ctcmjh wrote:crazy juice
Pete is the living manifestation of Grape's own hopes, dreams, and fears.
The forest in which Grape first encounters Pete in her dream is an idyllic place, warm and sunny, one in which she even remarks she could take some "awesome naps". It's also scenic, with a pond, waterfall, and many trees. This is Grape's "happy place", where she feels most comfortable, a spot where her abused psyche can retreat to during times of stress and sadness; the warm, pretty glen where she can sleep in peace is a stark contrast to her obviously traumatic time as an abandoned kitten, or her terrifying stay in the animal shelter afterward, or even her relatively comfortable home life, where Peanut is constantly interrupting her naps. In comparison, the tomb where Pete resides is a dark place, lonely and isolated, not unlike her cage at the shelter would have been.
Notice that while Zach is the "Opener of Ways", it is Grape who first has any sort of contact with Pete, and experiences the prophetic and vivid dream about his location (which includes scenes that we don't even get to witness). Later, when she awakes, she finds herself clutching one of his feathers, which has seemingly materialized out of nowhere, and is the only trace of Pete to be found in the real world. Zach, for his part, does very little except press a button to open the tomb, and then again to release Pete (which he only does in order to illustrate his prior actions to Grape).
It is worth mentioning that "Peanut" here appears to be nothing more than part of the dream, as he later has no memory of the glen or of meeting Pete; it is telling, however, that it is dream-Peanut (i.e., Grape's subconscious) who names the creature, and who leads her along the complicated route to find him (upon entering the glen, he immediately knows where to go, even though they have never been there before).
Pete didn't call out to Grape; Grape
created Pete from her own thoughts.
Like Grape herself, Pete is a creature of dualities. While Grape is generally good, she is also capable of great anger and violence; as a carnivore, she is a natural hunter, and we have seen her kill and eat her prey. She is also visibly troubled by her own past, and suffers abandonment issues to this day. Her best friend is a dog for whom she feels great affection, yet her romantic interests lie with her own kind. Accordingly, Pete himself is a hybrid, two creatures instead of one, representing the conflicting sides of Grape's personality: he is both lion (which Grape has explicitly mentioned being attracted to), representing the raw passions of love, desire, strength, and anger; and an eagle with blue feathers, symbolizing fear and hunger (as Grape's natural prey), sadness, and cold, analytical logic.
Likewise, Pete himself is a reflection of Grape, neither angel nor devil; he is intelligent, decisive, and possesses a sharp, sarcastic sense of humor (he expresses indifferent amusement when Joel finds himself naked after his transformation; Grape does the same thing to her father in the shower). Grape herself describes him as an impish prankster, and there is a hint of mischief in his demeanor; we know already that Grape enjoys the games she and Peanut play, and that she too has a wicked sense of humor. In part, this is what makes Pete so potentially dangerous; he is limited only by the power of Grape's imagination, and like Peanut, she is a creative spirit. This imbues Pete with tremendous power and influence upon the fabric of reality, the same power that Grape uses to write epics set in the Pridelands or to command the Mashed Potato Men from Mars.
The reasons behind Pete's appearance are unclear. Little has happened to Grape immediately prior to his manifestation; while she is aware of Peanut's crush on her by this time, that doesn't come to a head until much later. Apart from that, the most noteworthy events which take place are her encounter with the raccoons (which she handles fairly easily), or her murder of Klaus (which doesn't seem to bother her). However, we know relatively little about Grape's early life, and there may be factors of which we are unaware; Grape first dreams of Pete during the winter, just before Christmas, and unleashes him at exactly the same time the next year. This is significant, as the holidays (or winter in general) may be a difficult time for Grape, for whatever reason. Pete's own motives are also unclear, as Grape has endowed him with a measure of sentience and the ability to act independently to pursue his own goals (which, again, makes him potentially hazardous). Only time will tell whether Grape has the strength--or the
desire--to rein him back in.
She can also start fires with her mind.
And then there's the matter of Tarot, who literally appears out of nowhere when Peanut is feeling sad...
second best edit ever.
