When I was in school math was my worst subject. When I was a senior in high school I got put into pre-calculus and it was a nightmare. I remember on one exam I got a 67%. I don't know what the grading system is like outside of the U.S. but here that's a D grade which is just above a Failing grade. When it came time to take another test a few weeks later, I thought I had a better grasp of the material, so imagine my horror when I got another 67%. The Deja vu was crazy, to the point where I was like "Did I get the same test back?" No, I just didn't get calculus for shit š¤£. That being said Hudson's team, and Hudson and K themselves keep being given an open book test on how to present this relationship, and they keep coming back with the same 67%. Just enough to fool the masses but still not selling it worth a damn.
Smile For the Camera: By now I'm sure everyone has seen the other pictures and video from last night. Hudson and K sitting (posing) together in their seats. People getting happy about a hand on her hip when this šš½is how he looks with his onscreen "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" in real life. Remember in that Thirst Tweet interview when he was cheesing about the tweet saying how he got to make out with both of them. Just saying. One of these pictures looks like a stock photo for a picture frame, while the others, well you get it. Also, people getting excited over a hand on the hip when Hudson has slapped Connor's butt multiple times out of character. Once at HiTops and the other in the Teen Vogue interview. š
Getting out of a Car for SNL After Party: (the same car by the way)
Getting out of a car for CSAs:
Notice who was reaching for who last night. Probably to grab his so arm they can do their signature stroll.
Or so she doesn't get left 6-10 ft. behind Hudson.
The Whole Picture: Now like I mentioned earlier, people don't like it when you look at what is presented publicly and have commentary on a relationship that looks truly devoid of any current romantic chemistry, and it's hard to discern if there was any in the past either. We're told we don't know what they're like in private. Well, consider the fact that anytime you want to find a picture that even hints at them being romantic in private you have to dig up or use old photos from at least 2 years ago. And the truth is we shouldn't have access to or need private photos from their past to "prove" anything. Because candid photos are private moments. And when these pictures get taken, they capture the moment the act drops for these two. At the ceremony a photographer took a picture of Hudson and K, where he leans in and smiles. But the minute he's outside in a candid photo he's walking ahead of her like he forgot she was even there. Remember when Hudson is out with Aika, he usually is walking with her with his arm around her, and when he's out with his whole team, he waits until they're all inside a venue or all inside a car. Again, if K doesn't hold onto his arm, she's an afterthought.
Open Book Test: None of this should've been hard for such a stable "long-term" relationship. It's open book, the answers are right there. Every "test" or opportunity that Hudson had this year to show his relationship, ended up with that proverbial 67%. It isn't a failing grade but not a passing one either. Now to circle back around to what I said about Hudson setting a tone, the reason for the same result every time, comes down to how much effort is put in. The bare minimum was done, if that, and he muddied the waters every time with a certain costar, bestie, soulmate from Texas.
January: Hudson posts a photo dump from Venice and includes a picture of him and K (that doesn't look half as intimate as some pictures he's taken with fans.) That's great right! We've seen the "happy couple" it looks like they had a fun time in Europe. But wait here's a video of Hudson, K and Connor eating ice cream, and Hudson likes comments about hard launching his "gf and bf" and then goes to a two-day old post on Connor's IG calling him "My Sunshine." Okay for all of those still in favor of platonic Hudcon let's look at the next test.
February: Including Connor in that Valentine's Day IG post with a heart around his head, is the most egregious thing yet, if in fact he and K are truly bf and gf and everything is perfectly fine. I truly want someone to say with a straight face that if your bf of several years included a man he'd just met less than a year ago in a V-Day post for you, with a heart drawn around his face, you'd be perfectly fine with it. If you say you would be fine, then in my opinion the bar is in hell for what you'll accept in a relationship. Connor's birthday is in February. Hudson could've done a separate post for him just like Bailey did. Because that's what friends do. But Hudson included Connor in a seemingly romantic post for his long-term gf instead. I refuse to be gaslit and do mental gymnastics to come up with a reason why that is normal couple behavior.
March: Hudson "Debuts" K as his gf publicly, takes the stiffest pictures together on the Silver Carpet at one of the most famous parties in Hollywood on the biggest night in Hollywood. Then when Connor arrived Hudson decided to go into full boyfriend mode, but not for K, for Connor. K was scantily clad and Hudson barely looked at her but couldn't contain himself when he saw Connor in a sheer top. No matter how many fluff pieces were written about he and K, the main story ended up being Hudcon and their matching outfits and affection for each other.
May: Met Gala. Countless accounts of how they spent the night attached at the hip at the gala and how they turned up at the After Parties. Parties so wild and allegedly intimate we'll probably never get the full story, and we'll never get the pictures either. And to be fair if what was described did happen then those moments should stay private. Now we did get some pictures posted by Hudson himself, like the famous Met Gala selfie, only it was just the two of them. Oh, and a picture of Connor with his mouth open under a bathroom faucet. You know cute best friend behavior š. All of this culminated in a stroll for Hudson back to his hotel from Connor's missing most of his outfit from the previous night.
VF is what you get when K is present, Met Gala is what you get when K isn't present, and the CSAs are what you get when you realize that you blew it. There is no coming back from VF, Met Gala, SNL, or the V-Day IG story. This "make up test" from yesterday is getting the same grade as the other attempts. No one passed and no one seems to want to study harder. And let's be clear no amount of trying harder is going to help either. I know his team is trying, but if you still can't produce one couple picture at that after party from yesterday, then what are they doing over there? Seriously K is cuddled up to Aika's wife! Not one picture of K with Hudson like that, instead Hudson is in Aika's lap. Aika, who we have seen Hudson kiss, albeit platonically, and ironically that's probably how Hudson was sitting in Connor's lap a few weeks ago.
But What About the GP: The general public doesn't need much to be convinced about a relationship between a man and a woman. There is no burden of proof required, since people still assume the default identity of most people is Straight, and so a man and a woman presented as a couple doesn't raise any questions, no matter how weird it looks on the outside. Now the media is something different. I mentioned in my post about no one knowing how long this "long term" relationship has been going on, that People magazine managed to bring up Connor and his matching tattoo with Hudson in an article that was supposed to be about K. I read an ENews article that tried to frame last night as a "date night" for Hudson and K š. The article mentioned that he expressed gratitude to his parents and K. But the article ended with him thanking Connor. That's not unusual but the article made sure to emphasize that the person he was especially grateful for was Connor. This is why I and others have pointed out the importance of Hudson saving Connor for last, it indicates Connor was the person he wanted to thank the most, and even this fluff piece about Hudson and K picked up on that.
Now where does this leave us. Like I said I'm taking my cues on Hudson's relationship with K from Hudson himself, just like I am taking my cues on Hudson and Connor from both of them. Hudson has created a space for ambiguity in his relationship with K by saying one thing and behaving another, creating contradicting narratives. I don't take H/K seriously because I "hate" K and want "my ship" to be together. I doubt H/K because I trust my eyes and Hudson has shown where his priorities are š¤·š½āāļø. It doesn't matter so much to me why he's doing what he's doing, it matters that people are always trying to convince me and others that we're not seeing the clear distinction. I said after SNL only one couple had a successful launch; it's not my fault that Hudcon got a head start on a "long term" relationship that should've passed with flying colors.
