Twilight Fan Theory Reaches New Depths of Disturbing
Thought imprinting was creepy? Wait until you read this headcanon.
Imprinting has been a pain in the neck for Twilight fans for years.
The Official Illustrated Guide describes imprinting as 'the total acceptance and support' between a werewolf and the person they imprint on and says it's not inherently romantic, but the Twilight books and movie series suggest that the process is much darker than that.
There are parts of Stephenie Meyer's books that strongly imply that imprinting can only end romantically, which is pretty unsettling when you consider that things like Jacob imprinting on infant Renesmee or Quil imprinting on a two-year-old happen. And while many fans prefer to erase those storylines from their minds altogether, or change the explanation of the romantic bond to a more friendly angle, there are some Twihards who have created entire headcanons explaining why imprinting is necessary for the survival of a pack.
So, one of the fan theories is that imprinting is a biological drive to create stronger wolves, which means that when a werewolf senses a person who is reproductively and genetically compatible with them, they immediately imprint, regardless of the imprintee's age or free will.
In addition, the theory goes, imprinting helps a werewolf calm down and control spontaneous phasing (shape-shifting). Furthermore, every single wolf would eventually imprint if they phased long enough — for example, Taha Aki imprinted on his third wife when he was over 100 years old.
This leads fans to conclude that imprinting is not only a genetic process, but also a survival mechanism for a pack. Instead of creating a bond with the mates available at the time, some werewolves imprint on babies and toddlers to ensure that they don't all quit phasing at the same time and that there is at least one wolf around for the next 15–20 years.
The theory certainly sounds compelling and makes sense as an evolutionary process. But if you think about it, the mechanism is actually painful for both the werewolf, who has to wait years to get their phasing under control, and their imprintee, who grows up without the option of a future romantic partner. And it's just… yuck.
Source: Reddit.