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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   1420 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for August 21, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I may be misremembering the movie, but didn’t Bear’s friend go to Bear’s house to brag about the money then immediately get shot by Nikki? That sequence of events was caused by the money, and would be a monkey’s paw.

That sequence of events was caused by the money, and would be a monkey’s paw.

In the original Monkey's Paw, it gets them their money by killing their son. I wouldn't consider a perfectly-fulfilled wish with bad consequences to be a Monkey's Paw.

It's the difference between:

A: I want a Porche 911 here right now!
Genie: Okay! Vroom, Smash!!

and

A: I want a Porche 911 here right now!
Genie: Okay!

(After years of enjoying it, his aggressive driving led to a fatal collision)

That sequence of events was caused by the money

Difficult to say. Certainly I'd say that it wasn't "caused" in the same way that Bear's wish caused Nikki to become possessed. If we're stipulating that there's no free will in the Obsession universe and Ian could not have chosen otherwise but to go brag about the money when Nikki was home and therefore get shot then that has some significant implications on Bear's culpability and questions about monkey's paws and what caused what become somewhat moot - the whole sequence of events was predetermined anyway.

Im a believer in compatibilism, so I don’t think there is a contradiction between determinism and free will. My personal headcanon is that any wish from the one-wish-willow either directly causes something bad, like Nikki’s possession, or indirectly causes something bad like the above sequence Friend gets money -> Friend goes to brag about it -> Friend gets shot by Nikki.

We are getting into death of the author territory at this point, so this is just a personal rationalization of the mechanics of the movie.

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