"It’s pretty late so I can’t read this entire 60k fic, I’ll just check out the first chapter 🥰" <- dumb bitch who has never once learned from her mistakes
People who came across Ryland Grace tended to make two assumptions about who he was as a person. Assumption one: Ryland Grace was kind. Assumption two: Ryland Grace was always kind.
Typically people who believed assumption two were those who were too young or have had yet to see Grace's very public crashout during his academia days (and Ryland dearly wished for the day where is outburst would be forgotten about entirely).
The truth was Ryland Grace had to learn how to be kind. He chose to be kind; Ryland's anger had always gotten him into trouble ever since he was a child. From slapping away hands who hadn't asked permission to touch his belongings to yelling at others whenever they 'weren't doing x activity properly.' Ryland had quickly been labelled as a troubled child, a classroom nusiance, a brat who thought he knew better and refused to accept when he was in the wrong.
In actuality Ryland just had trouble reniforcing boundries and asking others to follow them; instead his brain automatically went to anger because anger was better then drowning in shame and anxiety. Anger was respected. Anger was better than bursting into tears in the middle of the classroom and being accused of being a crybaby.
So yeah. Ryland was angry. Less so since now he had a classroom full of twenty something kids for six hours a day and he would rather eat gum off of the sidewalk than make a kid cry just because he, the adult in the room, couldn't keep his temper in check.
If Ryland Grace was kind, it was because he chose to be kind.
When people met Ryland's partner, Simon, (No last name, that last name was dead and gone for all Simon cared-) they often made two assumptions about him. Assumption one: He was always serious. Assumption two: He was the angry one in the relationship. People who made assumption two insantly changed their attitude upon properly meeting Simon and realizing the man was actually very kind, if a little sensitive, and just had the unfortunate luck of having a very intimidating resting face.
It wasn't always like that. The resting face.
Simon was an expressive child, he wore his heart on his sleeve. His facial expressions and body language always gave away his feelings, his thoughts, his fears. He was the complete opposite of the word 'stoic.'
Eden ate him alive because of that.
Simon quickly learned how to school his expression, how to bite his tongue, how to repress sobs, how to hold himself rigid and always at attention.
Simon learned that anger was respected, anger could be a shield. And so Simon learned to wield anger as both a shield and dagger, he hid beneath anger, he sheltred behind rage.
...It was tiring.
It was performative.
It wasn't real. The anger.
It was because if people thought Simon was angry they'd leave him alone, and he would be safe.
Crying wasn't safe.
When people saw Simon and Ryland together they'd always assume Simon would be the one that needed to be held back during an altercation.
And there were times where that was true, though Simon would always attempt to solve conflicts with words first. (The one time he had hit someone was because they kept putting their arm around Ryland despite being brushed off several times. Stupid Tom Ryder-) and even then Simon had grabbed ice for the jerk celeb afterwards.
Simon's temper didn't hold a candle to Ryland's.
Ryland would soon be getting his wish of his academia crashout being forgotten.
Because now he would be remembered for tackling a Brother Of Eden who had begun harassing Simon. From an outside perspective Simon appeared unaffected, bored even. But Ryland knew his partner.
Ryland knew that when Simon's jaw tightened it was because he was holding back tears (Simon's true anger was always in the form of tears much to the man's chagrin. Ryland would always kiss away the tears if Simon let him (which he did)). Ryland knew that when Simon's shoulder's curled around his ears he was fighting against long honed instincts screaming at him to either run away or hurt the threat before it could hurt him.
(Simon wasn't a violent dog. He didn't want to bite but his body trained him to in order to keep himself safe).
Ryland Grace chose to be kind. He chose -when- to be kind and to whom.
Ryland's kindness was an intentional choice. Not an inherent part of his character.
So he tackled the Brother Of Eden and verbally tore into him, defending Simon with everthing he had while also denouncing the death cult that Eden was.
(If Ryland were asked if it was worth needing to go into hiding for about a month he'd say yes because it meant he and Simon got to spend more time together.)
Ryland Grace chose kindness and Simon chose to wield anger as a protective shield.
I think the thing that is the most disturbing to me about Obsession is just how quickly it becomes totally clear that Bear not only never loved Nikki, but that he never even liked her.
In the little time we spend with Nikki before she becomes possessed “freaky” Nikki, Obsession goes to great lengths to establish Nikki as a person.
In just the first 15 minutes of the film, we learn that Nikki loves writing, she’s laid back, and that she cares very deeply for others. We see that she’s funny, she likes to gently tease her friends and joke around. She has ambition and wants to pursue her writing seriously. She has her own goals and thoughts and opinions.
She’s also characterized very well by her wardrobe, how she talks, her body language and expressions (courtesy of Inde Navarrette’s absolutely STUNNING and brilliant performance).
In a VERY short amount of time, the audience is given a VERY clear picture of Nikki’s personality and usual behavior.
Which makes her “transition” into “Freaky” Nikki all the more horrific when Bear makes his wish.
Because even if we give Bear some grace, and acknowledge that he couldn’t have known that the One Wish Willow would do what it did, and even if we treat his kissing her on the first night she comes over as morally grey (although in my opinion he absolutely did take advantage of the fragile mental state he believed her to be in), there is no way to excuse Bear blatantly ignoring that Nikki changes so drastically from the person Bear claims to be in love with.
After the wish, Nikki starts speaking differently and using a higher pitched voice, she starts dressing completely differently and wearing more traditionally “feminine” clothing. She suddenly drops her plan to quit working at the music store and pursue writing, she stops showing any care towards her other friends and the people in her life. She defers to Bear in every situation, with the only exception being any time Bear shows any sign of moving away from her emotionally (or physically).
After the wish, Nikki becomes a completely different person.
And Bear does not care or show any concern regarding this at all.
Everything that makes Nikki who she is, everything that makes Nikki, Nikki, is just gone after Bear uses the One Wish Willow.
And Bear couldn’t be happier.
We get a whole montage of Bear and “Nikki” as a “happy couple” hanging out together and ignoring everyone around them.
It’s not until Bear starts seeing actual consequences to his wish, such as “Nikki” causing a scene on their date or feeding his dead cat to him, that he begins to worry about her behavior.
And even then—EVEN THEN!!!!—Bear STILL adamantly refuses to accept that Nikki is not behaving rationally or how she used to in any way. While he eventually acquiesces to canceling his wish, he first tries to just “alter” it to make it so Nikki still loves him, but is just less intense.
He would rather use “Nikki” to satisfy his own desires and ego.
If Bear loved Nikki, hell, if he even just LIKED her for who she is, he would be horrified by “freaky” Nikki. He would have recognized and acknowledge extremely early on in their relationship, that something was deeply wrong. He would know that the woman he was with was not Nikki.
But Bear would rather have a bootleg version of Nikki that he can feel validated by, than have an actual relationship of any kind with the real Nikki.
He does not love Nikki. He does not even like her.
He likes the idea of Nikki. He likes the image of Nikki that he’s constructed of her, the image of her that only exists in his head.
He likes the fantasy of what Nikki would provide to him emotionally and physically.
From the beginning of the film, Obsession shows us exactly who its villain is. Nothing that “Freaky” Nikki does horrifies me as much as Bear’s treatment of Nikki and his refusal to see her as an actual person with autonomy.
For me that’s the most disturbing element of Obsession. That the people you trust the most and care about may be so obsessed with the version of you they’ve created in their mind that they’ll actively ignore your personhood and autonomy.
God. Obsession is so fucking good. I love film. I love cinema. Thank you Inde Navarrette. Thank you Curry Barker. Film of the year, if god hates horror fans why do we keep winning.
Iron Lung and Project Hail Mary as "men who persevere against impossible odds and find courage in the depths of despair"
Versus Obsession and Backrooms "men will willingly stay in a literal horror movie situation over confronting their mistakes and taking responsibility for their actions"
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