JeMiChi's Cave for Doodles and stuff

[JeMiChi]

Rather than discussing theories with other people like a sensible person, I just doodled a thing.

I'm currently obsessed with the Ancients and went through a ton of character quotes - mostly from Maxwell to learn as much about them as I could. I swear he was there / then..! Come laugh at me when Klei proves me wrong, but until then I will believe that the people featured on the murals are these two.

And now I desperately need some sleep before my sanity drops too low...

 

Edited September 23, 2022 by JeMiChi

[minespatch]

Nice work tackling all the statues!

 

[JeMiChi]

I absolutely adore the Verdant skins - especially for Wilson, it's definitely one of my faves for him, if not THE fave!

He looks like he just fell from a tree though. xD

 

On another note, if you liked my previous artwork with the Ancients, you might enjoy this thing I wrote: Ancient

I was intending to wait until I had properly beta read and edited the fic before sharing it here, but the new game update - and the LORE it included - swept my mind away from that just hours after I posted the story on Ao3. I'll get to it eventually, but I believe you can already enjoy the story as it is. ^^

 

 

[minespatch]

I wish there was a way to put the verdent glasses on the piggsbury skin. I love those glasses.

Nice work with the background!

[JeMiChi]

I was inspired by the puppets in the Rhymes with Play stream and made a little plushie. ^^

 

Had a whole photoshoot for this bird today while taking a walk.
 

Spoiler

It's late for roses, but I managed to find one (the kind that's outlawed for being an invasive species, but hush)

Also, the official Chester plushie for scale:

And one with my face (yes, the hat is still in regular use, it's served me well all these years) :

Something different this time. ^^

 

On 10/15/2022 at 6:09 AM, minespatch said:

I wish there was a way to put the verdent glasses on the piggsbury skin. I love those glasses.

Nice work with the background!

Thanks again! And yeah, I love the glasses too, they are awesome!  

[minespatch]

What a cute plush! Nice work!

[JeMiChi]

It's doodle time again!  

The Victorian skin set is another big fave - for several reasons, and they all look amazing! So here is Maxwell and Wurt:

Everyone knows I'm a sucker for lore, so seeing what Wurt would have looked like as a (mostly) goat person makes me happy!

And Maxwell looks amazing in that outfit and his silver hair! Also, I'm totally projecting my feelings towards the Stagehand. Other than being a thing that was clearly made by Charlie, it used to terrify me until just recently. Now I find its presence... comforting..? I'm still getting startled when it appears unexpectedly, but otherwise having it around feels nice. Like it's an old friend. xD 

 

On 10/23/2022 at 3:51 AM, minespatch said:

What a cute plush! Nice work!

Thank you so much! I'm quite happy with it myself. ^^

[JeMiChi]

Made a couple of quick surprise gift doodles.

The Maxwell with no pants is for @rhoddys

And the Fawnson (again with no pants, which seems to be the theme of the week xD ) and his little Fuzzball are for Tinukie / Tin_u_Key (make some noise if you are on the forums so I can tag you properly) - with a bonus hound.  

I've been reading their in-game shenanigans with amusement, and at some point amusement turns into inspiration. ^^

[JeMiChi]

While everyone else is making art of the really intense scenes from the animated short with cool Chess symbolism and roses, my inspiration decides to fixate on a random detail like "HAT! "

I guess after being sick for over 3 weeks, I can allow it to do that, so here is the hat:

 

Yes, I'm aware there was an umbrella as well, but I wasn't in the mood for rainy weather.

Also, let me just say that their little flashbacks were absolutely adorable!

 

Edit: Adding this little ficlet here since it doesn't require its own post. I wrote this some time before the Maxwell animated short came out, and while what happens here is kind of the opposite to that one, I feel it's a fitting time to share it now. Enjoy!

Rose
 

Spoiler

Just a simple mistake. Tripping over the root of a tree in the dark on his way back to the camp and his last torch was sent flying out of his hand, the flame turned into cinders in an instant as the torch hit the ground. By the time Maxwell managed to find the torch again, it was already too late.

He’d heard the ominous hissing, the voice that was both nostalgic and familiar to him, yet completely alien and monstrous, a twisted version of something that once existed. The next thing he knew was the sharp pain striking through his back. He screamed in agony when the sensation spread through his entire body like a bolt of lightning.

Maxwell knew well what materialized shadows felt like. Knowing didn’t make it any less painful though. When the worst pain subsided, he could somewhat feel the form of a hand still inside his body, its long fingers reaching around his heart, ready to snuff out his life just like the flame had been extinguished.

He could barely move his body, but with the last of his strength he tried to blow some life back to the torch.

To his surprise, that managed to spark a tiny flame back into existence.

The light illuminated the night just enough that he could see a figure move, not leaving, but just shifting slightly further away from the small source of light.

“Charlie…” Maxwell whispered weakly. He didn’t have the strength to say anything more, let alone move. He could barely think. And it hurt, it hurt a lot. Barely illuminated by the small flame, he could see the shadowy arm and knew the hand was still inside his body, just waiting for the right moment to strike him down for good.

But Maxwell got another surprise when the figure concealed by the shadows reached another hand towards him instead. That hand moved towards his chest as well and Maxwell closed his eyes, accepting the inevitable.

He remembered thinking what he’d like to say in such a situation, but he was too weak and in too much pain to remember those words now. And even if he did, he wouldn’t have the strength to speak.

All he managed was a weak cough as his body struggled to breathe.

Just then he felt a touch, almost gentle, on his chest. Opening his eyes, he saw that other shadowy hand slowly pick up the rose he always carried with him, and when Maxwell looked up, he could just barely see the outline of a familiar face looking at him with a sorrowful expression on her face.

Charlie didn’t say anything, her face vanishing back into the darkness, but the pressure inside Maxwell’s chest was easing up as the hand let go of his heart and slowly, almost carefully retreated out of his body. The movement was still causing him pain, but not nearly as much as the initial attack.

Maxwell coughed some more, gasping for air and trying desperately to remain conscious, his eyes still searching through the darkness for the familiar figure. But Charlie was gone, and so was his rose. 

*****

The sunrise brought colors back to the world just a moment later, but the man had passed out and if it wasn’t for the other survivors searching for him, it wouldn’t have taken much longer for Maxwell to die.

He was unusually quiet for several days following the incident, which the others didn’t mind.

From their point of view his priorities seemed just as strange as always though. As soon as he could get back to his feet, he made sure to replace the rose that had gone missing from his lapel. It was the one thing he would always have on him no matter what.

 

Edited December 4, 2022 by JeMiChi

[JeMiChi]

A little gift for Sapphire / Chafi / Zafiro for always providing the most adorable art (comics!!!) when it comes to Webber and his found family ❤

So here's a Wilson with the Baby! ^^

I was actually supposed to be drawing three other things, but I ended up procrastinating all of them and drew this instead. But gift doodles are never a waste of time since they make someone happy, so I'm not complaining. ^^

[JeMiChi]

 

 

"He is cold... but alive."

 

Winters in the Constant aren't easy. It can be a good idea to split into small parties to gather resources or explore the terrain, but if your curiosity brings you so far from the camp that you can't make it back before the cold season, it could get dangerous... Wilson here was poorly prepared. He almost made it back, but it started snowing heavily. The others found him collapsed, nearly buried in the snow. Ironically the heavy snow cover was the reason he was still alive - even if just barely - without it he'd have frozen much faster in the cold. Hopefully the other Survivors can get some warmth into him before it's too late...

 

...or whatever other thing you imagined happening here, I just wanted to come up with something for this lovely wintery scene. xD 

 

EDIT: Adding a little follow-up image because of someone's tags on Tumblr.

 

Edited December 20, 2022 by JeMiChi

[JeMiChi]

Made a quick doodle of Bruno the Beefalo.

I just got into beefalo taming and this is the one I got for Winona. A bit of a mix of the Flowery and Victorian style there.

(as a small note, I just got a new PC that displays colors much brighter, so the colors in my art might look muted in comparison. The colors in my old art burn my eyes on this screen. xD )

[minespatch]

Nice work! Love the lighting. Looks like it came out of a child's illustration.

[JeMiChi]

Under the protection of the Queen  

Time for a corruption arc? Walking into a trap? I wouldn't know, but I'm excited for all the LORE potential that comes with this new update!

Winona finally gets to do something to actively search for her sister. And Charlie's protection makes her almost op, when she no longer needs to fear the dark or worry about dying. Just carry a rose and you'll be fine.  

So, this is something I drew based on the initial vibes after testing out my dark side gal in-game.

 

Speaking of Charlie, I didn't share this earlier:

 

 

This is my small contribution for the super cool MAP / PMV video organized by @Vixen Doe a while back;

 

 

I participated in another DST project as well, but I can't share those works just yet, so have this Wilson instead, because it's a MOOD right now..! ^^"

(my apologies for all the watermarks and nasty filters, but the internet is currently a very hostile place for artists, so sadly this is our life now)

On 1/18/2023 at 2:39 AM, minespatch said:

Nice work! Love the lighting. Looks like it came out of a child's illustration.

A super late reply, but thank you so much! As someone that's trying to work as a picture book author / illustrator for children, that's a great compliment. It means a lot!

[JeMiChi]

Whoops, spilled some jam on this one >_<

Every little flashback, character quote, and other lore drop seems to suggest that Charlie died a gruesome death (and then Maxwell built the touch stone and tried to resurrect her - and paid a horrible price for it when she came back wrong and he got trapped for a looooooong time. Or something like that anyway).

Also, not related to this image, but it reminds me of it; I'm most definitely still subscribing to the theory that the two characters in the ancient murals are these two, and I will until Klei proves me wrong. Feel free to roast me for my brainrot in ten years if that turns out to be completely wrong. xD

[NPCMaxwell]

20 minutes ago, JeMiChi said:

Whoops, spilled some jam on this one >_<

Every little flashback, character quote, and other lore drop seems to suggest that Charlie died a gruesome death (and then Maxwell built the touch stone and tried to resurrect her - and paid a horrible price for it when she came back wrong and he got trapped for a looooooong time. Or something like that anyway).

Also, not related to this image, but it reminds me of it; I'm most definitely still subscribing to the theory that the two characters in the ancient murals are these two, and I will until Klei proves me wrong. Feel free to roast me for my brainrot in ten years if that turns out to be completely wrong. xD

Ah so THIS is the story behind them he refers to when examinating the touchstone, I assumed it was something related to Charlie, but somehow I wasn't too sure if she had actually been killed before becoming her nightmonster self. But then, I am way too behind of the non-quotes lore (I still know only a handful of the videos for example) so I am not surprised I have missed obvious hints about what /exactly/ happened to her.

[JeMiChi]

38 minutes ago, NPCMaxwell said:

Ah so THIS is the story behind them he refers to when examinating the touchstone, I assumed it was something related to Charlie, but somehow I wasn't too sure if she had actually been killed before becoming her nightmonster self. But then, I am way too behind of the non-quotes lore (I still know only a handful of the videos for example) so I am not surprised I have missed obvious hints about what /exactly/ happened to her.

It could be. To explain where I got this idea, here are some of the hints that I can remember right now;

• As you already know, Maxwell says there is a story behind the touch stone
• Since the new update
  Spoiler

  "dark side" Winona can sense traces of Charlie from the touch stone, confirming it's related to her

   

• In the Encore animated short, there is a brief flashback of Charlie with the Ancient Fuelweaver behind her, and then her Chess piece is seen falling and sinking inside a black square on the board - some heavy symbolism there, sparing us from the gory details, I guess...
• In Charlie's stageplay, the doll that represents her breaks, but she's brought back to life by the Mirror (Them?)

And I'm not listing the Ancient murals here, because that's just my headcanon until confirmed by Klei. But assuming the character with the torch is Charlie, she dies protecting Maxwell from the consequences of his own mistakes. In the final mural image, only her cracked head can be seen.

Another headcanon I have comes from the fact that one of shadow Charlie's arms seems to be entirely made of shadows (curiously, there are also arm bones attached to the touch stone, although they could have belonged to a pigman too, like the heads), so I think that whatever happened to her basically shattered her to pieces, and some pieces may still be missing - like that arm. But details like this are only a headcanon for now.

This also falls in the time period between 1906 and 1910-ish, when apparently some crazy stuff happened that Klei hasn't showed us much about - yet. ^^

So based on all this, I think Maxwell made the touch stone in a hurry and made a deal with Them to bring Charlie back to life no matter the cost. And they did. They just didn't bring her back exactly as she used to be... I think Maxwell had been able to move freely in the Constant (maybe even out of it) until then, but deals like that come with a price, so he lost his freedom and became Their tool. Or something like that anyway.

Edited July 31, 2024 by JeMiChi

[NPCMaxwell]

27 minutes ago, JeMiChi said:

It could be. To explain where I got this idea, here are some of the hints that I can remember right now;

• As you already know, Maxwell says there is a story behind the touch stone
• Since the new update
    Hide contents

  "dark side" Winona can sense traces of Charlie from the touch stone, confirming it's related to her

   

• In the Encore animated short, there is a brief flashback of Charlie with the Ancient Fuelweaver behind her, and then her Chess piece is seen falling and sinking inside a black square on the board - some heavy symbolism there, sparing us from the gory details, I guess...
• In Charlie's stageplay, the doll that represents her breaks, but she's brought back to life by the Mirror (Them?)

And I'm not listing the Ancient murals here, because that's just my headcanon until confirmed by Klei. But assuming the character with the torch is Charlie, she dies protecting Maxwell from the consequences of his own mistakes. In the final mural image, only her cracked head can be seen.

Another headcanon I have comes from the fact that one of shadow Charlie's arms seems to be entirely made of shadows (curiously, there are also arm bones attached to the touch stone, although they could have belonged to a pigman too, like the heads), so I think that whatever happened to her basically shattered her to pieces, and some pieces may still be missing - like that arm. But details like this are only a headcanon for now.

This also falls in the time period between 1906 and 1910-ish, when apparently some crazy stuff happened that Klei hasn't showed us much about - yet. ^^

So based on all this, I think Maxwell made the touch stone in a hurry and made a deal with Them to bring Charlie back to life no matter the cost. And they did. They just didn't bring her back exactly as she used to be... I think Maxwell had been able to move freely in the Constant (maybe even out of it) until then, but deals like that come with a price, so he lost his freedom and became Their tool. Or something like that anyway.

This all is beautiful and sounds plausible for me (I actually really wondered why the doll was breaking, I considered it more of an emotional break, but as with all of this it could sure as well be physical. Also thanks for explaining what that part of the encore short, one of the few ones I have seen over and over again simply because I adore it, could have represented.)

Also if you ask me: Please, PLEASE don't worry about your headcanons being "destroyed" by future lore. I can assure you it is NOT mandatory to adapt your headcanons to everything the creators decide. Believe me, even though some people in fandoms (not sure about this forum) insist on it. You can always think of an alternate version the story could have happened and keep embracing your headcanons. (also I adore the idea of the murial being related to this background story, it would be sad to see this fan-idea being forgotten / discarded for the sake of conformation. I also share the headcanon of Maxwell having had a time in which he had been free and being able to build parts of the world before being locked into the "Maxwell home" and the chair. Why else would he say he had tried to escape the "Maxwell home" map (the checkmate chapter) by the hidden teleportato?.)

Edited July 31, 2024 by NPCMaxwell

[JeMiChi]

6 minutes ago, NPCMaxwell said:

This all is beautiful and sounds plausible for me (I actually really wondered why the doll was breaking, I considered it more of an emotional break, but as with all of this it could sure as well be physical.

Also if you ask me: Please, PLEASE don't worry about your headcanons being "destroyed" by future lore. I can assure you it is NOT mandatory to adapt your headcanons to everything the creators decide. Believe me, even though some people in fandoms (not sure about this forum) insist on it. You can always think of an alternate version the story could have happened and keep embracing your headcanons. (also I adore the idea of the murial being related to this background story, it would be sad to see this fan-idea being forgotten / discarded for the sake of conformation. I also share the headcanon of Maxwell having had a time in which he had been free and being able to build parts of the world before being locked into the "Maxwell home" and the chair. Why else would he say he had tried to escape the "Maxwell home" map (the checkmate chapter) by the hidden teleportato?.)

Yeah, the Doll cracks under the pressure when the overprotective Blacksmith (Winona) gives her a heavy armor to wear. That's definitely symbolic for something more on the emotional side. But she breaks fully when she gets caught in the King's magic attack, and that one feels more literal as the King is surprised to see her alive again. The entire stageplay has a lot of interesting details, some which seem to contradict what we know, suggesting that Charlie's memories may have been tampered with (or maybe she's even smarter than we realize and is using that to communicate something behind Their backs).

Awww, thank you! 

No need to worry though. This art thread itself is 10+ years old by now, so I've seen and created many headcanons in that time. I was most active here when the William Carter puzzles were ongoing, and there was a LOT of speculation happening. Some of those now-very-outdated ideas were recorded in doodle form, and I'm very glad I did or I wouldn't even remember they were a thing. So I'm sure I'll be happy to look back at my old headcanons in the next 10 years as well, whether they were confirmed or not.

We did a lot of "barking at nothing" to figure out how to solve those puzzles too, and I don't regret a single moment of it, even when my ideas weren't always the smartest. To my amusement, I noticed that one of my posts from back then was used as an unflattering example of the community brainrot in OrangE's video about the history of Don't Starve. I'd consider that an achievement. xD

So yeah, I'll happily share my headcanons and theories. But I also welcome whatever Klei has in store for us. One can have both! ^^

Thanks again for the meaningful comments, I really appreciate it!

[NPCMaxwell]

20 minutes ago, JeMiChi said:

Yeah, the Doll cracks under the pressure when the overprotective Blacksmith (Winona) gives her a heavy armor to wear. That's definitely symbolic for something more on the emotional side. But she breaks fully when she gets caught in the King's magic attack, and that one feels more literal as the King is surprised to see her alive again. The entire stageplay has a lot of interesting details, some which seem to contradict what we know, suggesting that Charlie's memories may have been tampered with (or maybe she's even smarter than we realize and is using that to communicate something behind Their backs).

Awww, thank you! 

No need to worry though. This art thread itself is 10+ years old by now, so I've seen and created many headcanons in that time. I was most active here when the William Carter puzzles were ongoing, and there was a LOT of speculation happening. Some of those now-very-outdated ideas were recorded in doodle form, and I'm very glad I did or I wouldn't even remember they were a thing. So I'm sure I'll be happy to look back at my old headcanons in the next 10 years as well, whether they were confirmed or not.

We did a lot of "barking at nothing" to figure out how to solve those puzzles too, and I don't regret a single moment of it, even when my ideas weren't always the smartest. To my amusement, I noticed that one of my posts from back then was used as an unflattering example of the community brainrot in OrangE's video about the history of Don't Starve. I'd consider that an achievement. xD

So yeah, I'll happily share my headcanons and theories. But I also welcome whatever Klei has in store for us. One can have both! ^^

Thanks again for the meaningful comments, I really appreciate it!

This tells me I REALLY need to take the time to look through this whole art thread over the next few months, since the time of the William Carter puzzle used to be my favourite part of my personal DS experience, although I had been an inactive member on this forum way to long with my first contact with the DS community (apart from two real life friends) had not been before this year, so I sadly missed what probably would have been my favourite time in the fandom and lots of fanart-occasions. And now, that I had been away from DST for something between 7 and 8 years I obviously feel like an outcast for not knowing / kind of not liking 90% of the lore that happened in all the time. But this actually encourages me even more to stick to my (probably meanwhile completely ridiculous) headcanons. ^^ So yes, one can have both \o/ I would never want Klei to change the lore they have build up, as long as I can keep my ideas. ...........but now you kind of scare me, I hope the OrangE person, who seems to be some kind of DS-community-ruler doesn't ever mention me in any video. It's not like I used to have positive experiences in my internet-fandom-community years, so people trying to put me down once again for being this one obsessive guy with the weird illogical headcanons is not really something I am looking forward too :/ But good something like this dishonerable mention is at least something positive for you xP That actually proofs to me that people who are non-conformists are still able to exist in fandoms even in a minority, so as it seems. :3

Edited July 31, 2024 by NPCMaxwell
happy shadow hand creature

[JeMiChi]

1 hour ago, NPCMaxwell said:

This tells me I REALLY need to take the time to look through this whole art thread over the next few months, since the time of the William Carter puzzle used to be my favourite part of my personal DS experience, although I had been an inactive member on this forum way to long with my first contact with the DS community (apart from two real life friends) had not been before this year, so I sadly missed what probably would have been my favourite time in the fandom and lots of fanart-occasions. And now, that I had been away from DST for something between 7 and 8 years I obviously feel like an outcast for not knowing / kind of not liking 90% of the lore that happened in all the time. But this actually encourages me even more to stick to my (probably meanwhile completely ridiculous) headcanons. ^^ So yes, one can have both \o/ I would never want Klei to change the lore they have build up, as long as I can keep my ideas. ...........but now you kind of scare me, I hope the OrangE person, who seems to be some kind of DS-community-ruler doesn't ever mention me in any video. It's not like I used to have positive experiences in my internet-fandom-community years, so people trying to put me down once again for being this one obsessive guy with the weird illogical headcanons is not really something I am looking forward too :/ But good something like this dishonerable mention is at least something positive for you xP That actually proofs to me that people who are non-conformists are still able to exist in fandoms even in a minority, so as it seems. :3

Haha, feel free to! Although my art has gone a long way since those days. xD

They were fun times and I really miss the community effort to solve those puzzles here on the forums, as well as the sneaky title fairy and other shenanigans that came from all that. It became like a game of its own. I was also away (for the most part) for about 7-8 years, until I returned a couple of years ago, but the forums aren't quite what they used to be back then, so now I'm mostly just lurking. There is a time for everything, I guess, and I was fortunate for having been around in those years. So I definitely wouldn't trade them for anything - even if I end up gaining internet fame for something less flattering. xD

(full respect to OrangE though, he did a LOT of research for that video!)

I'd say that's pretty unlikely to happen, but obviously it CAN happen (I can tell you I was quite surprised when I saw my own name and icon on the screen unexpectedly), so if you ever find yourself used as an unflattering example of community brainrot somewhere, feel free to come and highfive me. We can at least share the questionable honor then. xD

In any case, I'm happy to have met you! Good things still come from sharing art and headcanons / theories. ^^

And now is a good time to be in the fandom as well. We get a lot of really cool updates with a ton of animated videos for character lore!

And just so we won't derail the topic too much, here is a quick Marotter I doodled just now:

[JeMiChi]

I got to participate in a super cool DST fanzine project organized by the amazing @BezKa 

Now that the zine is available for everyone, I can share the pieces I drew for the project:

Make sure you check out everyone else's amazing works too! You can find the full zine here: 

 

[NPCMaxwell]

If you hadn't linked to this I probably would have missed that content completely, since I couldn't have thought of what a "zine" would be, when stumbling upon the thread's topic name later that day. So thanks for bringing more attention to the complete fanproject ^^

Edited August 3, 2024 by NPCMaxwell

[JeMiChi]

On 8/3/2024 at 8:25 PM, NPCMaxwell said:

If you hadn't linked to this I probably would have missed that content completely, since I couldn't have thought of what a "zine" would be, when stumbling upon the thread's topic name later that day. So thanks for bringing more attention to the complete fanproject ^^

You are welcome! I'm glad it brought you to take a look at the whole zine. Everyone worked hard on their pieces! ^^

I really like fan projects like this, since they bring so many talented people together, and it's cool to see all those works in a collection like this. 

 

On another note, since you seemed to enjoy my theories and headcanons, I thought you might like to read these;

https://jemichi90.tumblr.com/post/757969715101679616/okay-op-in-your-recent-art-you-mentioned-that

https://jemichi90.tumblr.com/post/758636685378666496/on-flowers-and-the-fuelweaver

I had a similar conversation with someone else, and it expanded... a little bit... x'D

[NPCMaxwell]

20 minutes ago, JeMiChi said:

You are welcome! I'm glad it brought you to take a look at the whole zine. Everyone worked hard on their pieces! ^^

I really like fan projects like this, since they bring so many talented people together, and it's cool to see all those works in a collection like this. 

 

On another note, since you seemed to enjoy my theories and headcanons, I thought you might like to read these;

https://jemichi90.tumblr.com/post/757969715101679616/okay-op-in-your-recent-art-you-mentioned-that

https://jemichi90.tumblr.com/post/758636685378666496/on-flowers-and-the-fuelweaver

I had a similar conversation with someone else, and it expanded... a little bit... x'D

I actually planned to read both but I was only able to read on flowers and the fuelweaver and up to the part about Ancient Fuelweaver skeleton already be seen in the ancient artwork. Sadly my nerves didn't allow me to read any further (or maybe not even will allow me to continue reading) for a lot of different reasons a) DST Lore being a stress for me in general with all those new things being added b) it is tumblr, I more or less told myself to never (or at least not in my current 'social-media-phobia' state) to disable my website blocker for tumblr again. I had to disable it in order to start reading and although I stayed on the text conversation alone my stresslevel was raising so badly I had to leave before being able to finish the whole text on Maxwell and Charlie (I'm so sorry ;;)

But of everything I HAVE read it sounds plausible to me (and this although my mind with the DST lore or in general really is unable to think logical at ALL as I am so deep in confusion from having been missing almost EVERYTHING DST lore that happened between Charlie-taking-the-throne and the latest game update (the one with the otters) ) nothing I would exclude, if I was forced to make a decision on it.

I personally like Maxwell's quotes about the evil flowers / flowers so much, that I believe it definitely must have been the change from the nightmare fuel that makes him unable to not somehow "corrupt" anything he touches. Since he feels the "urge" to stomp on the good flowers, I'm sure that if he had attempted to plant good flowers in the world before (maybe the roses would be an exception since they are basically partly "evil" for hurting the player when picking them), they sure would have been turned evil or withered / or him actually destroying / stomping on them out of a nightmare-fuel-induced-urge.  I kind of imagine that the butterflies may have been a "workaround" of being able to plant flowers without destroying them instantly since the "flying-flower" is basically "killed" by being planted into a flower. Also flowers and evil flowers both can birth butterflies, I suppose the butterflies were created by Maxwell as a way to make the few flowers he managed to hold back on destroying or turning evil to spread over the constant nevertheless. Maybe trying to remind himself, that not necessarily all he creates has to turn out being damaging, and that he's still got some kindness within him, altough it is fragile as patterns.

I don't know, just a thought.

I also love the possessive hivemind idea a lot.

About the skeleton of Ancient Fuelweaver I can't say much about that since I truly miss most of the lore about that.