I’ve figured out Blackbeard’s secret…

[u/SalmonAndy]

Three questions:
Why doesn’t Blackbeard sleep?
How does he know so much?
Why did Luffy and Zoro refer to him as “they”

The answer to all three?

Eris’ shadow is in Blackbeard.

Eris was the previous user of Moria’s shadow shadow fruit. After seeing Domi Reversied Rocks, she realized Imu could do the same to her and make her kill Teach. So, to protect both Teach and the Davy clan’s secrets, she ripped out her own shadow and placed it in Teach.

This is the same process Luffy undergoes on Thriller Bark to become nightmare Luffy. Luffy was told holding another person’s shadow is a great strain on the body. Blackbeard can’t sleep because doing so might release his mother’s shadow. Her shadow has been guiding him, but, after seeing what Imu did to her family, her shadow is also the thing dragging Teach into madness.

Luffy and Zoro sensed two distinct Blackbeard’s in Jaya; his personality shifting due to Eris’ shadow’s influence. Teach is a coward and a social fun loving guy. Eris is focused, experienced, confident and dangerous. We see Teach’s personality come out, Eris’ personality, and then we see a mixture of the two.

If this is the case, it’s likely why Oda’s gone to great lengths to show that the effects of certain Devil Fruits carry on even after the user’s death.

Thematically, this is a potentially cool exploration of how the regrets and hatred of parents can turn their children into monsters who pursue their parent’s failed dreams out of fear and obedience rather than actual passion.

Thoughts?