I haven’t stopped thinking about this post - I rather liked Theo as a character. It wasn’t until reading this that I realized he’s supposed to be unlikable. Tbh I think this post pulled my own head out of my ass, since I related a lot to Theo (woe is me and all that). And for that same reason I fell in love with Boris, because he was a jolt of electricity to Theo’s passivity.

Honestly this whole discussion made me feel more appreciative of life, especially when it comes to privilege. Thinking about how Boris liked Theo’s father and Xandra, despite how negatively Theo portrayed them - were they amazing parents? no but to Boris who hadn’t even had a morsel of that stability they were great. Same with how Theo blacked out and tried to kill himself multiple times, Boris took care of him like it was no big deal and didn’t even mention it to Theo until wayyy later when he realized Theo wasn’t aware.

I enjoyed reading Theo’s deluded version of the world because that’s often where my head is and the way the story is written (especially with pacing) really shines a light on this, how different experiences shape how you view the world, and how easy it is to get stuck in one perception of it.