that ivan loves till is the most obvious thing about them
but. does ivan know that…?
the ivan that regards his own feelings as shallow, the ivan that learned how emotions are expressed only from copying others… does he even know that the love he’s felt for so long is love?
probably not. and part of the reason is the one he loves himself
because the easiest example he has of love is till's feelings to mizi. till outright calls it love, and ivan watches him so much he has to be aware of this
and till’s love to mizi is totally unselfish, right. he doesn’t seem to actually want much from her—just that she's still there and still "mizi"
but ivan can't be satisfied with just watching
he… wants. ivan wants till’s attention, till’s affection—
surely this selfish wanting can’t be love
...no wonder he was never able to express his feelings straightforwardly when he belittles them so much
but he can’t stand not having anything either, so he does… whatever he does instead to get any scraps of attention he can, from someone he's convinced doesn't care about him at all
only showing affection when till can't see it, right until he knows he's going to die
but ivan's feelings for till are all he still has of himself... to think of them as shallow...
I've seen this translated as "I should've been kinder" to him (till) or to her (sua)
but really, the one he should've been kinder to was himself
someone please stop me from thinking, from ruminating, from brooding about ted finding michelle crying at the window about how every day she hopes she’ll feel like she did at the beginning vs. rebecca constantly crying from how much she loves ted and wants him to stay and wants him to know she wants him to stay in every damn scene they share in this finale
i have soooo much more i cld say abt him, and have explored more thru other doodles, but quick summary of talon's whole deal, which is subject to change still as he's only almost 2 yrs old as an oc
Thinking about how even though Hawk got everything he wanted (or was told to want) the career, a wife and kids, money, success, he still ended up unfulfilled (“That sounds really empty.”) because he spent so long hiding himself in order to achieve success and keep himself safe.
Conversely, even though Tim had the safety of concealment where it concerned working in government ripped from him, essentially losing his career, and came out at a time when the social and political landscapes of America never ensured queer safety, and I’m sure, at certain points made his life harder, he still lived a life that was happy and fulfilled, for a lot of reasons, yes, but I’d argue mainly because he didn’t have to hide anymore
Obviously the two characters work romantically but narratively they also foil each other so interestingly and so WELL. Hawk got everything he wanted!!! It wasn’t enough!!!!!!!!!! Tim lost a lot!!! But he also stood up for something larger than himself and got to live his life openly!!! He didn’t have to hide! He was Happy!!!