this blog, goddammit this is why we can't have nice things.

Also I only pay this blog any attention when I can be bothered, so I apologise if I don't answer your asks. I'll deal with it eventually. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe in a month.

[lightdrifter-remade-deactivated]

An analysis on today’s page:

Isabel seemed not too affected by what happened to Eightfold. As Eightfold said before she “died”, she was hoping that Isabel would just save Max and not worry about her.

So, she does as Eightfold said, but does that really mean she wasn’t affected by the words that Eightfold said? Of course not.

These two panels are the perfect example to show that she was affected. I don’t know whether or not she just wiped snot off her nose or just that liquid that the pixel dog gave off off of her lower mouth or not. To me, it seems like she did in fact wipe snot from her nose as if to show she wasn’t sad about it. On the first panel, she had her face turned, so there’s no way to tell whether she was crying or anything. Either way, she listened to Eightfold and did what she told her, so Isabel definitely took Eightfold’s other words seriously. Even when Eightfold was telling Isabel that she had to go and all that jazz about what it meant for Isabel’s story, you could see the effect it had on Isabel by her facial expressions.

Now, moving on to the rest of the page.

After Isabel saved Max from the pixel dog, which obviously didn’t die, Max went in and actually attempted to help himself out.

Here, on this panel, who can definitely tell that he’s scared. He’s sweating, shaking, and well, his facial expressions give it away. He probably doesn’t think that he’ll be able to get away from being injured, or worse, being killed. Taking his words into consideration, Max is trying to also, at the same time, be somewhat friendly with Isabel. He’s trying to get used to this whole thing of the Activity Club and of the people in it. So, he’s making progress there. Unfortunately, he still seems scared to death about the whole thing.

[theanticlairamazingfandom]

The answer to it all

The answer hit me last night. The one behind everything has to be Cody.

[ninonightmare]

Thinking about Isaac O’Connor

also known as paranatural is my favourite thing and I should have figured that the anime would be my favourite of my favourites and so I must talk about him

but think about how fucking hard it must be to have knowledge withheld from him unless he’d literally die without it

because he’s a medium

and there are so many stigmas about possession and even if he knows that a lot of them are nonsense because to most people possession isn’t real he’s twelve now so who knows how young he was when he got possessed

that’s got to weigh on a kid

he could take down any of the other specters in a fight, he has power with it but unlike ed and isabel he’s not a power from fighting kind of guy, he likes knowledge and the smart route I think, from what he’s said about his powers and this whole bit

for a laugh it might have been but he does value friendship and it has to be hard being denied trust and the friendship that comes along with trust because you’ve got spirit inside you that tells you to disobey your authority figure and keeps your bonds with other people weak. 

His family doesn’t know what’s up and Ed’s got a shorter end of the stick of course by not having a family but he’s surrounded by people who know his world where Isaac is not. Who does Isaac have to sympathise with him and tell him that shit is hard and offer tea? It seems like the closest he has is the Doorman and that didn’t come off as that kind of relationship really. I think he’d like to become good friends with Max, he shared his secret with the doorman with him after all but then Max said they were only friends in a loose sense of the word and then Isaac used that turn of phrase again later, shows that it stuck with him. And yeah he can’t expect friendship to happen overnight but he can’t know just yet that Max is fairly abrasive with his offhand comments. Which is not to say they won’t come out as good friends later it’s just that I don’t think that Max has quite cottoned on to why it might not be the best idea to poke that sore spot.

I’m going to be really interested in seeing more about the spirit possessing Max and how that all goes down though since the rest of the Activity club doesn’t know he’s a medium so he doesn’t have the same stigma as Isaac.

But mostly I want to give Isaac a hug because darling is becoming so jaded from all the secrets :(

[pnattheories]

heck yeah thanks you guys!

I'm glad to see so many people are interested in whatever I (and the rest of the fandom) can come up with!

(hahahaha I've never even had this many followers before I'm scared)

[relsretiredblog-deactivated2018]

Wait, so can living plants and animals be possessed by a spirit? Can trees or animals be spectrals?

Are there like, trees with the power to throw apples at confused teenagers who carve hearts into their trunks???

Are there kittycats with spirit killing laser beam eyes??? Narwhals with fire powers??? Flowers with control over life and death?

Like technically plants and animals can have near death experiences too so its possible right

[gerrykeay]

ooooh! in the explanation of mediums it just says “suitable host”, and we know it doesn’t have to be a spectral yet at time of possession

what if the “suitable host” depends on what kind of spirit it is? More sapient, “humanlike” spirits like Forge, “Stormo”, Eightfold, Doorman, Racist Whale-Frog, etc., would need a host that has the same general thinking capabilities as them, i.e. a human (or possibly an alien. SOMETHING TO CONSIDER.)

on the other hand, a spirit that’s more animalistic, that’s sentient but can’t think and reason the same ways as humans do, like the bat spirit the kids fight in ch1, would probably need an animal to possess as well. probably some similarity between spirit/host is needed here, otherwise every spirit would just possess the nearest bug. (the few bugs that DO get superpowers, though.)

a possessed plant would probably be more of a tool, since plants aren’t sentient OR sapient. A spirit possessing the tree could probably do the apple-thing of its own will, though.

(question: if plants can be spectrals, do all citrus trees have powers already?)

the way the spirit was created would probably determine it. Spender implies spirits come from…collective thoughts & beliefs (the bat ghost from the collective animosity of dead animals in the walls, while Zack said on Twitter somewhere that Isaac’s spirit came from belief in storm gods). So the sentience/sapience level of the species that created the spirit in the first place is also the species that it could possess when near-death.

TL;DR SURE WHY NOT

[pnattheories]

Anonymous asked pnattheories:

Also keep in mind that Isabel lives in a spectral dojo. When she mentions not seeing a new spectral in around three years, it's quite possible that they had nothing to do with the club itself. She wouldn't need to be a part of the activity club or be enrolled in middle school to meet kids her age showing signs of seeing shades, y'know.

Yeah, that's true, too.

[pnattheories]

yuxqexaowq sent:

I think the activity “club” is less like a club and more like some kind of program. All the main protags are 12-ish, I.E. 6th graders, I.E. first year of middle school, yet isabel, ed, and isaac, have seemingly been at the school for at least a few years, isabel stating that she hadn’t seen a budding spectral in like three years. so, unless they had been in the club since elementary, they’ve all started middle school between the ages of 9-11. Just a little bit of speculation about the club

I don't know about America very much and so when I was originally thinking about this, I asked the internet, and the internet said that in some states/schools in America, Middle School starts in Fifth grade.

And we have already been told anyway that the members of the Activity club (and all of Max's classmates for that matter) are seventh graders. Go look at the cast page :I.

Other than that matter of details, I agree that the Activity Club is probably a part of a larger program to teach young Spectrals about their world. I mean, the organisation that employs Spender is even called the Activity Consortium (most likely its full name is the Paranatural Activity Consortium, as the club is), which clearly shows the connection between the two.

[hoactzins]

Sort of called it, although I rather wish I hadn’t. 

It’s fine to see things differently from other people, but when you see other people as things… 

Yeah.

http://cuixmal.tumblr.com/post/84127727572/but-i-can-also-tell-that-you-think-of-me-more-as

I mean, this was foreshadowed pretty heavily-  the Consortium’s  apparent lack of regard  for the spirits’ autonomy (uh, keeping an entire town on lockdown except for a chosen few humans) and Isabel’s general attitude towards spirit “problems,” but it’s still pretty depressing. Hopefully this’ll be a teachable moment… and also not the end for Eightfold.

[dragguns]

I think Max’s Family will find out he has powers eventually

But i think at first they’ll think he has different powers than he actually does

Like at one point PJ’s gonna be holding the bat like usual and Max’s Dad will walk into the room unexpectedly, Then PJ drops the bat because he has no idea what to do

and then dad’s just has this extremely proud look on his face and is just like

"I knew you were a weird psychic.”’

And then he walks to max (Probably while passing straight through PJ) and gives him a hug and reassures him that it’s okay to have powers (probably using X-Men as a moral reference) and he won’t reveal his secret to anyone

[pnattheories]

ahahahahaha yes please :D

[relsretiredblog-deactivated2018]

Wait, so can living plants and animals be possessed by a spirit? Can trees or animals be spectrals?

Are there like, trees with the power to throw apples at confused teenagers who carve hearts into their trunks???

Are there kittycats with spirit killing laser beam eyes??? Narwhals with fire powers??? Flowers with control over life and death?

Like technically plants and animals can have near death experiences too so its possible right

[pnattheories]

I sure hope so man I really dooooooo

[gabumons]

Quick Theory: I think Spender is a medium, and his glasses are a tool. I’m gonna do a few more rereads to see if there’s actually some grounding for this later.

[pnattheories]

no that’s more or less implicit by this point? We already know his glasses are a tool, like from this page. And it would make sense if his other spirit was just possessing him because he doesn’t seem to be associated with any other specific objects.

[gabumons]

The second part was confirmed, I know that, I kind of just phrased it badly. Meant something more along the lines of ” Spender is a medium in addition to his glasses being a tool.” As for the medium thing, that’s not very implicit. Like really the only thing I could find implying that he even has another spirit is when he tells Lucifer that it’s time for the other guy to earn his keep followed by the shadow powers.

Shadow manipulation could just as easily just be an extension of the light manipulation since shadows need light just to exist. 

Idk man unless you can say with 100% certainty that something is true, it’s all just speculation from us lol. Even the Dimitri thing could easily just be Zack playing around.

[pnattheories]

No, I’m fairly sure that the “the other guy” thing is fairly clear. I mean perhaps it’s just me and my ability to understand and interpret things, but I’ve never really understood why people remain oblivious to the obvious until it’s stated blatantly.

We have proof that Spender has more than one spirit, even if it is just people walking around implying it - we have much less proof for the Dimitri thing. We don’t exactly have proof for Spender being a medium specifically, but it’s certainly a reasonable assumption.

Althoooough, there is some talk about Spender’s glasses redesign being something we should be paying attention to, and not just Zack changing his mind. And certainly my Suspect Everyone mentality forces me to not rule it out.

I mean, honestly? The glasses could easily be an intentional misdirection on Spender’s part and he could be medium to both spirits. We have no proof a guy can’t be twice-possessed.

[gabumons]

I really don’t understand what point you’re trying to make. First you say people are oblivious until something is stated blatantly. You then go on to say that something that was implied is proof. And then you end saying that something might just be intentional misdirection and that you suspect everything. 

You think my theory is obvious and that’s cool. I think it’s obvious too. That doesn’t mean that everyone does, and it also doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen. The fact that there are so many ways to think about it just show’s how many options that Zack actually has moving forward.

[pnattheories]

Yeah well, what my point is … to be honest, I’m just thinking at you. Initially my understanding was that Spender had two spirits, one in his glasses and one *probably* possessing him.

Then I expressed frustration on people not having already come to this conclusion. In my mind, the whole “two spirits” thing has been completely confirmed, no two ways about it.

But just because something is certain doesn’t mean there aren’t details that haven’t been confirmed - we know Spender has two spirits. Does he have two tools, or is he possessed by both, or is one possessing him and one inhabiting a tool? I’m just throwing suggestions around here. Obviously he’s hiding a lot of different things from a lot of different people, and so there’s a lot of things to think about.

And in the end, I’m not actually trying to disagree with you, I’m just discussing the whole thing with you.

[gabumons]

Okay sorry, it’s just easier for me to respond when I know what you’re trying to say lol. Well since you’re just kinda bouncing ideas off of me, I think the only reason I can’t actually completely fall behind this 2 spirits idea even though I kinda suspect it is because I don’t actually remember much said about it. The only example I have is the one I used already.

Other than that the two examples I felt like miiight have been hints just seemed too ambiguous to me. Since you’re saying that it’s pretty much proven, what moments are you talking about exactly? I’m completely blanking on them so I don’t even know where to start there.

[pnattheories]

Well, first of all, I tend to come to accept theories that have less proof behind them than other people may want, but the theory often turns out to be true anyway - so it’s possible that my definition of proved is not your definition of proved.

But let me see. First of all is this page in which Spender pulls away from a tool at the risk of it bonding with him. I dunno that was my first hint. That’s when I started keeping an eye out for more proof.

And then we have this page, in which more than one glowy shape is visible behind Spender as he exits his room. One of them is clearly identifiable as Lucifer, and the other looks at least along the lines of the shadow tentacles visible on this page, which is the one that I consider confirmation.

"The other guy" is enough for me. But I don’t think I’ll be proved wrong at any point, so let’s just wait and see. Also the comments on that page agree with me, not that that’s really any kind of confirmation, seeing as large quantities of the fandom believe things that I’m basically certain are false but eh.

[gabumons]

Okay, this works for me. I kind of over looked the significance of the pencil thing. Just thought it was a quick throwaway gag. Completely missed the two different spirits in that other page too.That’s the one that did it for me because it explained the first half what walker was saying in page. When he said room I thought he meant his room in the activity club because of the rest of what he was saying. Now I can see that he’s talking about his mind. Which would make sense if there were 2 spirits. The shadowy example is weird though because I caught it, but I wasn’t sure what to make of it because idk what it’s position in the room would be or what the lighting situation is like.

Well pretty much the only things stopping me from saying that he’s also a medium with complete certainty is knowing if 2 spirits can possess the same tool. If not pretty sure his eyes are the things that changed to resemble his second spirit.

[21billionyears]

yeah I agree with the whole his eyes changed thing - hence why initially I suggested that the shadow spirit was in his glasses and the light spirit was in his body. Right now I’m actually leaning closer to the “both are possessing him, and his glasses are a misdirection” side though.

And I was gonna bring up the thing that Walker said that one time I just sometimes trying to say everything and way too many different details is hard.

And I guess there’s no reason expressed in comic that two different spirits can’t possess the same item anyway, so that’s another possibility on the table.

[pnattheories]

oh oops I just reblogged that to my main blog goddamn it

[gabumons]

Quick Theory: I think Spender is a medium, and his glasses are a tool. I’m gonna do a few more rereads to see if there’s actually some grounding for this later.

[pnattheories]

no that’s more or less implicit by this point? We already know his glasses are a tool, like from this page. And it would make sense if his other spirit was just possessing him because he doesn’t seem to be associated with any other specific objects.

[gabumons]

The second part was confirmed, I know that, I kind of just phrased it badly. Meant something more along the lines of ” Spender is a medium in addition to his glasses being a tool.” As for the medium thing, that’s not very implicit. Like really the only thing I could find implying that he even has another spirit is when he tells Lucifer that it’s time for the other guy to earn his keep followed by the shadow powers.

Shadow manipulation could just as easily just be an extension of the light manipulation since shadows need light just to exist. 

Idk man unless you can say with 100% certainty that something is true, it’s all just speculation from us lol. Even the Dimitri thing could easily just be Zack playing around.

[pnattheories]

No, I’m fairly sure that the “the other guy” thing is fairly clear. I mean perhaps it’s just me and my ability to understand and interpret things, but I’ve never really understood why people remain oblivious to the obvious until it’s stated blatantly.

We have proof that Spender has more than one spirit, even if it is just people walking around implying it - we have much less proof for the Dimitri thing. We don’t exactly have proof for Spender being a medium specifically, but it’s certainly a reasonable assumption.

Althoooough, there is some talk about Spender’s glasses redesign being something we should be paying attention to, and not just Zack changing his mind. And certainly my Suspect Everyone mentality forces me to not rule it out.

I mean, honestly? The glasses could easily be an intentional misdirection on Spender’s part and he could be medium to both spirits. We have no proof a guy can’t be twice-possessed.

[gabumons]

I really don’t understand what point you’re trying to make. First you say people are oblivious until something is stated blatantly. You then go on to say that something that was implied is proof. And then you end saying that something might just be intentional misdirection and that you suspect everything. 

You think my theory is obvious and that’s cool. I think it’s obvious too. That doesn’t mean that everyone does, and it also doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen. The fact that there are so many ways to think about it just show’s how many options that Zack actually has moving forward.

[pnattheories]

Yeah well, what my point is … to be honest, I’m just thinking at you. Initially my understanding was that Spender had two spirits, one in his glasses and one *probably* possessing him.

Then I expressed frustration on people not having already come to this conclusion. In my mind, the whole “two spirits” thing has been completely confirmed, no two ways about it.

But just because something is certain doesn’t mean there aren’t details that haven’t been confirmed - we know Spender has two spirits. Does he have two tools, or is he possessed by both, or is one possessing him and one inhabiting a tool? I’m just throwing suggestions around here. Obviously he’s hiding a lot of different things from a lot of different people, and so there’s a lot of things to think about.

And in the end, I’m not actually trying to disagree with you, I’m just discussing the whole thing with you.

[gabumons]

Okay sorry, it’s just easier for me to respond when I know what you’re trying to say lol. Well since you’re just kinda bouncing ideas off of me, I think the only reason I can’t actually completely fall behind this 2 spirits idea even though I kinda suspect it is because I don’t actually remember much said about it. The only example I have is the one I used already.

Other than that the two examples I felt like miiight have been hints just seemed too ambiguous to me. Since you’re saying that it’s pretty much proven, what moments are you talking about exactly? I’m completely blanking on them so I don’t even know where to start there.

[pnattheories]

Well, first of all, I tend to come to accept theories that have less proof behind them than other people may want, but the theory often turns out to be true anyway - so it's possible that my definition of proved is not your definition of proved.

But let me see. First of all is this page in which Spender pulls away from a tool at the risk of it bonding with him. I dunno that was my first hint. That's when I started keeping an eye out for more proof.

And then we have this page, in which more than one glowy shape is visible behind Spender as he exits his room. One of them is clearly identifiable as Lucifer, and the other looks at least along the lines of the shadow tentacles visible on this page, which is the one that I consider confirmation.

"The other guy" is enough for me. But I don't think I'll be proved wrong at any point, so let's just wait and see. Also the comments on that page agree with me, not that that's really any kind of confirmation, seeing as large quantities of the fandom believe things that I'm basically certain are false but eh.

[gabumons]

Quick Theory: I think Spender is a medium, and his glasses are a tool. I’m gonna do a few more rereads to see if there’s actually some grounding for this later.

[pnattheories]

no that’s more or less implicit by this point? We already know his glasses are a tool, like from this page. And it would make sense if his other spirit was just possessing him because he doesn’t seem to be associated with any other specific objects.

[gabumons]

The second part was confirmed, I know that, I kind of just phrased it badly. Meant something more along the lines of ” Spender is a medium in addition to his glasses being a tool.” As for the medium thing, that’s not very implicit. Like really the only thing I could find implying that he even has another spirit is when he tells Lucifer that it’s time for the other guy to earn his keep followed by the shadow powers.

Shadow manipulation could just as easily just be an extension of the light manipulation since shadows need light just to exist. 

Idk man unless you can say with 100% certainty that something is true, it’s all just speculation from us lol. Even the Dimitri thing could easily just be Zack playing around.

[pnattheories]

No, I’m fairly sure that the “the other guy” thing is fairly clear. I mean perhaps it’s just me and my ability to understand and interpret things, but I’ve never really understood why people remain oblivious to the obvious until it’s stated blatantly.

We have proof that Spender has more than one spirit, even if it is just people walking around implying it - we have much less proof for the Dimitri thing. We don’t exactly have proof for Spender being a medium specifically, but it’s certainly a reasonable assumption.

Althoooough, there is some talk about Spender’s glasses redesign being something we should be paying attention to, and not just Zack changing his mind. And certainly my Suspect Everyone mentality forces me to not rule it out.

I mean, honestly? The glasses could easily be an intentional misdirection on Spender’s part and he could be medium to both spirits. We have no proof a guy can’t be twice-possessed.

[gabumons]

I really don’t understand what point you’re trying to make. First you say people are oblivious until something is stated blatantly. You then go on to say that something that was implied is proof. And then you end saying that something might just be intentional misdirection and that you suspect everything. 

You think my theory is obvious and that’s cool. I think it’s obvious too. That doesn’t mean that everyone does, and it also doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen. The fact that there are so many ways to think about it just show’s how many options that Zack actually has moving forward.

[pnattheories]

Yeah well, what my point is ... to be honest, I'm just thinking at you. Initially my understanding was that Spender had two spirits, one in his glasses and one *probably* possessing him.

Then I expressed frustration on people not having already come to this conclusion. In my mind, the whole "two spirits" thing has been completely confirmed, no two ways about it.

But just because something is certain doesn't mean there aren't details that haven't been confirmed - we know Spender has two spirits. Does he have two tools, or is he possessed by both, or is one possessing him and one inhabiting a tool? I'm just throwing suggestions around here. Obviously he's hiding a lot of different things from a lot of different people, and so there's a lot of things to think about.

And in the end, I'm not actually trying to disagree with you, I'm just discussing the whole thing with you.

[gabumons]

Quick Theory: I think Spender is a medium, and his glasses are a tool. I’m gonna do a few more rereads to see if there’s actually some grounding for this later.

[pnattheories]

no that’s more or less implicit by this point? We already know his glasses are a tool, like from this page. And it would make sense if his other spirit was just possessing him because he doesn’t seem to be associated with any other specific objects.

[gabumons]

The second part was confirmed, I know that, I kind of just phrased it badly. Meant something more along the lines of ” Spender is a medium in addition to his glasses being a tool.” As for the medium thing, that’s not very implicit. Like really the only thing I could find implying that he even has another spirit is when he tells Lucifer that it’s time for the other guy to earn his keep followed by the shadow powers.

Shadow manipulation could just as easily just be an extension of the light manipulation since shadows need light just to exist. 

Idk man unless you can say with 100% certainty that something is true, it’s all just speculation from us lol. Even the Dimitri thing could easily just be Zack playing around.

[pnattheories]

No, I'm fairly sure that the "the other guy" thing is fairly clear. I mean perhaps it's just me and my ability to understand and interpret things, but I've never really understood why people remain oblivious to the obvious until it's stated blatantly.

We have proof that Spender has more than one spirit, even if it is just people walking around implying it - we have much less proof for the Dimitri thing. We don't exactly have proof for Spender being a medium specifically, but it's certainly a reasonable assumption.

Althoooough, there is some talk about Spender's glasses redesign being something we should be paying attention to, and not just Zack changing his mind. And certainly my Suspect Everyone mentality forces me to not rule it out.

I mean, honestly? The glasses could easily be an intentional misdirection on Spender's part and he could be medium to both spirits. We have no proof a guy can't be twice-possessed.