#nontprom

I love this scene so much cause it nicely presents Prom’s side of the triangle. I honestly don’t think they should’ve even put the dialogue cause the scene itself shows what’s needed.

The dream isn’t about him being obsessed with twins, he’s not dreaming of being the meat in a twin sandwich. He engages each man alternately because it’s about how he sees them, how he feels about them.

The scene of course starts off with Prom in his favorite spot - attached to Nont’s back (I think his apparent love for cuddling tickles me because he’s not exactly mr touchy feely in general so it’s adorable that he’s a level 99 clinger when it’s someone he likes). When an arm slides around his waist and grabs his attention it comes to no surprise that when he turns around it’s Nant. Nant doesn’t look like Nant as we know him tho, he looks exactly like Nont because his hair is dyed. We know it’s Nant because of the small detail of his necklace. This is Prom’s mind, this is how he sees Nant…or rather how he struggles to remember him. It’s not about him seeing Nant as Nont as much as it’s about him starting to lose the details that made Nant, Nant. Nant has his attention but they rest at a sort of stalemate, Prom crouched over him while he looks up at Prom beguilingly. But when Nont turns over and seeks his attention there is no stalemate between them. He’s easily drawn back to Nont. It is Prom that places their heads together, seeking Nont’s space and a connection. It is Prom who initiates a kiss and as they embrace Prom is drawn more to Nont’s side while Nant is left curled up rejected.

This isn’t about the illicitness of twins, it’s about a man’s feelings transitioning from one brother to another. Prom has been trying to hold on to Nant, we saw it during the pool scene in his elation while expressing the possibility of Nant still being alive, in him making the deal with Nont later that night. But it’s clear that Nont is taking up more space in his mind, no matter how hard he tries to hold onto the memory of Nant.

And maybe that blame lays on Nont a bit fore it was he who sought out Prom, it was he who engaged with him under the guise of being his twin, it was he who blurred the lines when he asked Prom to have sex with him like he was Nant, because then the tiny pockets of space he had left for Nant were infiltrated.

The dream was an erotic one but I wouldn’t say it was much about sex at all. Sex is just the common ground both men allowed Prom to take up space in their lives. The relationships he had with either of them was to only be physical and wasn’t supposed to be about emotions. What he had with Nant was a business deal at best - he received sexual services and Nant received money. Any interest seemed to be unrequited. Even though the boundary is more thin when it comes to his relationship with Nont because the other sees him as a confidant, a partner (in the case), and someone he seeks comfort in Nont still made it clear early on that what they had was just supposed to be a temporary physical connection until they found out what happened to his brother. So if his mind is fighting to make him aware of his shifting feelings about both men that’s the space it’s gonna do it from because that’s the space most real to him. I don’t think the erotic aspect of the dream is much deeper than that.

I do think many ppl forget to look at Prom as a person instead of just as a suspect. Which I understand is easy to do cause he’s so measured, impassive, and the mysterious air around him makes it easy to get caught up in seeing him as a plotting killer & forget everything else. However, I think we miss a lot if we don’t consider Prom’s side of things. We consider Nont’s feelings as the brother, we consider the Baddies feelings as the friends, we consider Nuth’s feelings as the victim, but often Prom’s feelings are overlooked - even the admitted ones (after ep8 there were many who asked why Prom was speaking as if he had feelings for Nant or analysis that omitted/disregarded Prom’s admitted feelings). Prom doesn’t seem to have many friends - he never hangs with the Playboyys nor does he seem to have a camaraderie with Porsche. He was in a one sided relationship with Nant who disappeared and was different when he came back…because he was a Twin. This reveal left him having to cling to Nont to maintain access to Nant’s case and the continued connection lead to an emotional bond with Nont. Unfortunately, just as he’s becoming conscious to the sifting of his emotions, old secrets and lies may jeopardize that.

I do think Nont is gonna see the Dog Mask as a betrayal. The combination of sexual compatibility & thinking Prom was secretly in love with Nant made Nont feel Prom could be trusted, that he likely had done nothing to his twin. This trust & relatable care for a man they both missed had him opening the door for Prom to be his partner in sleuthing. Like I said before, Prom was his confidant - he was more open and honest with Prom about the inner workings of his mind when it came to the case than he was with any of the Baddies. He was comfortable with letting Prom at times decide what move they should make, what lead they should follow. Prom used this to his advantage and always led them away from him. Of course I don’t think Prom had anything to do with Nant’s murder no matter if he was Dog Mask or just more intel on it, I think his fear of discovery has more to do with how he feels Nont will react to not only the lie but the actions within the video and the possible motives behind it. What other secrets is entangled with that one? (Personally I wonder if he knew Nont wasn’t Nant from the very beginning - but that’s another conversation.)

Note: I wonder if the reveal of Prom’s secrets will place him in the dog house and have them separating for a bit because that’s something we haven’t seen from this particular pairing. No matter how resistant Nont has been or how they battle on the chess board so to speak, they would still orbit around the other for the case & the pleasure of sex.

He just learned his brother may have died by suicide, but also that Nant may have staged it. Nant was a sex addict, a drug addict, a man capable of violence against someone he claimed he loved, manipulative and more cunning than Nont had imagined his brother to be. Nont idolized his brother but now that has all come crashing down.

Nont is upset and sad and angry and yet all anyone seems to care about is that Nant might still be alive. They want to keep searching, they want to find him, they don’t seem to care that Nont is coming apart at the seems. That he is losing the one thing that made him want to find out what happened to his brother, the pedestal that Nont put him on.

So he walks away from the boys he hadn’t realized he wanted to be friends with, he goes towards a man he might be falling in love with, thinking that man loves Nant. He offers to be Nant for that man just once, because he wants to feel that love. He is so desperate to feel wanted by someone that he will burn himself alive just for the chance to feel like someone wants him, even just one time.

As Nont rejects Proms request for him to stay telling him that he can’t continue to live that way he’s not Nant - he moves the gun higher along Prom temple. This is because the rejection isn’t just being vocalized, he’s also showing Prom that he cares little for him & he will leave him once this is over.

This is where dialogue drops because Proms response is to move Nont’s hand with the gun from his head to his heart. He grips it, leans in, presses hard. This is a statement - this was him saying he doesn’t want to live without Nont. This was a rejection of them separating. Prom doesn’t get to speak tho because it’s against the rules, it’s goes against their agreement. And also Prom and Nont’s version of communication has always been more unhinged than the rest of the pairs because they’re unhinged and because Nont’s so resistant. But even in this moment, despite his earlier words, Nont is once again affected by Prom.

He backs down from the challenge by bending his wrist lowering the gun and eventually his arm from Prom’s grip. He looks away uncomfortably I think in part because he’s not as comfortable with the thought of Prom’s demise as he pretends and because he doesn’t want Prom to have that power over him, doesn’t want to have any sort of emotional bond to him. Nant hangs between them like a ghost…

When Nont told him not to cross the line, that he wasn’t Nant, Prom didn’t push or battle it - he became his partner in crime.

When Nont told him that he didn’t need aftercare because he wasn’t Nant, Prom continued to give him aftercare and moved the conversation to their plan.

Even after this conversation where Nont tries to convince him that he will leave him behind after the mission is complete (because he can’t do this life, he’s not Nant) - Prom sends him a text that basically says after murder, come home to me and if you’ve succeeded I’ll award you and if you’ve failed I’ll console you.

No matter what you think Proms motives are he obviously believes in playing the long game. Whenever Nont tried to erect a wall between them Prom glides over it and continues their relationship. Nont is in denial.

He wants to believe he’s the predator in the relationship, that he’s using Prom and will be able to discard him the second he doesn’t need him anymore but he hasn’t been able to do that yet even on the small scale.

Before I get started I was very hesitant to post this one because it’s not as upbeat as my last & I really struggled with how to say what I wanted. This is just my interpretation and it was written without an ounce of sleep so if I missed anything…

We got two scenes for the pairing this time (I need more PromNont) and imma talk about both…

Starting with the pool scene, Nont is finally home having not received any good news but Prom is there to console him as promised - that man is addicted to a back hug and Nont’s shoulder like nobody’s business. It starts off well but for some reason Prom decides to tell Nont that he too cared for Nant. How aftercare was just aftercare for Nant but the best time for him & how there were times he thought Nant may have cared for him too. This of course is the total opposite of when he said that he has no feelings for Nant, that he was simply protective because of their contract. By the time he gets to talking about it wanting to see the video & theorizing that Nant may still be alive, Nont is clearly uncomfortable with just how far the conversation has shifted.

Even though I’ve spoken about Nant being a ghost between them - it wasn’t until the pool scene that I actually became conscious of the fact that the times Nont reinforced that he isn’t Nant has been an ongoing conversation with Prom since his reveal of being a twin - its typically a response to something Prom has said or done and not just a way to erect a wall.

Prom getting jealous / Prom pushing for aftercare / Prom asking him to stay

From Nonts perspective, Prom doing these things is just him using him as a replacement at best or trying to transition him into being Nant at worst, making the “I’m not Nant '' reinforcement necessary. Ever since their first confrontation where Nont accused Prom of having feelings for his twin and told him not to cross the line with him because he is not Nant, they’ve been dancing around the topic. Now there’s a real possibility that Nant is alive and could come home and the things that weren't allowed to be said are being said, there's no more skirting around it. Believing something, thinking it, is totally different from that person saying and confirming it. It makes it real, makes it more painful.

Nant’s existence feels like it eclipse everything because everything around Nont feels like his twin’s. He had to become his twin, he’s living his choices, he’s surrounded by his friends, he’s engaging with his lovers (some more than others) . His value feels tied to being Nant’s twin. When Prom was silently professing a desire to die at the concept of loss - who was that confession really for? As Nont speaks of classic love triangles he’s overtly speaking on Prom / Nant / Nuth & covertly of his own messy relationship with his missing twin’s lover that resides in that shadow as well.

By the time he gets the reactions of the Baddies he’s done. He’s decided there’s no benefit in finding a brother who doesn’t seem to want to be found, a brother he feels he doesn’t even know anymore.

——

The second scene opens up with Nont seducing Prom - uninhibited, bold, & wanton. Like usual Prom seems adept at reading Nont’s mood, everything about him says trouble before he even utters a word.

And when he does it’s to tell Prom to have sex with him like he’s Nant, how it’s written in the contract. Nont’s ever constant, “I’m not Nant” becomes “I’m Nant.” However it’s not a response to the will of Prom, instead it’s an ultimatum, almost a challenge and maybe on some levels even a punishment. He tells Prom that if he has sex with him like he’s Nant he’ll continue to look for his twin. Even when Prom doesn’t respond at first they both know it’s a yes. In fact there’s no verbalized response from Prom at all, instead he wraps his arms Nont’s neck and goes to pull him in but Nont pulls back, letting Proms hands slide down his body. It’s clear from the start of this scene til the end of it who is the dominant of the moment, who’s the one with the power.

It’s interesting, Nont started off seductively & then tempting - almost coaxing Prom to go along. But he escalates to an intensity rather quickly. A part of me wonders if he secretly wanted to leave his mark on Prom’s memories of Nant…

Somehow Prom has agreed to allow himself to be bound, blind folded and at the mercy of Nont’s hands. I cannot decide if he is silly, desperate, or very trusting. Maybe a bit of all three considering we saw Nont admit to being drunk.

A lot of people heard Nont say, “ Have sex with me like I’m Nant’ but me - I heard him say, “Fuck me like I matter”. Because essentially, I believe that was a big part of it. Yes, there is a bit of anger, bitterness, resentment - which ever word fits best to you - wrapped into this moment but ultimately he wants to feel special, important, cared for. There’s a desire l to lose himself not only in the sex itself but in returning to being the person so many around him seem to yearn for, including Prom, most certainly Prom.

Afterwards they rest with Prom at the head of the bed his feet resting on Nont’s stomach as he lays across the bed. I can’t say if this small bit of physical connection is done consciously or subconsciously. It’s obvious that neither is in a good head space, they’re not in the normal aftercare position Prom seems to favor & when Prom finally ask what Nont’s plans were for finding Nant, Nont responds that Prom must miss Nant badly. Though he may have won the last battle between them, clearly he’s not over it.

This episode seemed to be a step forward for the majority of the pairings, confirmations, confessions, apologies and forgiveness. It was also a shift for Prom & Nont’s…relationship, although I wouldn’t call it a positive one. Like I was getting at in he post, Prom & Nont have a consistent back and forth that typically goes the exact same way every time however this was the first episode we saw either of them deviate & it created a snowball of a mess that leaves neither of them satisfied by the end.

PromNont Episode 10

This episode once again has two promnont scenes and as usual the first scene informs the second. Both scenes are about revelation and both feature big emotional breakdowns from Nont - the first being rage and the second being anguish. Unfortunately, Nant is still in the mix of both scenes.

Rage is defined as violent, uncontrollable anger and if there is one word to describe what takes place in the opening sequence it would be that word. The timing for this reveal couldn’t be any worse. In the matter of minutes Nont has emotionally gone from thinking he was gonna have a peaceful night with Prom to discovering a secret that went against everything he thought about Prom to seeing the news about the discovery of his brother’s dead body. That bit about Prom is very important because the thing that filled their relationship with tension, Prom’s love for Nant, was the same thing that made Prom feel like a safe space when it came to the case. Who better to understand Nont’s upset, his drive, than the man in love with his brother. Though the two had a mutually beneficial relationship, Prom hadn’t let down his twin the way the Baddies had - because he was in love with him there was no way he’d have hurt him. Yet, this reveal says otherwise. The video he had seen and had such a visceral reaction to because he perceived it as violent even outside the aspect of murder, says otherwise.

I feel in the moment Nont tried to keep his rage about Nant. About how the betrayal from Prom was upon his brother, rather than focusing on how the lie was a betrayal to him. He tries to distance himself emotionally by not focusing on what Prom has done to him. On the surface I’d even say he succeeded.

When he confronts Prom it is to ask how he could hurt Nant when he was supposed to love him. When Nont has sought revenge for his brother it has always been about matching what was done to his twin - sacrificing parts of himself to meet the necessary violence required. So when he attacks Prom physically it of course is somewhat comparable to the Mask Dog video. However, I say he only succeeds on the surface because when he drags Prom across the room to see the evidence that he was the last person with his brother, he makes it clear he’s not interested in hearing explanations, he’s not interested in being rationalized out of his rage. The thing about Nont and this case is that the violence has always been negotiable, you tell him what you know about what happened to his brother and you can come out unharmed because the violence isn’t something he desires, it's used as a tool to get to the truth about his twin. But here in this moment the violence is non-negotiable, even as Prom is offering an explanation Nont doesn’t want it because he may be able to give an explanation for the clip, for Nant, but that would do nothing for the offense against Nont. So though he tries to keep the focus on Nant, his own emotion about Prom and the announcement of his brother's body snowballs everything and makes it worse. Every hit has a bout of frustration behind it and Prom is on the receiving end for all of it.

Anguish is defined as severe mental or physical pain or suffering and I think this is how I’d describe the second scene between Prom and Nont. This time the focus is on letting Nont’s emotionalism be at the surface rather than him trying to repress them to focus on what Nant suffered. No matter if consciously or subconsciously, Nont shows up at Playboyy because he hadn’t heard Prom’s explanation - there's no way he thought Playboyy was the best place to communicate with / to his dead brother, he's at Playboyy cause Prom is at Playboyy. The thing about Prom and Nont relationship conversations is there's always a lot exchanged but very little actually spoken - this sequence is no different.

Prom explains that he didn’t hurt Nant that the video was just roleplay but he doesn’t get a reaction until he confesses that he was there when Nant made the video faking his death. Prom claims that he feared telling Nont the truth about the mask because he didn't want to be misunderstood and Nont’s response is a beat silence before saying that instead Prom had rather made him the idiot for the longest while. The silence held as much communication as his rebuttal because this was a lie Prom stuck to for months, months of Nont confiding in Prom that he was uncomfortable with the things he was doing, the things he was learning about himself while on the path to finding the truth of his brother. Months of Nont being honest with Prom about everything, thinking they were of a like mind, and Prom telling him little to no truth. There in the silence is a mocking of all of Prom’s most audacious moments. Moments like giving him the gun to confront Nuth, though he knew he hadn't harmed his brother. Moments like consoling him over a brother he knew wasn’t dead. In each of their own ways, Prom and Nant made Nont and everyone else a part of a sadistic game.

And when Prom tried to apologize about not telling the truth about Nant’s disappearance because maybe Nont wouldn't have wasted time, Nont cuts him off with a concise, “Never Mind.” Nevermind because he's not interested in having THAT conversation. Maybe is such a weighted word because maybe Nont wouldn’t have wasted time. Maybe Non’t wouldn’t have subjected himself to some of the things he did to get answers. Maybe Nant could've been found alive. Maybe, maybe, maybe…Never mind because what's done is done and can’t be undone. Never mind because it doesn’t matter anyway, it can’t matter.

There's no elation after these explanations because no, Prom hadn’t hurt Nant, he’d hurt Nont. If anything he'd shown himself to be abundantly loyal to his brother even in the face of Nont breaking. Nant has always held position between them but Nont thought the bond had atleast been authentic but even that seems a waste in the face of Prom never having chosen him, never having thought of the affects on him. Everything hes done seems a waste, Prom has made a fool of him, and his brother is dead. I think he blames himself for that last bit because it was bad enough when he thought Nant wnt into hiding himself but to learn that he asked for assistance from Prom but never felt comfortable mentioning anything to him, his twin. Again its one of those things where everything is rolling into one because not only is he finding out how deeply Prom an Nant were working together in these choices but also having to question how his brother must’ve of thought of him or felt about him to not not tell him anything, to go into hiding instead of flying out to him. How he must seem as a sibling in the eyes of his twin.

Nont is exhausted, he's worn down and he’s decided he’s done. He’s already told the Baddies that he’s booked a flight home for next week and now he’s letting Prom know he’s finished. The case is closed. Or atleast it is until Prom stops Nont and tells him that he doesn’t want him to think he’s the bad guy. It is at this moment that Nont decides to carry out the case and see what led to his brother’s demise.

I say that not only because this bit of dialogue is the only thing that happens between him saying he’s done and Zouey finding him digging into the investigation again, but because this is consistent with them. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Prom convince Nont to stay the course, Nont himself having thanked Prom for helping him maintain that goal. And while I don’t think that was Prom’s motive behind what he says, it is the only due course to make it happen. Nont may not truly think Prom has anything to do with killing his brother but with the evidence of him being the last known person to see Nant alive, with only his story to go off of, and with the list of lies between them the only way to really erase the possibility of Prom having harmed Nant and of being the bad guy is to solve the case and discover the full truth.

Even though he doesn’t turn back nor respond to Prom, the decision to continue is made right there at Playboyy. They haven't reconciled, there's so much shit between them, and yet he knows he's gonna do this for Prom, for Nant, and yes in part for himself. There's exhaustion in that cry, no one wants this to be over the way Nont does. There's heartbreak in that cry. While Prom is left with his choices, once again watching someone he cares about walk out with only the certainty that things have irrevocably changed.

Nont goes through 3 stages this episode. He starts off high energy and very active with rage. In the midsection however, he’s almost catatonic, it’s like he’s lost all will to fight. He’s broken and in anguish. In the end he’s revitalized, refocused and driven to find ish the goal of finding the truth about his brother once again. However, if the truth is gonna be something cathartic or push him further past his breaking point has yet to be seen.

While Nant faking his death and going into hiding has been on my theory list from the get go and Prom knowing Nont wasn't Nant has been set in stone for me ever since the wine episode - it wasn’t until the release of the teaser photos that I realized I hadn’t considered the possibility of Prom having helped Nant. The possibility didn’t really coincide with how I thought Nant viewed Prom which was more of an afterthought. If I had to assume anyone that he’d choose to help him in a bind I would’ve chosen Zouey who he was said to have a tight bond with and understood him the best originally. However, we don’t know how Nant felt about anyone truly because we’ve only ever gotten third party opinions of who he was and how he may have felt. Even if he did actually see Prom as an afterthought, who better to help you and carry your secret than the man who fancied himself in love with you, the man whose nose was so open he’d do anything for you? Prom…my poor idiot baby.

I wanna sum up his lesson as playing stupid games and winning silly prizes but I don’t think that would be fair or do it justice at all. There's something to be said about the way one chooses to treat others when they are not emotionally connected to them because while I can understand the desire to cling to Nont with the hopes that he’d find his brother and even somewhat of using him as a temporary replacement at first, there's always repercussions to devaluing someone - def if you later come to actually value them.

That's where Prom is now, standing in the muck of it having to face the consequences of his own actions. He understands that though which is why he doesn’t fight back in the first sequence and why he doesn’t make any big declarations in the second. Prom was never gonna be honest and tell Nont the truth even outside the aspect of loyalty to Nant. He tends to try to adapt to the other person and fit where they need / want him and then go with the flow, taking anything the other person is willing to give while allowing his mind to build a fantasy to make up for the rest. That’s what he’d done with Nant and he was no different when it came to trying to take up space in Nont’s life. Prom thinking their relationship was only to be temporary (even after coming to the realizations of his feelings being stronger for Nont) isn’t outlandish when Nont has always set the precedent for it to be so. When he’s always drawn lines and set boundaries. Of course he didn’t speak up even when he knew Nont was gonna get evidence from his father’s connections because selfishly he wanted to ride out the relationship for as long as he possibly could rather than be forthcoming and end it weeks, days, hours earlier. He was gonna take what he could while he could.

A lot of people question why Prom doesn’t seem to care that Nant is dead & question if theres still a possibility of him being the killer - as someone who has a secret murder theory for every character including Prom and even Nont, I get it considering he did start watching the news like he was waiting for a body and seems to lack big emotional expression. However, I do think there could be character traits and elements that could explain his emotional choices somewhat, including the fact that Prom has always been somewhat impassive. I’d question which character’s perspective could be used to witness him emote said grief - he doesn’t have much time with the other characters as he doesn’t even seem close to anyone outside of Nant/Nont. And emoting said grief to Nont likely seems inappropriate and a terrible idea for now considering he desires Nont romantically and his feelings for Nant has and still continues to be a tension between them. Again I also think its that one track mindedness Prom has when it comes to interest in someone. The same one track mindedness that had him devaluing Nont in place of continued loyalty to Nant is the same one track mindedness that allows him not to make his grief the focus when trying to explain himself to Nont. Similarly to the others, his grief is likely also mixed with a bit of guilt, as is the recurring theme of how the actions and inactions of those around Nant may have contributed to his death.

Afterthoughts: I’m not surprised where we leave off with Promnont this episode. In the dream sequence analysis, I’d already settled on the possibility of Prom having more than one secret to reveal and the possibility of it bringing on the separation point of their relationship. Up until that point they’d yet to experience a break in their relationship the way the other pairings had.

The question is how do they reconcile - I’m sure it’ll be quick because no one in this series stands strong they're all “my man, my man, my man" and forgive without much effort. Idk if I want Nont to make him work for it or if I just want some happy PromNont scenes since were close to the end. I still worry about them in the long run because the Nant thing has been consistent and while Prom chose Nont subconsciously during the dream that hasn’t happened on a conscious level and now with Nant ``gone” how would Nont ever come to feel Prom is wanting to move forward with him for any reason other than Nant no longer being an option.

Since I’m not doing a PromNont post for this weeks episode here are my Quick Thoughts

Are we shocked? No.

Like I said, no one in this show stands on business when it comes to leaving someone. It’s always my man-my man-my man & I could literally hear Nont’s internal voice screaming exactly that in this scene. Like girl no effort was given, the separation lasted five minutes. This was of no surprise cause the second he decided to continue Nant’s case in the last episode I knew, he knew, Prom knew - that Prom still had a chance.

I do wish the series would have taken more time reconciling them but I can’t really complain given this is how all the other relationships were handled - many of the emotional beats bring so sudden and somewhat convenient - and the conflict being resolved quickly rather than through any real development.

But it is what it is we go with the flow. It’s so nice seeing Nont radiating happiness and smiling. He deserves to be loved and I of course think Prom is the perfect person for that because he is a romantic at heart. He’s the type of person who wants to give love. Even if the one he loves isn’t reciprocating those feelings it doesn’t lessen the amount of love & loyalty he’s willing to given them - I keep saying it’s not contingent on that because of how he’s handled his feelings for Nant to even what he says in this scene about not requiring Nont to love him back and just wanting to spend the time he does have left there together. Like I’ve said before he tends to adapt himself around what his person needs and wants as long as it allows him to be with them, “I’ll help you investigate. Ill be your driver. I’ll be a listening ear.” He’s messy sometimes but really he’s just a romantic level-5 clinger who just wants to be wrapped around his boo all day. Prom finally has someone who loves him 😭

If I don’t get my happy ending 🥹