#character: christine canigula

[8dayrain]

been listening to bmc again

[golden-geeks-art]

ITS FROM JAPAAAAAAAAAAAAAN

[cj-isout]

gyulp.... ermmmm bmc designs!!!!

[do-you-know-this-adhd-character]

Do you know this (canon) ADHD character?

Proof: Stated (or.. sung) by the character herself in the song Play Rehearsal.

[carrion-aac]

in sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came. that voice which calls to me, and speaks my name; and do i dream again?

[woah-uhuh-uhuh-uhuh]

Christine Canigula was socially ostracized & developed a complex to protect herself: an essay

(suddenly i NEED to infodump about Christine actually so here)

Something I only noticed on rewatch: the way Christine will say something silly and then just kind of gingerly wait to see if Jeremy reacts well to it before continuing, almost like she's asking permission?? (e.g. the gap after the first stanza of "Play Rehearsal"). And it's only after he riffs off her bowling alley bit that she feels comfortable talking about her personal feelings with him (right before "Guy that I'd Kinda be Into"). The same happens with their "weird noise" exchange immediately before "It's pretty killer to sit and chat with you." I know theater relies on being succinct, and that 'bonding over shared quirks' and 'feelings talk' are both just crucial parts of relationship development... but I don't think it's a coincidence that it always goes in that order!

It's like Jeremy has to pass these *trials of weirdness* before she feels safe opening up to him and it drives me BONKERS so I wrote a whole 1000 word thing about it under the cut and this got too massive and I'm sorry. Also some autistic Jeremy meta at the end if that sweetens the pot hehehe

Table of contents:

Why she was ostracized

How she was ostracized

How that might inform her pattern of relationship development with Jeremy and Jake

How gender caused Jeremy's experiences to differ from hers, and how that affects their current relationships with "popularity" and peer acceptance.

1. Why she was ostracized

I am just so certain that Christine has been bullied or at least majorly outcast for a lot of her life. She's very obviously neurodivergent and because of that she can have these obnoxiously deep and repetitive interests, she can't judge if a piece of information will be genuinely interesting to someone, and she doesn't take social cues very well.

She frequently interrupts people when they're talking (an ADHD symptom btw), even when they're literally talking to her about the thing she wants to hear!

(C: "Do you find that? Because I totally find that!" J: "Uh, yeah, I-" C: "-And no matter how hard I try....")

(J: "I know the last thing I deserve is another shot, but-" C:"Jeremy, just... say what's on your mind.") (girl I'm sorry but that's what he was doing..... I have a whole other thoughtpiece on how this particularly fucks with Jeremy while they're dating but thats another thing...)

She doesn't seem confident in her interpretations of people's emotions and she'll ask/talk about them point blank (both theirs and her own) in a way a lot of people would find rude

("Uh, you seem really nervous...") ("Popular people are fucked up! *mutual laughter* …I mean, you're one of them!") ("I am flattered, this is new / still I'm not sure what I should do" <- as a response to getting asked out, that's pretty bold! Plus the entire part where she laughs at Jake's "rich boy routine") (also compare and contrast to Jeremy's "I don't know what I'm supposed to say right now." idk. are your allistic stage dorks in the room with us right now motherfuckers)

I'd go on about her hyperfixations/special interests too but I think Play Rehearsal pretty much sums it up lol

2. How she was ostracized

All this to say that I am CERTAIN she spent a lot of her schooling having "nice girls" patiently let her sit with them at lunch for weeks at a time until they finally get sick of her rambling and faux pas. Only when they leave does Christine realize that they didn't actually care about anything she said... And this happens over and over and over. (I know this seems hella specific but I swear it's an actual phenomenon... at least I'm pretty sure? sdjflksjf)

But anyway, it's clear that by the time they're juniors, Christine has kind of (and I do only mean kind of) figured out what behaviour other people respond poorly to. And from evidence I stated in the intro, I think she's become really careful about which people she lets herself get attached to. She doesn't want this to ever happen again - which means if she's going to hang out with someone, she has to know that they actually care about her, that they know she will sometimes be obnoxious or blunt, and they'll still be okay with that forever.

3. Applying this to her canon relationships

You can extend this to Jake, someone who sees her in her element in drama rehearsal (the thing everyone finds annoying about her because she won't shut up about it) and STILL likes her. I think it's a totally valid reading that her bluntness with him later ("Upgrade") is just because she misreads him / doesn't quite get the social standard that she should be white lying instead. But I think you could also read her as testing the waters. If she's really going to commit to dating this guy, she's gotta know he's okay with her being herself. And the fact that this guy (and I think it's significant that he is a boy, for reasons I'll explain in the end note) genuinely seems to like her is a whole new level of peer validation ("I am flattered, this is new") -- so of course she's gonna fall at least a little! It doesn't hurt that he's "tired of being the person that everyone thinks that I am..." just like her!

Her history with being pity-liked makes Chloe's "advice," that Jake's just toying with her and is going to move on soon, even scarier, because that's genuinely happened to her (on a platonic level) so many times before.

Jeremy is also a good candidate from the beginning because he's weird he's a weirdo he doesn't fit in and he doesn't wanna fit in you ever see him without this stupid cardigan on? that's weird! And she keeps warming up to him not only because they're getting to know each other but because he gets progressively more willing to not only tolerate (as Jake does) but *participate* in her weirdness!

First, she does something weird and he tolerates it ("Play Rehearsal"); the next time she's weird, he participates! (bowling ball before GTIKBI). Then finally finally finally he initiates the weirdness and lets her join in! ("weird noises" exchange before GTIKBI reprise).

And notably, it is THIS moment that canonically signifies that they've hit the apex of their canon relationship development. If there was an achievement called "Befriend Christine," it would have popped up right then and there!!!

IN CONCLUSION: YOUR HONOR I LOVE THEM T_T

4: Christine vs. Jeremy: Gender differences & how that ultimately impacts their social goals

I also think all of this would have happened to Jeremy too if he'd been a girl. But because, generally, young boys feel less social obligation than girls to take pity on the autistic kid (and because boys tend to be more quickly recognized as autistic) he just ends up completely alone for most of his school life (Michael nonwithstanding - and yeah there's an important distinction between your childhood friend putting up with you and knowing that, woah, I guess literally nobody else ever will).

Meanwhile, Christine has had people "put up" with her, and she's SICK OF IT!

That's part of why their complexes are so different, because Christine is trying to check everyone she meets to make sure they'll be okay with her weirdness before she gets attached, Jeremy is trying to eliminate his weirdness altogether because he's never even experienced his peers listening out of *pity* so how the hell can he expect someone to ever listen to him out of *interest?*

Jeremy has never had someone pretend to like him before, so he completely lacks Christine's fear of befriending someone who secretly hates you. He doesn't realize how bad it'll hurt him if he destroys his real self for popularity, if he befriends people who would have bullied his real self. He doesn't know what disingenuous friendship feels like, so like a very young Christine he's still actively trying to get there because he thinks it's the only kind of validation he'll ever get.

Do you see what im saying? Do you see it???? AUAUGUGUUGGH

THANK YOU FOR READING!!! If you have thoughts or even rebuttals please share i am so desperate to discuss the blorbos

[the0nlysmart0nehere]

so... about THAT bootleg

I'm thinking of picking up the search for the full Two River Theatre BMC bootleg - if one still exists and is out there, that is.

I'm relatively new to actually using Tumblr, though I believe I've had this account for AGES, but from some quick scanning it seems like a user was making some progress in sourcing what may be act 2 screenshots from a possible bootleg so I'd probably start from there (I won't be doing this anymore - read my second edit for an explanation).

It might take a while, it probably won't always be my top priority and it might not even be out there at all but there is a chance. And if I get to see Eric William Morris as the SQUIP then all will be worth it (I would genuinely sell a kidney to see that).

So, uh, yeah. I'll probably try to give regular-ish updates (maybe I'll make a scheduled monthly post or smth, idk) but no promises.

If you have ANY information my ask thing should be open for submissions (edit 1: or just message me heh. i didn't realise you could do that at first). I'd appreciate any and all tips/help/etc.

– Simon :)

Edit 2: I only just found @/thesquirrelqueer's post debunking the validity of images found by the user that posted "possible Two River bootleg screenshots". I still plan on doing some searching of my own but I wanted to add this in since I'll probably change the direction of my search because of this. Guess that's a sign to do more in-depth looking before posting something, aha.

And, yes, you are right. I am too lazy to completely rewrite my post, hence the edit.

[darkleysgarden]

Jeremy and Rich are Autistic. Christine has ADD. Chloe has BPD. Michael has ADHD. Send post.

[nezumithewriter]

i need all of the be more chill characters to go apeshit immediately and kill the squip with hammers especially christine

i need to see these kids kill this computer

[jeremy-heere]

sappy stagedorks doodles

[sipho-pearl]

rb + add a bmc fluffy hc

ill start :3 jeremy and christine bond over sanrio after canon !!!

[caus34concern]

what instrument my friend who watched the musical once thinks each bmc character would play

[cj-isout]

Same anon who asked the last question, what’s your LEAST favorite thing about BMC?

The fact that EVERYONE forgave everyone too quick. ESPECIALLY JEREMY...LIKE??? IMAGINE BEING BROOKE AND FINDING OUT THAT YOUR BOYFRIEND WAS ONLY DATING YOU BECAUSE A ROBOT IN HIS HEAD TOLD HIM TO. I WOULD NYATT FORGIVE HIS ASS. AND I ALSO WISH WE GOT MORE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHARACTERS THAT AREN'T THE MAIN ONES RELATIONSHIP. GIVE ME MORE OF RICH AND JAKE'S FRIENDSHIP. GIVE ME MORE OF HOW CHLOE JENNA AND BROOKE INTERACT TOGETHER. pluhEASE...

[leek-e]

Here are the rest of the Be More Chill kids as trolls from the movie Trolls :) It was very fun to draw them.

The top row is Jenna Rolan, Christine, and Rich. The bottom row is Chloe, Brooke, and Jake. Brooke and Jake are both glitter trolls, and Rich is very small like Smidge is.

[kaylahtoes]

CANIGULA AT THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

ahhh I hit her with my digitalfication beam let’s gooo

[mono-socke]

Remeber when I said I wouldn't put much effort into all drawings?

Yeah, I got a bit carried away, haha

I have to be honest with y'all, I really really like how this turned out. I'm proud of this :>

I know that the SQUIP's outfit isn't 100% accurate and I apologize for that. In my defense, this was the best I could do with the two references I found. And I can't see too good. But that's a different topic

And all the characters just look like my designs for them. If you know me on insta (same username as here) you've seen that already