Ariel

the thing is too like freaky nikki is also very sympathetic to me in a way that overlaps with a lot of fembot characters. like the existential horror of being created for someone else’s pleasure and then they don’t actually like you and nothing you do for them is good enough but you literally exist entirely for their pleasure

Obsession spoilers

the one thing i kept noticing and loving a lot throughout the movie,- idek if this even amounts to anything but, was the light reflecting/glint in nikki's eyes after the wish is made. shes almost always in the shadows so the only thing that bear can see is her silhouette and the reflection in her eyes. when you try to catch the same glint in bear's eyes its wayy duller which felt like a statement furthering the fact that what bear wished for was a body void of any personality, power, autonomy of its own and so it simply reflected what he would put in front of her, but amplified. so all the "evil" that nikki did through the entirety of her "possession" was her reflecting the evil bear already had within him. all actions of what nikki thought was love was deeply rooted in some sick evil intention because at the end of the day that is exactly what bear's wish, his idea of love was- evil.

i loved obsession’s emphasis on accountability and the fact that at every opportunity bear chooses to take none. he constantly chooses to absolve himself of blame, of consequences. he rejects ian’s implication that he’s taking advantage of nikki, he continually ignores nikki’s breaks where it’s clear she wants nothing to do with him— asking to be put out of her misery—and instead of feeling guilt or shame he’s offended. by the time he does start to feel guilty he passes that off too, blaming the people who sold the wish, and even his own misunderstanding, hiding behind his lack of ill-intention— nothing that he can be considered directly responsible for.

this might be more response than you want, but interesting (and kinda depressing when you think about it) fact: there’ve been a bunch of research studies where parents have been asked what they think makes a healthy parent-child relationship, and they tend to like…not answer the actual question because they think they’re being asked what good parenting is, which is not the same. so they talk about things like helping kids with homework and making sure they eat well. children, on the other hand, usually respond to the same question with stuff that’s literally just the definition of healthy relationships generally. affection, honesty, respect, spending time together, sharing interests. and the real kicker is, objectively, we know that’s the kind of stuff that actually has a much better impact not only on whether or not the relationship is strong and positive but also the kid’s overall happiness and psychological health.

the longer I sit with obsession the more empathy I start to feel for entity!nikki. this creature that was created solely to love one person with this all-encompassing intensity that needed to be stronger than anything anyone felt in the entire world. entity!nikki whose entire world was just one single focal point; she'd do anything for bear to love her. she didn't know anything when she came into existence, but she was willing to do anything to get this man to fall for her.

i feel like people are overlooking the moment at the beginning of obsession where nikki straight up asks "do you like me?" and once bear lies and says no she replies "ok, good." for starters, it was a chilling moment to me because this is such a classic experience of having a close guy friend, only to realize that he wants more from you. girls aren't dumb! nikki isn't dumb! of course she knows that bear is into her, she has eyes! she can see his stuttering and sheepishness and she's just dreading the moment she has to turn him down, to tell him that he's like a brother to her. just before she had told him that she doesn't feel real love in her life, and i don't think it would be a leap to attribute a small part of that feeling to her fear that her friendship with bear isn't as simple as she wants it to be.