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hii 😭 idk if youre still around to talk about shiloh but i am digging around for scraps and am very interested in any other thoughts you have about him?! like the shiloh-nate similarities you mentioned or anything thank you and/or sorry 😭🙏

Oh, dearest anon, I am ALWAYS HERE TO TALK ABOUT SHILOH! I always welcome opportunities to talk about my boys, so don’t feel shy— send as many questions as you want 💕

Ahem, when I was writing one of my huge Shiloh analysis posts, one of the conclusions I came to is that one of possible interpretations of Shiloh’s… Shiloh-ness, is that his manipulative tendencies stem from a need for control.

He’s good at reading people and understanding what they need: he has specific manipulation tactics that he tweaks to fit a specific group’s needs and carefully, painfully, adheres to them. I’d say that makes them somewhat predictable— once he finds out that JB responds well to flattery, he lavishes her with endless praise. Once he figures out she prefers problematic men, he lets her in on some of his techniques so she feels like they are closer. He makes himself someone people need, even if they don’t want him.

It’s a way for him to control the narrative. It’s his way to have power, since he’s never the leader.

And well, Nate is canonically a control freak. He just expresses it differently.

He doesn’t really trust other people to do things right, because in his mind they’re all incompetent anyway, so he constantly overwhelms himself with responsibility. That also stems for a need for control— Nate can’t control his own feelings (hence him being prone to bursts of anger and tears) so he controls everything else, to the point there she keeps a tight leash on even those close to him (ie. Everett and JB).

He’s a natural-born leader and people kind of gravitate towards him— even if he tries to push them away.

Nate is the most popular guy in school, after all, even if his reputation isn’t the best.

So at least in my mind that makes them equals and opposites: Both need control. Both thrive in having a firm grasp over their lives— they just express it differently:

Nate doesn’t have control over his emotions and Shiloh doesn’t know how to be genuine, Nate pushes others away while Shiloh needs them close.