#i don't get how they are soo ignored generally??? like ive seen it sometimes but it is rare and it pains me

[bidisaster-peanut-romano]

yo can you elaborate of the Mandy/Johnny thing? Ik you've mentioned how both Mandy and Lola try to embody 'feminine ideals' to an extent and how Johnny also tries to seem like a 'man'. would Mandy constrained in the relationship like Lola? Idk but I doubt she'd try to cheat to get Johnny angry like Lola

hey you bestie!!

so unfortuntely i don't know if i have anything in particular???? like. starting from the obvious, you could see them as a reiteration of the classic "bad boy/good girl" trope, and we know how a strong characteristic of bully is taking classic pop culture tropes and turn them around, so. to begin with it is coherent

and then... i don't know, for starters there's the thing that we kind of get the idea that... what does mandy really want? outside of the expectations, outside of the image she's created of herself- where has she hidden her real self?

so at first we can get the idea that her attraction for johnny was kinda a mix of the rivalry with lola plus the taste of something forbidden, you know, falling for the guy you shouldn't come close to; when you have such a strict box placed upon you, there's a special attraction towards what you're not supposed to do.

but on other other hand- johnny is really, really genuine and instinctive with everything he feels and thinks, blunt at the risk of being harsh, sometimes his own feelings too strong even for himself to handle, you know? but at the same time, exactly because of that, the partner he really needs to be okay is someone he knows he can trust, someone he can be safe with. someone that he can leave on their own and he can be sure that they're not betraying his trust in any way. lola is not that, for example. he's with lola because she keeps the storm going, because no matter how hard he bites, she will bite harder, and they're not quitters; that's why they stay together, not because they make each other good.

so, i don't know, they begin with very different positions from each other. but at the same time, i do believe that when they grow closer, they both might find the stability and the safety they both need, y'know? mandy knowing that she can let go of the expectations and do not care about how good she's performing her part for a second, johnny knowing that mandy is safe with him and relies on him and she truly does, that she is committed to the relationship and in having him at his best but at his worst too. and when johnny disrespects her in any way her standing up for herself instead of like. seeking revenge. and letting johnny hopefully unpack and unlearn some of that misogyny. and in general both of them being able to put down their defenses and just be human and vulnerable with each other. and ow they'd both see this other side of each other, this johnny who wants to take care of her and he can be attentive and protective but in a healthy way, and how mandy finds out how it is to really put her heart into something she loves + being loved and and and. there's a lot to unpack really idek how else to put it

they have some nice growth they could go together imo and i think they're criminally underestimated