taeaura

[taeaura]

some of you guys write your y/n's in such childish and misogynistic ways

if I didn't know the context, I'd think you're describing a 12 year-old girl

like I'm 100% supportive of people's fantasies and such, but at some point in gets weird. and I don't mean weird as in awkward, I mean weird as in this is borderline soulless and dehumanizing. You're basically describing a childish tradwife sexdoll.

[taeaura]

[taeaura]

it's been a long time coming, but. . .

enough is enough. i think i've moved in relative silence when it comes to some of the more odd things that occur in this fandom, but one instance in particular is giving me pause. this honestly feels like something better suited for a substack essay, but i'll hold off on that since i think everyone in this specific sub - tumblr ( ? ) should hear this first.

i feel like so much of the call of duty fandom is trapped in a constant woman - hating epidemic.

and i don't just mean 'oh, there's barely any female character x reader content, there's nothing for the girls who like girls'. that's an entirely different issue i may or may not bring up later.

i'm talking about how a good majority of the writing i read in this fandom is so geared towards men. and i don't mean that there's a surplus of male reader content, because there really isn't. i mean that there's so many fics i read that are drenched in the light of 'doe - eyed, pouty, submissive woman who is always eager to please her man, and the idea that the man may be eager to please her in return is such an incredibly radical concept'.

i click on any 'x reader' tag in this fandom, and i'm met with a tidal wave of two specific archetypes;

the doe - eyed, pouty, submissive fem reader who is always eager to please her man and gets off on him essentially treating her like property, or. . .

a reader who has no character. no structure. no personality. a reader who is meant to be vague enough to where the actual reader can neatly insert themselves into their shoes, but at the cost of any innate substance or realness. a reader who is essentially just a placeholder in words.

somehow, inexplicably, it's more often than not the first.

write and read for this fandom long enough, and you'll see what i see in droves. the attention that is lavished on writing within this fandom is relegated to the specific archetype of the tradwife who knows nothing but to cook for her husband and be a willing conduit for his post - deployment stress relief.

and what truly infuriates me the most is that it will be these kinds of writers who are so adamantly against the idea of tradwives. yes, you say you're against it, but can your words hold up when your writing is essentially tradwife propaganda in disguise?

and it just irks me so badly when these mentalities infiltrate the characters themselves. today's specific instance of this was when i was scrolling through the könig x reader tag and i came across this one headcanon list that advertised itself as "loser!könig". nothing innately malicious, of course, but then i saw the tags.

'but also, he's a sucker for the wife, which makes him a loser. say it with me now.'

i want to make it known that i mean no ill intent towards the original author of this specific headcanon list. i don't want any vitriol to be directed at them because i'm speaking my mind about this fandom as a whole. it most likely was meant to be an affectionate, "haha, he's such a malewife loser"-esque endearment. but this set of tags just. . .baffled me.

. . .because when did it become loser - like or a loser - adjacent trait to be a sucker for your wife?

this isn't even the first instance of this. i've seen it before, the way this fandom—sometimes subtly, sometimes unintentionally—pushes this narrative that has been setting us back decades. the idea that there is not only a beauty standard that women must live up to in order to be considered desirable by men, but there is also a mentality that a woman must have in addition.

there's another fic that i read, a 141 x reader one if memory serves me correctly. it featured a reader who was insecure about her appearance, which is absolutely nothing to frown upon. what startled me, though, was the fact that the author themselves referred to the reader as 'ugly'.

the reader is a single mother. she is stated in the fic to have love handles, breakouts, and a thick waist. she has messy hair and wears baggy clothes and has dark undereye circles. she required the love and special attention of four conventionally attractive men who moved in next door in order to feel beautiful.

she is said, by the author in the precluding note, to be meant as a way to 'show some love to readers who feel ugly, instead of petite girly readers'.

as if people with these traits should feel ugly. as if people with these traits cannot be girly.

i understand i may be reading too much into this. i may be making a mountain out of a molehill. but i'm angry about this and this is my blog and you've read this far, so clearly you want to see where this goes.

and this is where it's going.

i spoke about this briefly in a server i'm in and am extremely fond of—shoutout to the shitheads.

i said, quote: "are you nothing but a slave to the whims of a patriarchal society’s dictation on how someone must present in order to be considered desirable? or are you willingly feeding into this at the risk of the self image of so many beautiful people who cannot recognize their own enchanting presences because of people like you howling at them in your sweetest voice that they are anything but?"

i also said: "have you considered the reason for that might be because she’s a recluse and doesn’t go outside apart from making sure her child is getting sufficient vitamin d and is thus making assumptions about what people will think of her on the basis of one bad man’s words to her?"

maybe she doesn't feel ugly because you think the traits she has are ugly. maybe she feels ugly because she doesn't socialize. maybe, instead of just leaving that in the subtext, you should have started with that.

the writer, if i recall correctly, was a woman. by the way. which makes this worse.

it is so difficult for me to understand how the women in this fandom can be so cruel to each other, even implicitly. from the way we're written in reader - insert fics to how we react to each others' ocs and creations. . .it's just so disheartening.

more than anything, it makes me wonder how someone like me—a lesbian who exclusively writes women for women and tries to veer away from the reader and the character falling into any one archetype—is going to find any sort of platform in this fandom.

the bottom line is that there is so much casual misogyny in this fandom. frankly, i'm a little sick of it.

one might think i'm making a big deal out of this. i know. i'm being a killjoy, i'm being a hater, i won't let anyone have any fun. but we need to remember a couple of key points here:

art is always political because there is no way to create something without a modicum of bias.

the politics promoted by the art in this fandom—specifically, the writing—are pushing an agenda that has been consistently used to strip women of their rights and needs for decades.

most of these writers are women themselves.

obviously, there's nothing wrong with a submissive woman. obviously, the characters in call of duty that are most featured in reader - insert content are canonically framed in a lens that makes it seem like they would be the kind of men to only enjoy this kind of woman. obviously, not everyone in this fandom indulges this.

but it occurs enough. and it sets us back.

and i'm sick of it.

thank you for reading this far, and for hearing out what i have to say. i promise i don't do this often—but i also promise that i absolutely should. i love you.

kiki x

[taeaura]

Please, can you do a part two of what @Thewolffairytaler asked for about Thomas's eyes? Like the victim just starts to plead with Thomas about not hurting her, she's not desperately pleading, but she's at a point where she is on her knees as she is gently holding his left hand and is just pleading. Maybe even kissing his knuckles as her eyes tears up a bit. She's not scared of Thomas exactly, but she is scared of the idea that he will hurt her. Please? PLEASE? 🥺

Yes of course! | Pt.1

_____

"There you go...attaboy, Tommy. Finish the job like you always do." 

Hoyt knew his way around manipulation, around temptation. He knew the family’s hunger would worsen with even the smallest decrease in food. They’d been hungry before, - starving, famished; They would never go hungry again. 

Tommy..his name was Tommy - No, Thomas. You could use that, right? Say a few sweet words, kiss and grab at him. Just gotta get the chainsaw out of his hands first.

“Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Crank it up! Show that bitch what happens when you fuck around and stay long enough to find out.”

Hoyt was getting impatient. What the hell was he (Thomas) thinking? Putting the family in such danger all for a piece of tail - Selfish. At Least when he (Hoyt) did it, they were tied down..nothing could get in the way of the family. 

Thomas was conflicted - On one hand, he had this gorgeous girl cooing in his ears about his eyes. It felt so good to be wanted. But did she really want him? Did she mean it? She couldn't've..

He revved the chainsaw a final time, the loud buzzing of the blade crowding the room. 

“Hell yeah, Tommy. Show ‘er how it’s done.” Hoyt chuckled as he turned his heel to walk back up the stairs - He had..”business” to attend to; Which in your case, heightened your chances of survival. 

“Wait wait wait wait wait - No, no, no, no, no, please..we could work this out, couldn’t we? Please?” 

Thomas shook his head - She’s not worth it, Thomas - He thought to himself. Finish the job..

With drying tears painting your cheeks, you shakily held your hands out and shook your head lightly. “Tommy, please.”

That rewired something in him. The way you said it - God had sent a succubus, hadn't he? A final challenge to prove his strength. Mama had always told him sex before marriage was a sin. Women who opened their legs for any man on the street, even if it was to save their lives, had failed their family, their future husbands, God, and most importantly, themselves. “They can’t be saved,” she’d tell him. She never used the word “whore” but his uncles did. He knew that’s what mama meant. She would've called you one if she saw what was going on down here..One less whore - he thought. 

“Tommy, I’m so sorry..” You whined as you knelt down. “We can work this out - You and me. I won’t hurt you, I ain’t gonna run away.” You didn’t even convince yourself that it was working. What were you doing? Helplessly pleading with a backwoods serial killer? It wasn’t gonna work…

Surprisingly, it did. Luckily for you, you ended up in the basement of a family with a very..protective yet starved and desperate guard dog. The chainsaw had stopped, though hesitantly. Thomas was looking at you with glazed-over eyes. He was in another word - most likely his own head, trying to rationalize his decision to spare you. You took the opportunity to carefully coax his hand into yours as you peppered kisses on his bruised and bloodied knuckles. That must’ve snapped him out of it - He jerked a bit as he looked down. He didn’t mind this angle: You looking up at him with teary eyes and shaky breath - He could get used to this. 

Get your head in the game, Thomas! - He could hear Hoyt’s figurative voice screaming at him from the back of his mind. It didn’t matter - He’d keep you. Safely. Whether in the backroom of the basement or in the shed, anywhere that his uncles couldn’t get to you. He’d sneak you food, bring you water in dirtied glass, bring in some of his old clothes for you to wear, and a pillow hidden somewhere in the guest room. He’d keep you safe - Just as long as you kept spoiling him with sweet words and soft kisses.

_____

As always, if you have more requests, questions, or I misinterpreted an ask, please let me know!

am I geeking twin

[taeaura]

Low-key father Thomas Hewitt is fire‼️💔

Can you do father Thomas Hewitt headcanons with a 10 year old son that cries easily?

Thank you ‼️💔 - Yes I can

Father!Thomas Hewitt with a Son who Cries Easily

Very similar to my previous father!Thomas post in the sense that Monty would be constantly complaining about Thomas' son crying.

"Will you cut out that racket?" calm down Monty..

--

Thomas is well aware of his kid's needs; Meaning he alters everything he can to fit them. That includes keeping his kid away from the carnage that ensues both in and out of the basement.

He also, believe it or not, spends less time in the basement to care for his son. If his son is frightened or overwhelmed (causing him to cry), Tommy will stop was he's doing to help.

Luda Mae helps as well - Tries to distract the kid best she can (when she's not at work.) She's really sweet to her grand baby, lots of praise and coddling (kinda like the scene in 2006 when she cleans up Bailey)

--

Although Thomas didn't grow up in a...healthy household, he tries his best for his boy.

When he went up to check on his son before bed, he found him crying, tucked into the corner where his bed lay. Thomas sighed, brushing off his apron and sitting beside his son. He held out his arm, letting his son take it if he pleased (which he did).

After communicating through the issue, whatever it may be, Thomas always ends the night by hugging his son tightly and tucking him into bed. Depending on the time of year, he'll leave the window open, too.

In the morning, he'll ask momma to add extra of whatever they're having for breakfast onto his son's plate - Make sure to start the morning right 🫀

[taeaura]

Hi Tae, I was wondering if you could tell us how Thomas would react if a victim (reader) who's cornored or meets him for the first time stare into his eyes for a moment, taking all the details in, to then tell him that he has beautiful eyes. It dosen’t matter if he looks at then angrily or with a dark gaze. They still thinks they are beautiful. Like a gem or the sky on a sunny day.

I figured you could answer this easily since you know the Hewitt family so well and it's pretty much an easy question.

oooo I love this!!

I think he'd be very confused and taken back which would cause him to pause for a bit - He's in his own head a lot. This gives the victim more time to escape but as soon as you move he's right back in the game. (Or..with a little "family motivation")

__

"You're beautiful." You don't know why you said it - Why you felt it. All you knew was that it's true: He was beautiful, at least to you.

The cannibal paused. Beautiful? Such words were never used to describe him, not even once. The most praise he'd gotten was on his work ethic, never on his appearance.

His expression tightened, what was left of his nose wrinkled, his eyes squinted as his eyebrows closed in. It doesn't make sense - You're lying. You were just trying to catch him off guard, break down his walls; Escape.

Don't be tempted, son. These women are something else.

That's what Charlie had told him one time - Back in what were supposed to be his high school years. There were always pretty girls with infectious smiles and loud laughs that made him turn his head. He liked the way their hair was done, how creative they could be in accessorizing. He liked their lips and the way they framed their smiles. The fantasy would break as soon as they saw him. He'd be staring at them, distracted from his work at the slaughterhouse or at the community center his momma worked at. The girls would stiffen - They were disgusted with him. Afraid.

Why're you staring? - Can I help you?

He didn't have the tools to answer those questions. His answer wouldn't make anything better; In fact, it'd make it worse. They weren't asking out of genuine curiosity, they wanted to deter him. His freakish nature and abnormal behavior. Momma taught him not to stare, but, why could they stare? No one told them not to, he was a macabre one, that's for sure.

In a matter of seconds, his head replayed the compliment you gave to him. Beautiful. He was beautiful.

It felt good. Odd, peculiar, abnormal, but so damn good.

Say it again. Just one more time; Please?

Of course, he couldn't say that. He didn't say that. And he didn't want to.

Thomas restarted the chainsaw, revving it loud enough to drown out his irrational thinking. You didn't mean it. You couldn't have.

You jolted back, frightened, but yet, still determined.

"Beautiful, beautiful eyes." You whispered shakily.

He threw the chainsaw to the ground, frustrated and confused. If you didn't mean it, stop fucking saying it!

"What's taking so damn long down there!" A voice called out from upstairs. "Tommy, stop stallin' and cut her up already!"

Hoyt stomped down the stairs, his eyes meeting the corner you were trapped in. "Oh, Christ, Thomas. Get a grip on yourself."

"What? Did she butter you up all nice and sweet, huh?" Hoyt called out condescendingly. He didn't view Thomas as "ugly" necessarily, but Hoyt knew a thing or two about survival. Never let your guard down. Ever.

Tommy looked between the two of you, frustrated, confused, overwhelmed. He wasn't teary-eyed but he was damn close. Still, his anger shadowed his confusion as he picked up the chainsaw once more, starting it up as the two of you locked eyes.

"There you go...attaboy, Tommy. Finish the job like you always do."

____

Sorry this is kinda short. I was in the mood for a mini oneshot lol

As always, if you have more requests, questions, or I misinterpreted an ask, please let me know!

[taeaura]

love you Tommy

[taeaura]

You capture Thomas perfectly in my mind, like every post you've made on him and his family dynamic and behavior is just chef's kiss! That being said, as the foremost Thomas Hewitt extraordinare do you have any fic recommendations? Reader insert or oc, I'm just dying to find more stories with him.

Thank you! ✨

Oh my goodness thank you! I do, in fact, have some fic recommendations 😈 - these are mostly fem but some are gender neutral !

MEAT | lovetoxin

The Spread | toxicanonymity (AO3 Link)

Unmasked | milkteahood

Thomas Hewitt/Reader {𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢, 𝔱𝔬 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔦𝔱? 𝔑𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔴𝔢𝔢𝔱𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔦𝔱𝔰 𝔫𝔢𝔠𝔱𝔞𝔯?} | lullabies-blue

A Slow Descent | lullabies-blue

Our Last Day, or maybe the first? | tinybrooms | pt.2

Meat Pies | creepswrites (AO3 Link)

In Your Room - dachande

I'm on Fire - dachande

Lambskin - rottenstrawberrymilk (haven't read this in a while but I remember liking it?)

There was another fic called "Bluebonnets" I think?? I remember liking that one but I can't find it unfortunately :(

[taeaura]

the nonsharers are mad lmfaoo

Idk if its just me but I HATE when people who yume/selfship with a certain character get pissed or annoyed when others also ship themselves with them.

Like bro... YOU DONT OWN THAT CHARACTER. it's giving the 2019 "He's my boyfriend and husband, and I'll kill anyone who even looks at him" shit.

[taeaura]

you know what.

I am so fucking tired of rape fics. I am a sexual assault survivor and you sexulise rape. why. why do I work so hard to get better and it all get ruined by some horny asshole just like last time. THESE CHARATERS DONT WANT TO RAPE YOU. rape is horrible, its NOT sexy. its traumatizing. why do you keep talking about it and writing about it. STOP MINIMIZING MY PAIN WITH YOUR DERANGED FANTASIES.

Simon Riley isnt a rapist

Leon Kennedy isnt a rapist

and belive it or not Jonathan Crane ISNT A FUCKING RAPIST

dont tell me not to kink shame

do not tell me to skip it

you cannot tell me that my trauma doesn't matter

STOP WRITING RAPE FICS

[taeaura]

no hate to any fic writers I love you guys so much but how does Thomas know exactly what he's doing each time y'all get down and dirty

He's a VIRGIN living in an EXTREMELY RELIGIOUS household. His bruncle probably knows nothing of value or accuracy, considering he's a "sexually perverted homicidal maniac" in the words of R Lee Ermey.

Thomas' only experience with sex is most likely through magazines and observation (of non-consensual sex, might I add).

How does he know proper sex ettiequte. Or how to pleasure someone at ALL (Especially afab)?? He does not know the anatomy enough 😭

"But Tae..he's a butcher? Wouldn't he know anatomy?" Uh, yeah, but does he know the anatomy of female reproduction and their purposes? No, I think not.

I'm less concerned with male anatomy considering Thomas has male anatomy..and has probably experimented with it..

ALSO - if I may, he's so gross. So so so so SO gross. One word: UTI. You're gonna get a UTI, baby..I don't make the rules. I love you Tommy but you need to shower and probably trim a bit

Listen - I love reading them. I love writing them sometimes, but my brain can't accept fanfics unless they are 90-95% accurate 😭

[taeaura]

Thomas butchering the shit out of someone who hit on you because he's insecure and extremely afraid of you leaving him :)

You end up with a poorly written note with the shittiest hand writing ever that reads:

"I'm sorry I got upset. I love you."

But it's more like

"sory i was upset i lov you" spelling errors and all 🫀

Just know, dinner was less of a steak and more of a...pulled "pork" from how excessive Thomas' chopping was. Luda Mae wasn't too thrilled, but she's not one to waste, is she?

"Tommy took good care of 'em, God bless the next poor soul that takes his chances, hm?" - Hoyt, probably

[taeaura]

@lovinqbella I do, in fact, know what you mean x🫀

if I misinterpreted this prompt please let me know! I'll make another post 😈

Give Me A Call, Hun

The community center was never too crowded - Only filled with cyclists and the occasional "roadtrip gone wrong" group. In had been a few months since your wedding, a casual southern Christian affair with a nice Hewitt twist; Mama had given you her previous wedding ring, and it fit you quite nicely. A silver, dainty wedding band with an almost non-existent jewel sculpted in the middle. You wore it religiously - A symbol of your commitment and pride in your relationship with Thomas.

You heard the bell attached to the doorframe ring, lifting your head to attend to the visitor - Another cyclist...great.

You quietly sighed and put on your best "costumer-service" act.

"You need anything?"

The man turned, his features dirtied from sweat, dust, and grime.

"Nothing you can help me with, hun."

He grabbed a beer off one of the shelves, placing it on the counter and leaned on his elbows. "W'you mind grabbing me one of those Marlboro Reds, sweetheart?" - "Thank you, honey."

"Ma'am."

You both turned, Luda Mae had been smoking in the corner.

"You refer to her as 'Ma'am', understood?"

"Yes..yes ma'am." He said sheepishly. He turned back to you, scoffing slightly as he payed for his things.

Leaning closer, he said "Y'know, if you ever need a ride somewhere, or..something extra that I'm sure you can't find out here, give me a call; Huh, hun?" He quickly jotted down his number on his receipt and slid it back to you.

You watched him leave as you turned to Mama, she had the same look on her face as she did the last time someone came in here. It's safe to say, you'd see him again, but not in the way he'd hoped.

Charlie pulled his ass over y'all and Thomas had fun chopping his ass up, yurd

[taeaura]

maybe my love for antagonistic/military/slasher men is reflective of my dad's aggression throughout my childhood

and how I forget about it all when he makes me laugh

hmm...probably not

[taeaura]

Reversed possession. Forgot about Thomas being possessive or have some yandere tendencies. What if a fem presenting Y/n was in love with Thomas. And would despise any non family women being close to him or try to manipulate him, hence why they're tend to get rid of the issue without permission. And if Hoyt or mama tried to tell him that Y/n is dangerous and not good for him, she'd convince him otherwise.

oooo this is fun!!🫀

I'm so sorry this took a while to finish up!!

Thomas Hewitt x Possessive!Reader | Fem-presenting

Thomas would have the biggest trust issues EVER - Who does he trust: The person he's in love with, or his family? His family...right?

"I'm telling ya, she's good for nothin', Tommy."

"That woman'll eat you alive - and not in the good way."

"I don't like her. Not one bit, Thomas."

"I've been with a lot of chics in my life, Tommy-boy (lie). I'm telling ya, she ain't no good."

Hoyt is genuinely concerned for Thomas. He's seen how you look at the family, how you coo and 'seduce' Thomas into trusting you. He's seen just how manipulative people can be, he's a manipulative guy himself - And he knows just how desperate Thomas can get in terms of love.

Luda Mae/Mama is SO worried - And especially annoyed. She doesn't like you - "not one bit." She tries to convince Thomas that you're good for nothing, you're a "snake", artificial, whatever she can to get Thomas away from you. She's even pretended to have "run out of food" to convince Thomas "she may be the only 'food' we've got for a while.."

Of course, Thomas refused with a sharp shake of his head..though he was hesitant on both sides

__

Or..does he choose you?

"Tommy, they're lying. Lying about everything."

"I need you, don't you need me?"

"No one's gonna love you like I can, baby. I can promise you that."

*Referring to a previous "conversation" with Charlie* "Don't you know how manipulative that sounds? They're trying to manipulate you, Tommy - Keep us apart. You don't want that, do you?"

One simple "I love you" paired with pleading eyes..He's done for. Thomas can't really resist that..at least not anymore.

As soon as Thomas puts his foot down with you, the act begins to falter.

I just keep imagining that one scene in Pearl when the projectionist tries to leave and Pearl goes batshit crazy:

"Did I do something wrong?" - "Why'd you just go cold on me?" - "What did I do wrong?"

"I don't understand, I thought you liked me.." - "Why did you change?" - "You're not leaving me here."

__

Tommy is...well, he's Tommy. In the end, he's extremely family-oriented. And unfortunately for you..Charlie Hoyt's got him wrapped around his trigger finger.

Thomas loves you, he stays with you, but Hoyt makes sure to keep you in line. AKA, he never tolerates disrespect to the family. You're always being starred-down at dinner {by most of the family}. He gives you more chores, takes less precaution when dealing with "guests" around you {he'll happily get violent and gory around you, this is the life you signed up for, is it not?}, and still continues to talk with Thomas about your..behavior.

Mama still doesn't like you - That'll likely never change if you continue with such behaviors. But, you're family..as reluctant as she is to admit it.

Honestly - You fit right in with the family: Possessive, violent?, manipulative; You're the whole Hewitt package! It'll just give them time to realize that :)

[taeaura]

This isn't a request, but more of a cannon fact that people don't know about Hoyt (Charlie), and it's the fact that he cares about continuing on the legacy. The family linuage, so to say, this is backed up because of the comics. Hoyt does want love from a woman and a potential wife. The problem was that he didn't ever "find" the one. But that didn't stop him from assaulting women that he found to be beautiful or worth keeping alive for a bit longer, like he was chasing the high, consuming alcohol one after anathor so to say.

When it comes to Thomas, he didn't actually mind if if Thomas ever got a woman. He wanted Thomas to be the one to continue the linuage, but if he couldn't, then he would step up himself.

So it does iritate me a bit that fanfic authors tend to miss characterise him as this man who despises all outsiders. Yes, he is a cautious man when it comes to keeping the female victims, but he wouldn't immediately treat them harshly if Thomas ever found an interest in one of them.

ooo I really appreciate this !!!

Yes, he's cautious and kind of an ass for his own entertainment, but he's not against outsiders. Selective? Most likely - But that's just how he comes off to me.

I really hope I haven't mischaracterized him 😭

[taeaura]

breaking down the texas chainsaw massacre: the beginning (2006) opening credits

as i promised, here's a post going through tcm 2006's beginning credits frame-by-frame. buckle up, this is pretty damn long.

[3:59] first shot is one of thomas’ baby photos, it’s in black-and-white and very blurry and there’s no date provided, but it looks like he has a unilateral cleft lip on the left side of his mouth (his left, our right).

remember to take this with a grain of salt due to the fact that the fucked-up cgi baby that luda mae picks up out of the dumpster doesn’t seem to have a cleft lip, and his face reveal in the 2003 movie seems to be lacking one too. so this is something that you can choose to include or exclude from your writing imo.

there seems to be a dark line going down from the left corner of his mouth and down his face??? but it could be something superficial on the photo itself.

[4:01] the same photo of thomas shown previously. here the cleft lip is shown in much better detail, and as you can see, it doesn’t extend up to his nostril. this implies that his particular birth defect isn’t all that extreme, which is why i headcanon him to have a unilateral incomplete cleft lip.

looks like he has his “skin disease” by this point, judging by the markings around his mouth. he looks to be merely an infant in this photo, maybe less than one year old.

that mysterious dark scar (?) remains.

[4:05] thomas’ first medical files are shown, unknown date. the text is partially cut off, but i can make out “deteriorating flesh” and “disfigurement” written with circles drawn around the lower left half of his face.

“disfigurement” can be referring to both his cleft lip and whatever birth defect his affecting his lower left jaw.

[4:09] a picture of an older thomas, i’d say between the ages of 3–5. his face is being covered completely by someone else. i’d argue that those are “man hands”, but honestly, it could go either way. i doubt it’s luda mae, due to her fondness towards thomas, but i do believe it’s a hewitt. this would imply that at least one hewitt was ashamed of thomas in his younger years, and didn’t want him to be visible in pictures.

[4:13] more medical files. roughly reads “patient: thomas hewitt, age: 3, [date of] examination: 7/20/??”

if thomas is three years old, it can be assumed that the year is 1942.

[4:15] another picture of thomas, but this time he’s hiding his face on his own. age is harder to discern here, but he’s definitely under 8–10 years old. he’s already learned to be ashamed of his face.

“age: 6” flashes on screen at [4:19], which can imply that thomas was six years old at the time that the previous photo was taken.

[4:20] first live action shot. thomas is touching his face, which looks to have an open, bleeding wound. initially, this shot looked like some sort of scrape or even bite to me (with the torn skin and all), but it may be psoriasis that’s been scratched at, causing the wounds to reopen over and over and become more severe. this would be the beginning of thomas’ self-harming behavior.

[4:24] yet another photo of thomas, older and with his face uncovered. cleft lip doesn’t look present but as i stated, the filmmakers seem to forget about that fact every now and again. he does, however, seem to have scarring on his left cheek from his skin condition. he’s looking away from the camera.

[4:26] more medical files. from what i can make out, they say “… boy suffers from a degenerative facial disease. … birth defect”

[4:29] shot of thomas picking up some sort of blade with the words “tedency towards self-mutilation” popping up on screen. this seems pretty self-explanatory.

[4:37] longer shot of thomas raising the blade to his face and slicing into the flesh of his cheek.

from [4:41] to [4:51], you can see thomas’ face being wrapped up in some sort of guaze/bandage. due to the bandages covering nearly his entire head, i believe that his wounds were far more extreme than the footage actually shows.

during this time, you can here a voice (presumably charlie’s, though r lee ermy also played what we can assume to be luda mae’s husband in the very beginning of the film) telling thomas “don’t worry about it, tommy. you don’t have to look pretty to work down at the slaughterhouse.” this tells me a couple of things: 1.) if this is charlie, this is the first instance of him comforting thomas, which he continues to do throughout the film (while still manipulating him). this shows that charlie, from at least this point on, is a kind older brother figure to thomas. 2.) it’s already being ingrained in thomas that he isn’t pretty, even if that fact is being delivered through reassurance. 3.) he’s already being set up to work at the slaughterhouse, somewhat implying that he drops out of school to start working. with the hewitts’ poverty, i wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case.

[4:58] shot of an empty road. “age 9” is overlayed on top of this image, implying that thomas was no older than nine years old when he injured himself and presumably got drawn out of school.

[5:00] very very quick snapshot of a dog (?) carcass, looks like roadkill. thomas is then shown to take interest in the corpse, dragging it away by its tail.

from [5:07] to [5:26], you can see thomas going through the process of creating his first leather mask out of that roadkill. he moves with intention, he doesn’t seem to be skittish or queasy when it comes to corpses and death. there’s a shot of his reflection at [5:20], with only his nose and eyes being visible. they look pretty normal, and you can see that he’s out of his bandages by this point.

[5:28] “12 yrs. old” flashes on screen, again implying that thomas was no older than twelve when he began wearing masks to cover his face.

the frames between [5:31] and [5:37] are hard for me to fully make out, but there looks to be a blade, some sort of flesh, and machinery.

i believe he’s already started working at the slaughterhouse by this point, as at [5:38], you can see thomas trace his fingers over the still blade of a chainsaw—something he later steals from his job in 1969.

his fingers look like they belong to his older self, but i can’t tell exactly when this takes place.

[5:43] thomas takes his apron off of a rack in what i can assume is the slaughterhouse. he’s in his older teens or beyond at this point, i think—his forearms are thick and hairy here, so it’s clear he’s aged significantly.

[5:47] newspaper dated friday, june 9, 1967 flashes on screen, followed by an outside shot of the lee bros meat plant. thomas would be 28 by this point in time.

the meat plant processes not only cows but poultry as well, and was established in 1929.

[5:50] friday, june 9, 1969. exactly two years after the last shot (though in reality, june 9th was a monday that year, but it’s a simple error). here’s what i can read:

MEAT PLANT CONDEMNED, HUNDREDS LEFT JOBLESS

lee bros. meats, fixture (?) of fuller for forty years

unemployment rate near 76% according to mayor clayton

devastating three-year drought has far reaching consequences. some proclaim “second dust bowl”

CLOSED FOR GOOD lee brothers processing plant was … by … on wednesday and forced to suspend all activity on thursday. drought related illness in cattle is sited as the cause of stomach ailments throughout west texas

note: travis county is closer to central-east texas than west texas, so that’s another inconsistency… at this point i don’t know where exactly fuller is.

from what i can understand, a drought had been affecting fuller since 1966. this drought brought sickness to the cattle and other livestock, likely due to undernourishment. this meant less business for the slaughterhouse, which meant less work for the people who worked there, which meant mass unemployment. by the time we reach 1969, there’s over 75% unemployment in fuller and the meat plant finally shuts down.

the article also mentions the meat plant being condemned, which implies that there were underlying safety issues within the building that contributed to its closure.

a dead cow flashes on screen shortly after the shot of the newspaper.

[5:54] okay, this is where the timeline starts jumping around and i don’t like it. according to the friday, march 9, 1968 article of “the fuller bee”, the meat plant is condemned and the town has offically DIED in big, capital letters. this doesn’t make sense, given the article shown literally seconds before and the fact that the audience knows thomas is dismissed from his job in 1969, so i’m choosing to believe this is merely a mistake.

[5:57] newspaper with no date provided, with the headline “DRAFT MORE TROOPS”, likely in reference to the war in vietnam.

shortly after, another headline flashes on screen: “REINSTATED FOR VIETNAM CONFLICT”. this article is dated saturday, december 1, 1969. this is a historical error, as i can’t find anything about the draft being reinstated in 1969. according to wikipedia, the deferment of married men ended suddenly on august 26th, 1965, but that’s the only big change to the draft that i know of around that time. also, if the article was accurate, then it would be reciting events after the film, which takes place in july 1969. you can see why this doesn’t make sense.

from [5:58] to [6:33], thomas can be seen slamming his fist against his baby photos before going on to burn them, with his diagnosis of mental deterioration flashing on screen. i believe this implies that he volunteered for the army, which i already wrote a whole post about here.

these shots are also spliced with scenes of thomas making what i assume to be a new mask. it’s very obviously raw flesh, which by now i know that’s not how leather is Made, but he’s a little freak so what can you expect. maybe this is meant to show thomas leaning in to his shame after being rejected from the army.

this is the longest “scene” by far, showing how the writers really wanted us to know just how much thomas hates himself.

and that’s the end of the opening credits, cutting to july, 1969.

OKAY SO, what have we learned??? here’s a rudimentary tl;dr—

thomas is born 1939 with a cleft lip and possibly an additional birthmark/defect. his “skin disease” looks to be present at birth/in his infancy.

he is diagnosed with “deteriorating flesh” and “disfigurement” by the time he is three years old.

by the age of six, thomas begins showing signs of self-consciousness and low self-esteem.

by the age of nine, thomas has begun engaging in self harm and cuts into his face with a blade, leading to him presumably dropping out of school to work at lee bros. meat processing plant.

by the age of twelve, thomas has begun to use the flesh of roadkill to craft leather masks for himself. i believe he’s also confirmed to be working at the slaughterhouse by this point in time.

a drought hits fuller in 1966 and lasts for at least three years. this drought causes the livestock to become ill, which leads to the closure of the slaughterhouse in 1969. other safety concerns also factor into this closure.

sometime between 1965–1969, thomas volunteers to fight in vietnam but is denied due to his “mental deterioration”. he burns his baby pictures in response.

as we all know, thomas is formally fired in july of 1969. he looks to be the last one left at the slaughterhouse, clinging to the job he’s had for almost twenty years.

i literally went through this fucking film frame-by-frame for this info. i hope this helps at least one of you in your writing!