#yes I made these gifs especially for this post I am an overachieving dipshit sometimes

[hunter-sylvester]

I honestly feel bad for Hunter. Having neglectful parents suck, I can see why he’s so attached to Kevin. Especially considering they’ve been friends since third grade (I think). I’d be scared if my friend started running off with some chick too tbh. Because now it’s not just us anymore.

[although Hunter still has Robbie, I love Robbie]

You and me both, Anon 💔 [prev ask for context]

And you’re preaching to the choir about neglectful parents lmao there’s a reason I relate to him so heavily. More like about a million reasons but that’s beside the point.

I agree and I definitely think it plays a very large part. Even the band’s name changing is symbolic of that loss of the illusion of them that Hunter was living under. I didn’t touch on it much in the previous analysis because I was trying to stay focused on his parental issues. But when discussing his attachment to Kevin in any way it’d be an oversight to ignore the fact that Hunter is in love with him. Dare I say canonically.

“When I first got the script, the first thing which popped out to me was that Hunter seemed like he was in love with Kevin.” – Adrian Greensmith

It's how Adrian played Hunter. It's as close to canon as it can be without it being in the script.

Although I do not think that it's entirely necessary to accept him being in love with Kevin for the following to make sense, it does enrich it imo.

So in my mind he subconsciously believes that Kevin and he are something. Something more than simply best friends. Not that he’s able to realize that. He automatically pushes everything down the second he feels it. Unless it's anger, of course. [emotional regulation issues | father]

You can see him repress his emotions so clearly here.

And yeah, the bandname. In the same scene, we get a quote I always read entirely too much into love to analyze deeply. Watch how he says it. It means way more to him than it should.

Skullfucker is them. It's Kevin & Hunter. It's his idea of them and their future. Of touring and performing together. Of striding into adulthood together.

His preceding "You can't. You can't-" is him practically begging Kevin not to abandon him. [abandonment issues | mother]

"You can't leave me because we are Skullfucker. Skullfucker is us. You can't break us. You can't throw me away, you were supposed to be the one that doesn't throw me away because we're us. You can't break Skullfucker."

It makes sense that Skullfucker is quite a 'strong' and over-the-top, even violent name. It's everything Hunter wants to project outward to protect himself and what he has with Kevin. Aside: it changing to Skullflower, which has a softer connotation while still befitting a metal band, can easily be read as symbolic of Hunter being forced to learn it's okay to be vulnerable as well. But that'd be a tangent and a half.

Kevin is shattering his entire world in the scene. He's taking a fucking sledgehammer to it.

"You need me a lot more than I need you. Without me all of your dumb fantasies disappear. But without you I might actually live a real life." - Kevin Schlieb

"Dumb fantasies" can be read as the more obvious. Namely, their band making it big while Hunter has to make zero compromises to his vision. Or there is the arguably more painful version. Hunter's dumb fantasy is them. Them together. Them being anything. Which certainly all falls apart without Kevin.

Aside: I wish to note that while I think Kevin makes a good number of painfully accurate points during this fight, I don't think he means all of it at his core. It's said in the heat of the moment and should thus be taken with a grain of salt. "You need me a lot more than I need you. Without me all of your dumb fantasies disappear." These lines I view as painfully accurate. "But without you I might actually live a real life." This one I think is not to be taken entirely at face value. It is said in anger with the intention to hurt in my opinion. And it works. But it's not what Kevin actually thinks.

He lashes out after this. As it's the only way he knows how to deal with anything and it beats having to examine why this is shattering his very being. [emotional regulation issues | father]

Aside: let it not be thought that I in any way condone his actions leading up to this scene. While the speech class scene is my favorite scene in the movie, Hunter's actions in it towards Emily are inexcusable. And the consequences that follow are something he brought upon himself.

There is also a case to be made for this being an example of or affected by Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, as I view all the members of Skullflower as being AuDHD (ADHD + Autistic).

But to circle back to Kevin running off with Emily...yeah. Of course that shatters him. Kevin is the only person that he feels safe around and on top of that he's in love with him.

His bubble of safety and his presumption that Kevin is his are turned to dust before his eyes and he doesn't even know why it's hitting him as hard as it is.

Also yes, they have indeed been best friends since third grade.

"Hunter's been my best friend ever since he stopped Molly Levine from pulling out my hair in third grade" - Kevin Schlieb

And yes, Robbie rules. We love Robbie in this household. I love that he's someone Hunter can also lean on. Even if it does have to be through very heavy projection.

And a hug. You can't fault a good hug.

I will emphasize tho, he never actually loses Kevin.

He couldn't. The way in which he thought he lost Kevin was a way he never had him to begin with. Kevin is still his best friend, still his bandmate and still someone who is safe and who is there for him. Kevin was just angry at him (and for good reason, let's be real). But he wasn't actually abandoning him. Hunter only felt like he did. [abandonment issues | mother]

Look no further than the fact he broke him out of Rehab. He came back for him because that is what Kevin does. Even if he gets mad, even if they fight, even if Hunter acts entirely out of line, Kevin is never gone. Never lost.

There will be consequences, absolutely. But he'd have to do a lot worse to actually lose Kevin for real. Tune in next time, where I will explain why Hunter and Kevin's relationship fits a BDSM bratting dynamic /j ANYWAY-

I do think their relationship is special. Just not necessarily in a way that involves kissing, unfortunately for Hunter.

Thank you so much for asking, Anon 🤘 If you are the same Anon from last time, then thank you again. I enjoy going on these incomprehensible rants and I'm massively thankful for being asked about my special interest like this. It's very nice ^-^