Theory (unlikely)

[naeko.livejournal.com]

(I don't know what to call this other than a theory; that sort of implies there's actually belief on my part that Hamilton is smart enough to have come up with this, which there really isn't. ¬_¬)

I had the thought while viciously fighting with my sewing machine, earlier. The whole reason Anita has become a promiscuous monster? Raina is taking over and doing it on the sly.

It makes sense, if you think about some of the facts. Anita has always said (over and over. And over. And over and over.) that she's not that beautiful. So why do all these men suddenly think Anita is beautiful and perfect? Raina is using the lycanthropy to mutate Anita's bone structure in tiny increments. She's molding Anita to be more beautiful (maybe even to more resemble herself), to attract more men and thus more power. Hell, maybe she alters Anita's face with each man she sleeps with, making each see her as his ideal of beauty in those intimate (lol intimate) moments.

I can see two reasons that Anita just thinks she still looks the same:
1. Raina is just that good. She's changing the structure of Anita's face so subtly that Anita and her men don't even notice.
2. Anita can't tell because Raina's not letting her see it, and she's got everyone around Anita so enthralled to her that they can't tell, either.

Hell, maybe Mommy Darkess (whatever; I'm too lazy to look up the supposed lady big bad's name) and Belle Morte's psychic visits are just Raina distracting Anita while she does some psychic redecorating, prettying the place up for herself. She sees the power Anita has, and the power that can be acquired by having that power, and she wants it.

I would love for Anita to 'wake up' one day and realize she's not in control of her own body. Suddenly, she's watching things happen to her and watching herself say things, but it's not her. She's been asleep for years and can only barely remember what's been happening, yet there's a whole, horrifying history built up involving her. She's no longer the chaste, ethical vampire executioner who fights for zombie rights and enjoys a bit of rebellion in silly coffee mugs. She's an amoral, power-hungry lycanthrope queen whose plan in life is to slowly bend everyone around her to her will.

I even considered tweeting LKH and telling her, "I figure out your big plot twist! Anita's become promiscuous and monstrous because Raina's taken over, right? Brilliant!"

Comments

[wonderbink.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if 'bone structure modification' is necessary for the theory to hold together. First off, it's not unusual for people to believe themselves to be unattractive when they're not as bad as they think they are (especially if they have a past history of being told that there's something wrong with the way they look.) Second, the men piling at her feet could be just as easily explained by the ardeur as by her suddenly becoming pretty.

I recall a similar theory being that Jean-Claude was secretly manipulating Anita into becoming this power-hungry monster under his control in order to consolidate his own position.

It's an interesting take on it, but it's kind of a given that Anita is a wish fulfillment character and the idea that she could have been wrong all this time simply doesn't sit well with that.

[naeko.livejournal.com]

Everything you've brought up here is perfectly valid. Theories and hopes and wishes about what's *really going on with Anita have been bouncing around the fandom (anti-fandom?) for awhile; I'm sure this one has probably come up many times before, even. It was just another unlikely hope that either Hamilton is writing the shit she does for a purpose or that there really is some otherworldly entity controlling her in writing this shit, and this is the possible endgame.

That idea is pretty funny, actually; some alien working Hamilton like a puppet and laughing uproariously at all the flak she gets and at all the people who call her a genius.