CW: Theo is problematic af.
The two of them met when they were teenagers. They didn’t like each other at first and they got into a fight, but there was a moment in which they had to work together coz they had to face a bigger ‘threat’ so they had each other’s backs. This caused them to think that the other ‘wasn’t so bad’. The two of them then got into a lot of ‘incidents’ together. They set fire to a part of the school by accident once. Theo also tried to hack into the school system to tweak their grades, but he was found out. The two of them were held back a year. They cut their palms and smeared their blood with each other’s, squeezed each other’s hands (as hard as possible) and swore to be ‘blood brothers’. Immediately after, Theo went to smear his bloody palm across Nolan’s face.
Before meeting Theo, Nolan didn’t really have friends. He was lonely and misunderstood. He couldn’t make friends. He tried, and he always ended up getting into fights. In the end, he decided to be a loner. He has anger issues where he had difficulty controlling his temper. He is very competitive and a sore loser, getting angry when he loses. He also gets gamer rage and throws the controller when he loses. He would get irrationally upset over things. Nolan would throw things when he is angry. His friendship with Theo made him feel like he finally had someone who "understood" him. He felt he could be around Theo as he was because here’s someone who’s also misunderstood, and he doesn’t need to pretend to be someone else (’guai’). Nolan used to feel lonely, but after he knew Theo, Theo doesn’t give you time to feel lonely. Theo is always coming up with new plans and ideas and involving Nolan in them.
Theo didn’t have long-term friends before Nolan. He had many accomplices but none of them became long-lasting relationships because the other always tried to one-up him to be the ‘boss’ of the relationship and to Theo, there’s only one boss, and that’s him. As a result, whenever Theo condescends to give Nolan a compliment (rare) he is quick to insult Nolan in the same breath so 1) Nolan doesn’t get a big head/doesn’t let it get to his head, 2) he wants to keep Nolan in his place and he doesn’t want a repeat of people ‘challenging his power’, 3) (not that he is aware) he actually feels self-conscious saying something positive/nice about Nolan. This is also why he generally has the condescending opinion that Nolan is not the brightest bulb in the box and he calls Nolan’s Pokemon team a bunch of lackeys/dumbbells/brutes. Unlike Nolan’s ‘deep’ feelings towards Theo, Theo’s feelings towards Nolan is just: Nolan is his bro.
Theo condescendingly told Nolan that he’s “not bad for a gringo and sheeple”. Nolan doesn’t know how to react to that and just went "Mm.” Whenever Theo introduces Nolan to his friends, he would sling an arm around Nolan and smugly call him “my gringo”. Nolan is partially amused but he is also isn’t sure if he should feel offended by it. When Theo visited Nolan’s parents, Nolan had to warn him against calling them gringos.
Not that he is aware, Theo actually wants Nolan to be impressed and approving of him and his antics. He wants Nolan’s good opinion. He doesn’t actually care that much if Nolan is moody or snaps at him, or is angry with him (though he is sometimes a bit scared of Nolan’s anger). If Nolan is grumpy with him, Theo just ignores him and comes back to check on him a couple of hours and ask him something to the effect of, “are you still PMSing”. If Nolan was genuinely disappointed in Theo, though, Theo feels a bit squirmy inside and he just wants to go back to Nolan having a good opinion of him.
Double bs’s dynamic on Theo’s side: Theo is 1) having fun (with a bro), 2) he has an audience, he can perform, he always looks at Nolan to check with Nolan how it’s being received (Day does the same thing of looking at Nolan/checking). He feels good when Nolan laughs at his ‘jokes’ (which are just insulting/offensive jokes) and thinks he has creative ideas, 3) he wants to impress Nolan. Over time, Nolan became fond of Theo (he didn’t even realize that). He’s very exasperated, but he cares. He’s like a dad looking out for him. Theo, similarly, started out where he looked down on Nolan/thinks he’s not very smart, but ended up being proud of Nolan as a bro and wanting to impress him/have his good opinion. He cares about what Nolan thinks of him (he almost never cares about what other people think of him, in fact, he wants to leave the worst possible impression on people).
The two of them are quite in sync with each other, they get each other’s humor. They’ve become very accustomed to each other’s mannerisms, so they can sort of predict each other. They are comfortable with each other. A real life reference is the youtube comedy duo Rhett & Link, where Rhett is similar to Nolan and Link is similar to Theo.
Theo likes to harass/needle Nolan (https://a-friendinthedark.tumblr.com/post/157367712244 Theo is the guy screaming at the sleeping guy). Nolan puts up with it because it’s Theo Behavior so he has come to accept it. He understands that this is just the kind of person Theo is, so it’s either you put up with this or you don’t befriend him. After a while, Nolan stops questioning why, it’s just when and how. When it’s not done to him, he tends to find it funny. Theo finds Nolan’s reactions to being harassed/shocked as hilarious. His favorite is making Nolan scream (few things crack him up as much). Nolan will smack him, to which Theo thinks is a ‘small price to pay’. Theo manhandles Nolan. They can enjoy each other’s pain/they find each other’s pain funny (for pranks). If there was a camera, Nolan would sometimes be looking into the camera like he’s on the office about Theo’s antics (’you see. you see what i have to put up with’).
On Nolan’s side, he finds Theo fun, innovative and "insane" (in the best way). He enjoys his wild energy and feels affectionately for him. CONTINUE
Nolan looks out for Theo and makes sure he doesn’t do dangerous things. He feels partly responsible coz he realized Theo doesn’t have the awareness of when something is truly dangerous or not. Theo doesn’t actually get into any life-threatening situations because of Nolan.
Because of Theo’s upbringing, he sometimes very indifferently/casually/matter-of-factly tells Nolan not to do something or there will be spirits/ghosts. Nolan is secretly afraid of the occult so he gets a bit wary and he listens seriously (’shit man, for real?’).
Theo finds Nolan’s company comforting, on a very unconscious level (’no I’m not gay’). Nolan finds their relationship very comfortable, he is very at ease around Theo. He can be very crass, doesn’t need to filter his words. #nofilter
Double bs fighting/not getting along
Theo is a bit afraid of Nolan’s anger when it’s directed at him, because he wants Nolan’s good opinion/doesn’t want Nolan upset at him. If Nolan was angry at some random stranger, he’s totally fine letting Nolan shout at a passerby (who knocked into him, made him drop stuff, and told him to “learn to walk”). He will even add oil to the fire by enthusiastically and loudly bringing up more evidence of the person’s insolence. If it’s exciting enough, he will even video Nolan. Double bs fought with gangs before and before fights, Theo will even rile Nolan up because he thinks then Nolan would be more useful/exciting.
But Theo also gets defensively angry if Nolan is angry when Theo knows it’s his own fault. If Theo realizes it’s a big deal, he would tell Nolan, “Okay sorry chill I didn’t mean it”. But sometimes, Nolan’s anger pisses Theo off, to which Theo would just as angrily shout: “Throw it, I dare you! Throw it! You’re a fucking bitch man!” (flings out his arms to make himself a bigger target), because he knows Nolan will never hit him (he’s testing Nolan). Nolan will surprise Theo by laying hands on him and wrestling him out (if it’s in his room) or he will smash the thing right beside Theo, almost hitting him. Theo is taken aback and jumps back. He then exclaims, “You missed me”. Theo is surprised that Nolan almost hit him. (Theo doesn’t really get furious coz he has nothing to really get angry about. His anger is quick and shallow. Nothing matters that much to him.) Meanwhile, Nolan is struggling to control himself and thinking, “What the hell, man. Do you want me to hit you?”
