One thing about Obsession (2026) that I enjoyed was that it almost asks you to feel empathy for the entity possessing Nikki as well as the real one. Like, obviously the things she's doing are horrific and fucked up, but I think the scene where Bear is asking her to "just be Nikki!" and she eventually just desperatly screams "I can't be Nikki!" does a really good job of showcasing the entity's inner feelings. She's been created with the sole purpose of loving this guy more than anyone else but no matter how perfect it is or how much he claims to love her, its not her that he loves, its Nikki. And any time she stops pretending to be Nikki, he reacts (albeit rightfully) with disgust and horror. She can't be Nikki because Nikki would never love Bear, and so Bear will never love her.
it's fascinating to see that other people are approaching this movie in terms of "there is another entity possessing nikki" when like. i really didn't get that vibe at all. that's nikki. the whole time it's just nikki. except some compelling force has rewritten something in her brain and has completely stripped her autonomy and agency. she's being people-puppetted by herself.
not to say that classifying wish-nikki as a separate entity is the wrong read, per se, it's just interesting to see a different take. they're structurally identical but idk there's just SOMETHING extra crunchy about there being no distinct Other Entity. that was Nikki. sometimes she came back to lucidity and got control of herself back in tiny bits and pieces. but the Thing that was taking her over and forcing her to be someone else's plaything... it's still just her.
i guess my read on that line specifically wasn't "i can't be nikki" as in "i'm this other entity and I can't be the person i took over", it was "i can't be the nikki you erased because you didn't actually want that version in your life, you wanted me. you wanted the version that loved you like a beaten dog."
let me preface this by informing you all of something: I have not gone out of my way to listen to The Beatles. I know. "bUt ThEy InVeNtEd RoCk" *for white people. rock existed before them, and it's progressed from them...
that being said
if John Lennon, from prime Beatles, was the same age but born in like, the 00's, he would 100% be the guy to fetishize the fuck out of goth women
slowly realizing that I'm actually non binary is insane. but the way I'm non binary is even stranger than not simply being a man or a woman. within myself, I feel an absence of gender, yes. in my own company, in my own head, I don't classify myself as having a gender. I'm neither man, nor woman, I'm just me.
however in my relationship to the world, I prefer being referred to in more masculine terms. that is, in terms of pronouns, in terms of casual description. "That guy over there, you see him". but never, "That man over there". truth be told, I've never seen myself as a man. that always felt too... serious. being a man is to be put in a rigid box of tradition, which to me, defeated the entire purpose of my transition. I didn't trade in one rigid box of tradition for another. I wanted to exist without restriction. Be myself. And being myself doesn't require boxes.
I want to seem like I'd belong in the box of Gi-joe and Action Man, but there's something about me that makes you pause, compare me to the Barbie and Bratz box, and eventually decide to keep me on a shelf instead. With all the other toys you love, but find difficult to categorize.
"Why isn't he in with the rest of the box?"
"I dunno... It feels like he could go in there, but it just feels wrong."
"So... What about the other box?"
"Do you seriously think that's much better for him? Or for the Barbie's and Monster High dolls?"
"I mean... Maybe the Monster Hi—"
"Nah... Nah, that's not right either."
"Well, we can't put him in with the figurines. Or the stuffed animals... What do we do with him?"
Leave me on the windowsill. Leave me on the mantle. Put me on top of the air conditioner. Somewhere I can see the world, the people, the bugs. Somewhere you'd be happy, — if slightly perturbed or frightened, even, — to spot me.
haruhi → trans man. they would absolutely have a crucial aspect of her character be about exploring her gender identity. the show would follow her as she expresses both masculinity and femininity and how that changes how she's treated by the side characters, the love interests, and of course her internal journey to self acceptance. by the end of the series, haruhi would choose to come out as a trans man, possibly change his name to haru (maybe at some point during the middle of the series just correct people into using haru as a more masc/less gendered version of his name). like they'd really push the queer undertones and take it further than the original. I imagine he'd also have a better relationship with his father after her transition, and gradually come into not only respect, but also look to her for guidance. rather than having her character and transition be played for laughs.
tamaki → pretty much the same. melodramatic rich boy who means well, but comes from a very traditional household. not that his family wouldn't accept him if he were to come out as queer, just that they wouldn't necessarily understand what that would mean in how to treat him and his partner. he would have pansexual subtext, and would be the only of the main love interests who experiences a consistent level of attraction to haruhi regardless of gendered presentation. the moral of his character would be that he loves haruhi for their soul, rather than how that soul manifests in his body. at the very beginnings of haruhis exploration of their identity, he would absolutely be the one to say "HER PRONOUNS ARE THEY/THEM!!!" he's a little confused, but he's got the spirit
kyouya → once again, pretty much the same, and still serves as the fundamental parallel to tamaki. rich, traditional household, pansexual subtext, however his family is considerably more hesitant to queerness than tamakis. kyouyas attraction to haruhi throughout would also remain consistent as tamakis does, however he's more... crass. again, his family is very traditional. the whole idea of haruhi "wanting to be a boy" is bizarre. he will make comments about how she should act "more ladylike", there would be an episode in which a well meaning kyouya tries to bring out haruhis feminine side, only to be told essentially to chill out, and that gender expression isn't something the outside world can force onto somebody, which has him feeling humiliated for embarrassing his crush, but also makes him realize that haruhi is attractive to him no matter what. regardless of if she acts how a "woman is supposed to", or regardless of if she even *is* a woman at all, kyouya would still have these feelings.
hikaru and kaoru → yes, I know, these are two separate people, but the show would continue (at least for the first half) to make them a packaged deal. they'd explore the complexities of having a twin a little more than the show already does. the twincest angle wouldn't exactly disappear, but they will make sure the audience knows that they're not actually incestuous in their relationship. stuff like really playing it up for the club, but the second the audience leaves, they brush past it and either bristle or high five each other depending on exactly how intimate the act was. the closer they get to having kissed each other, the more grossed out they get. I'd imagine the twins are both asexual, but it manifests in opposite ways. hikaru is the hypersexual one who projects the image of being the dominant twin, the womanizer, the massively thirsty of the two towards haruhi, but in reality... he really doesn't see anybody in that light. he can't see himself actually having sex or ever wanting to have sex, but still wants that closeness you'd get from an intimate partner. deep down, hikaru is romantic, more than the playboy he tries to be. kaoru is the more reserved of the two, I think, and would have an easier time understanding his asexuality and would help hikaru, along with haruhi, to come to terms with it. except, he's not necessarily romantic the same way hikaru is. I'd want to say kaorus character would explore a kind of queer-platonic relationship with haruhi, which I think would be really interesting to see. and of course, the packaged duo of asexual twins, I'd imagine that could branch into a consensual, closed polyamorous relationship, which maybe the three of them try out for an episode or two, before haruhi realizes that a) they're not polyamorous, and b) they're not asexual, and would like to experience more intimacy than the twins are comfortable providing.
mori → once again, pretty much the same, however I'd remake him to be the groups token straight. his attraction to haruhi is more prominent whenever she's presented under a feminine light, rather than a masculine light. he'd be moderately attracted to their androgyny, however haruhi picks up on how he treats them during those more androgynous days. mori would default to referring to haruhi as a girl, and would still treat her as one through their ambiguous presentation, which haruhi would confront. "just because you know what's in my pants, doesn't mean you have to baby me" or basically "youre being a sexist cunt" which he would get better at. he's not homophobic or transphobic, just generally unaware of how to handle queerness. he's trying though. and eventually, his feelings for haruhi go from romantic to platonic as he gets more comfortable in a masculine identity, which can and does happen. they'd still be good friends.
honey → twink. gay twink. initially he would only feel platonically for haruhi, treating her like his best friend even though they barely know each other. but as haruhi begins exploring their more masculine identity, or whenever pretransition she does something to showcase her physical strength, honey is like "wow that's actually really hot-". fully embracing his crush on haruhi as they present more masculine. I imagine the relationship between haruhi and honey would parallel kyouyas trying to force femininity onto them, but with honey trying to enforce masculinity to a potentially toxic extent, like a lot of trans men experience in the earlier years of their transitions. he tries to "coach" haruhi on voice training, walking "like a man", dressing "like a man", but goes too far in saying that haruhi should omit specific "feminine" words or polices their outfits and behaviors saying shit like "you wanna be a man, don't you? why are you getting a girly desert?" which would then make haruhi snap and point out that honey, himself, is incredibly effeminate! pointing out hypocrisy, dismantling toxic masculinity, for which honey concedes and does a little self reflection.
renge → the secret love interest...!! closeted bisexual, obsessed with kyouya, and then haruhi joins the host club and performs as a boy or otherwise tomboy, which has her realizing oh fuck... girls are hot. of course, she'd end up finding out through snooping that haruhi is a girl at first, and threaten to blackmail her to which haruhi is like?? okay?? I don't care?? gender is a construct and idgaf?? shenanigans ensue, and she realizes she has a crush on haruhi. it subsides a little during the in-between stage of haruhis identity exploration, but when he comes out as a guy, renge starts falling for him again. maybe they try dating for a little while, before another, butch lesbian character is introduced which has renge by the fucking throat *immediately*!!!! but her and haruhi are still friends.
it's usually morally correct to make fun of the usa but whenever i hear british people do it it feels kinda tone deaf. idk if we have the high ground here guys. its like your mom making fun of your mental illness like ma'am where do you think i got it from.
I may have a problem on liking the villain/antihero more me personally I can see where there coming from at times and yes sometimes the real hero is the villain/antihero it depends on the character tho I confess am obsessed over Cooper Howard and Dylan Blake at the moment there in my head at the moment I can't stop thinking of them.
people talk about the weirdness of seeing school friends get married and have kids but its even crazier when its online friends. like bro i've seen your carrd kin list. we went to homestuck together. brothers in chronically online arms. what do you MEAN youre pregnant.
I think Curly had a crush on Anya and Jimmy knew.
Hear me out:
The more I think about the way Jimmy behaved and the type of person he is, the more I think that him assaulting Anya might have not been just purely Lust driven. I think it was also Jealousy.
He saw Anya as an object, and as we see in the game he kind of treated her like one too. And Curly did not, Curly treated Anya as a whole person. Had convos with her, made jokes with her.
I think Curly might have off-handedly mentioned how much he likes Anya as a person to Jimmy, and it made Jimmy mad. Made him mad that Curly was again, getting everything he wanted.
Now, I'll have to check the timeline, but if the assault happened AFTER Jimmy found out about the layoffs, that could lean even more into my theory. We see on the memo from the company that Curly is in line for other opportunities after the trip, but the rest of the crew is getting laid off. And we know that Jimmy is immensely jealous of Curly, so far as to twist his words and accuse him of leaving them all behind, leaving HIM behind.
So, what does Jimmy do? He takes something of "Curly's." He takes Anya. And the whole time he's probably thinking "If Curly is going to ditch me, I can at least get back at him by taking his woman"
I may add more to this, I'm going to replay the game with my bf later, but for now, these are my thoughts. lmk if y'all agree or disagree :)
just to clear up the timeline somewhat, Anya was assaulted before anybody knew anything about the layoffs.
the talk she had with curly alluding to what happened, happened the night before Curly had been faxed by Pony Express. the assault happened within the first month of them being on board
so, did everybody miss the part where jimmy murdered Swansea, drove Anya to suicide and left Curly to possibly suffer alone in space for 20+ years?
!!! btw I'm not mad at you op, just the implications of the original pic- I agree 100% they both fucking suck !!!
or the fact he made Curly, his best friend, the reason he has his job in the first place, eat his own limbs?
he tried to kill everyone on the ship, actively murdered someone, drove someone to suicide after raping them, passively murdered someone else by coercing them into putting themselves in danger, beat his newly disabled best friend, force fed someone their own limbs and actively cannibalized them as well.
so, it should really say jimmy raped, murdered, is responsible for at least 3 deaths and is a cannibal and forced autocannibalist
I know nothing about boyfriend to death, but if people can simp for strade, let them simp for jimmy too.
