just saw this clip of stacy talking abt the scene of naim's frst encounter with the entity at hunter's funeral and explaining how the entity targets naim by mimicking ryan's lust bc it's whole design is to link desire with fear. though naim is crying and shaken it doesn't offer words of comfort, it pulls him in for a rough kiss and tries to arouse him--targeting naim's sexual desire specifically. only once naim responds, kissing back with fervour, does it become violent. because the entity's main goal is to link fear and desire in naim's mind. pavlovian conditioning: by associating arousal with violence and fear, any feelings of lust and desire will be avoided. that's why the church enacts the ritual. they don't want queer kids dead, they want them scared. the goal has always been conformity. we need fear. fear is how we survive.
but when naim's last act in the face of what could be his death is to reach up and gently cup the entity's face, it falters. because to the people who set this thing upon ryan and naim and hunter, love was never part of the equation. the church puts so much emphasis on lust and desire because that's all queerness is to these people--sexual immorality condemned by God. and that's why the entity, a tool used by religious folk to scare kids away from their queerness and force them to conform, ultimately fails to drive ryan and naim apart.
