actualyves

[actualyves]

(Bringing this over from my Twitter because I’m always thinking about Benson ThePassenger.)

I fully do NOT believe that in his day-to-day life Benson would be aggressive and overbearing and generally, overwhelmingly angry. We see him smiling and laughing and expressing himself through fun clothes and silly body language, and that’s on an arguably extraordinarily, unusually horrific day. And that’s not to say that killing four people is something that a non-angry person does.

Looking at his reasoning behind his treatment of Randy, it seems obvious -to me at least- that this is a man who has never seen or experienced a healthy representation of love. His “don’t make me hurt you when I’m trying to help you” approach to Randy feels like the kind of “tough love” (read: abuse) that would lead someone to internalize violence as an acceptable form of expression. And if the people who loved you were violent toward you, then naturally that would be the case. And if we look at Benson through a queer lens, it would be even easier to think anything seen as “gay” would’ve attempted to have been removed from him with force.

Benson had a traumatic childhood leading to a traumatized adulthood. And while he maybe couldn’t quite see the forest for the trees in how heavily that had influenced his worldview, he could see Randy set up to go down the same path. And so he, angrily, tried to protect him and help him in the only way he knew how.

And then there’s Randy himself. Benson’s love was violence, and Randy’s was submission. This is an adult man whose mom counts the number of rings until he answers the phone and picks out his clothes ffs. We know that timidity isn’t his default setting, because we see him genuinely happy in the last scene. Benson and Randy were both capable of joy and silliness and love, but neither had been shown a healthy way to express affection (platonic or romantic) toward another person.

Even if only as coworkers, Randy and Benson cared about one another, and it became all the more obvious toward the end. The tragedy of it all was that they were both capable of feeling sincerely and genuinely for others, but they didn’t know how to express it. And by the end, Benson had figured that out. Not only that, but he knew it was over for him. So in a final, violent act of love, he sacrificed himself. Benson’s violent, loud love showed Randy not only how cared for he was but how not to express his love for others. And at the end we not only see Randy the best we’ve ever seen him, but we see him acknowledging Benson’s sacrifice in the form of the plushes gifted to Ms. Beard’s daughter -a healthy act of love- and the coat draped over his arm.

Benson and Randy were both soft-spoken, traumatized children trying to navigate adulthood. They could have been the best thing in the world for one another if they’d had a chance to realize how much they could’ve balanced one another out and brought out each others’s strengths. They were more similar than they realized until it was too late.

(And I know he’s not really supposed to be a relatable character, but as a victim of CSA whose PTSD didn’t kick in until adulthood when I realized how heavily it had impacted and stunted me interpersonally, Benson is a deeply important character to me.)

Anyway, The Passenger (2023) is a horror/thriller but also a tragedy.

[actualyves]

HERETIC, 2024 | Hugh Grant as Mr Reed

[actualyves]

It’s that time of year. Reblog with how many you’ve heard of.

[actualyves]

who is the first david you think of when you hear the name david

[actualyves]

I love it bc the traits Kyle imbues on Benson are like "charming💕", "likes clothes🧥", "questionable sexuality 🤔" but the traits Johnny gives to Randy are "masochistic FREAK", "hurt me hurt me hurt me", "nail stigmata" and "chokes easily" lmao makes me ill

[actualyves]

If all the other fandom artists were jumping off a bridge would you? If they were all drawing the same scene? Yes.

[actualyves]

stop the bisexual benson erasure 💔💔💔

[actualyves]

something about this gif….

[actualyves]

Cant stop thinking about the passenger happening right after christmas/new year. The ribbon & bell on the door of the diner, the calendar in the school office showing january. Benson really said “new year, new you” to Randy.

I wonder if spending another christmas alone with his Ma was one of the last straws that lead up to Benson snapping at BBB. Another christmas of frozen dinners, or maybe something he threw in the crock pot. His Ma sat with her book or magazines not making much conversation besides complaining about something inconsequential. Him being one of the few BBB employees free to work through the holidays because what else would he do? He doesn’t have plans. Nothing worth requesting time off for. Another year gone where he’s done nothing but barely exist. Faded into the brown and grey landscape.

[actualyves]

The Passenger (2023) dir. Carter Smith 🪚🪚🪚 (x)

[actualyves]

saw this and had to take a lap around my room

[actualyves]

More Ranson smut! It’s fluffy, they’re in love, and Randy is super into Benson telling him how gross he is for being into his armpit smell (it’s hot, I promise)! (NSFW/18+!)

[actualyves]

[actualyves]

[actualyves]

[actualyves]

Indy greeting Kyle when he got home from the DIA shoot is maybe the most heartwarming thing to ever exist

[actualyves]

tumblr night shift is crazy everyones ready to die or ready to fuck