0151- "Aunt Alex" [03/11/07]

[Antissa Pompeii]

I bet you ALL $10 that Aunt Alex is none other then Op!

I mean, she looks A LOT like one of the girls in the early OpAphid videos, the one that's in 'Everyone Hates Cassie' and such. So, pay up mo' fo's, because there was a REASON they suddenly needed Bree to leave in the plot...to get trained by Tachyon and come back to beat the shit out of Alex/Aphid.

[Lurker]

I bet you ALL $10 that Aunt Alex is none other then Op!

I mean, she looks A LOT like one of the girls in the early OpAphid videos, the one that's in 'Everyone Hates Cassie' and such. So, pay up mo' fo's, because there was a REASON they suddenly needed Bree to leave in the plot...to get trained by Tachyon and come back to beat the shit out of Alex/Aphid.

She's not OpAphid. The same woman is in all the OpAphid videos (as you'll be able to see in the pictures I'm about to link to; compare their lips, noses, cheek bones, and eyebrows; they're the same woman) and Alex isn't her:

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/1642/opaphidnl3.jpg

[kellylen]

i see the similarities in the first and last, but not the 2nd

[Lurker]

i see the similarities in the first and last, but not the 2nd

The easiest way to confirm it's her is:

-Compare the eyebrows in the 2nd and 3rd
-Shape of her lips (particularly the upper lip, but you can also see that she has a full bottom lip)
-Tip of her nose (the nostril curve is also the same in the 2nd and 3rd; can't tell as easily in the 1st because of the angle)

[TOSG]

Even if Aunt Alex is supposed to be Op (I'm skeptical, but that's beside the point), it's doubtful that the pictures would be of the same actress. The actress that's playing Alex is established enough that it's unlikely that she would appear in the videos for a nascent ARG.

[jeezy]

I hope that alex is not Aphid... we need another good female that will be on more often... though i think Tachyon is totally awesome!

[longlostposter]

You know what I thought of immediately when she called him Fido? Remember in the Thanksgiving video when she pointed out the sign that said 'Dogs must be on leashes', and then made a comment about Daniel not being on a leash? That memory leaped into my mind, the minute I saw that video.l

Kinda off topic here but I was walking the other day and I saw a sign that basically said clean up after your dog does a number 2 and it had little baggies under it that you could take and it was called like "Fido Corale"

I took a picture of it but you can't see the Fido part...

[longlostposter]

I hope that alex is not Aphid... we need another good female that will be on more often... though i think Tachyon is totally awesome!

You're right, as Tachyon would never let herself be filmed, and so is not going to be another major female chararcter other than by ideology.

[Languorous Lass]

She had to make LIFE CHANGING decisions with almost no time to think, and so much more on the line than a trip to the beach. She's spent her whole life not saying no to anyone, and learning to follow her parents. When it turns out they're not people to follow, she has nothing to go by. And the small amount she has to follow? She has no clue what to do with it. . . . . She's being forced into bigger choices than most of us have ever made, when she's never made a decision by herself before all of this. She's trying to learn, and finally has a chance to. She's made huge mistakes, mistakes that seem far too stupid and rash to be forgivable in most circumstances. I won't deny that. But why would she know to do anything other than what she has done, given her life?

(stands up, applauding)

Beautifully put, PixieSailor. The people who have been complaining about what a beeyotch Bree has become (including Lurker, for whom I usually have the greatest respect) have been forgetting her background and her circumstances. I wonder how these people would respond if they were unceremoniously dumped into similar circumstances.

The other thing we need to remember is that Bree is a seventeen-year-old girl. Plenty of girls her age behave a lot worse than Bree does, even when they haven't had to face the kind of adversity she has.

IOW, GIVE THE GIRL A BREAK ALREADY.

[ForeverMourn]

I haven't been compelled to say something in a really long time, but seriously...

I hope Alex is not a new character introduced into the plot, as I'm sure she is.

The Actress playing the part of Aunt Alex acts a little too well. The emotion she was throwing out there was noticeable. I think she had a little too much emotion, and it throws off the realness of the video.

Then I read the idea of Alex being Aphid. TOSG makes a really good point about that.

The actress that's playing Alex is established enough that it's unlikely that she would appear in the videos for a nascent ARG.

Maybe Aunt Alex will act her two or three videos then fly back home. I hope she's not Oppy and I hope she's not permanent.

[Lurker]

She had to make LIFE CHANGING decisions with almost no time to think, and so much more on the line than a trip to the beach. She's spent her whole life not saying no to anyone, and learning to follow her parents. When it turns out they're not people to follow, she has nothing to go by. And the small amount she has to follow? She has no clue what to do with it. . . . . She's being forced into bigger choices than most of us have ever made, when she's never made a decision by herself before all of this. She's trying to learn, and finally has a chance to. She's made huge mistakes, mistakes that seem far too stupid and rash to be forgivable in most circumstances. I won't deny that. But why would she know to do anything other than what she has done, given her life?

(stands up, applauding)

Beautifully put, PixieSailor. The people who have been complaining about what a beeyotch Bree has become (including Lurker, for whom I usually have the greatest respect) have been forgetting her background and her circumstances. I wonder how these people would respond if they were unceremoniously dumped into similar circumstances.

The other thing we need to remember is that Bree is a seventeen-year-old girl. Plenty of girls her age behave a lot worse than Bree does, even when they haven't had to face the kind of adversity she has.

IOW, GIVE THE GIRL A BREAK ALREADY.

I decided I'd give her one more chance yesterday (thanks to Mvidrine's plea of sympathy) and have been trying not to be so harsh toward her for the last day or so, but I'll take the time explain my disdain for the girl a little better.

The problem isn't just what she's done - though that's a lot of it. The problem also consists of how she arrived at doing those things; the kind of thought processes she's utilizing that she - for some reason - considers logical.

Bree doesn't seem interested in making smart decisions of late - just in making decisions. Being like Tachyon doesn't mean one just reacts, but that's how Bree apparently thought during the whole Hostage Crisis.

But even before any of that stuff, she acted like she was the center of the universe and that it was fine for her to do whatever she wanted without consulting anyone else or considering anyone else - regardless of the potential danger it would create for them.

She adamantly guarded her precious secrets while she and Daniel were living in motels - despite knowing her parents had been kidnapped, and that Daniel was now in every bit as much danger (maybe more if caught) than them. She never hesitated about going to Jonas' place, despite how obvious it was that doing so could put him in danger. Worse still, rather than telling Jonas and Daniel she was going to meet her dad, discussing it with them, and getting them to go along with her, she stole Jonas' car (which the Order could have logically used to trace it back to Jonas and punish him for harboring their runaway), and took off - possibly with no intention of ever returning.

After that, she made Jonas and Daniel out to be jerks for caring about her, and then got Daniel's hopes up and broke his heart when it suited her.

She has consistently and deliberately used people with no consideration for their physical or emotional well being and done so in what appears to be nothing short of a calculating manner. The only time she doesn't seem to plan things out is when she's trying to act like Tachyon - and then she ends up becoming the attempted murderer of someone who may have genuinely placed themselves in a major sacrificial good samaritan position (to help her, of course). And she does it while acting as a major hypocrite.

And then we have that whole "I can fix your potentially lifelong motor function-impairing wound, Jonas - maybe" thing.

So Bree's actions combined with the consideration - or lack thereof - that she expresses for everyone else is what has made me feel completely justified in complaining about her. Going through horrible situations is reason to feel sorry for someone, yes, but when - instead of learning compassion for others through those experiences - they take only the worst possible lessons, it becomes very difficult.

To give you an example of what I wish Bree had made some attempt to become - and perhaps why I have so much trouble with her shortcomings - there's a video game called "Final Fantasy X." A lot of people have complained about this game's main character, Tidus, for being "whiny" - and while that's somewhat true, it's largely unfair, as he only ever complains about not being able to go back to his life - and he doesn't try dragging other people down to benefit himself.

Because of his backstory and his situation, I actually feel sympathy (that doesn't get overshadowed with annoyance as with Bree) for this character, even though Bree's backstory bears similarities to his own (his dad apparently drowned at sea when he was 7; his mother let herself die soon afterward because of her heartbreak, despite having a dependent child to care for; ten years later, at 17 like Bree, he was taken from his world - where he had gained fame and fortune as an athlete - and deposited into a harsh world where no one knew him, where he was looked down upon, and where he had no way of getting home). Yet through all this, he expresses compassion for others - even complete strangers - constantly, even at danger to his own life.

Even more than the above example, I'm bothered by Bree because of one of the game's main villains. He's someone who went through awful things in childhood too (disowned by his father, lost his mother soon after, and grew up in solitude), but even though he became a psychopathic murderer, he did it because he still had compassion for others. He wanted to kill everyone on the planet - but because he loved them and thought he was doing them a favor (he'd become twisted and thought life was a torturous prison). Even as a villain who committed great atrocities, he displayed more consideration for his fellow man than I've seen from Bree.

And that's why I've had so much trouble overlooking her behavior. When I can respect and sympathize more with a villain who plotted genocide, there's something wrong with our princess.

[BTStars]

I didn't think she was aloof. Jonas said he hadn't seen her in years. Things must have just been awkward. And she seemed to be friendly for someone coming home to her nephew and a stranger having broken into her house. She had a big smile and a warm laugh.

Seriously. The only way I can see Bree laughing in that situation is if she was sawing the limbs off of them. Or watching small animals get run over. One or the other.

After months of Bree bitching and moaning, it's nice to see someone that isn't as serious. Plus, if you want to talk about someone being un-humanly distant, I'd nominate Bree more than anyone. She suddenly loses herself in the moment and kisses Daniel, and then when he wants to be romantic she's like "It was weird. Daniel's a liar." Bree is the one who is an unfeeling robotic bitch, if you ask me.

"Unfeeling robotic bitch" = today's winning apt insult for Bree.

I really miss the cute Bree from last summer.

Yeah. I guess Unfeeling Robotic Bitch Bree tied her to a chair and left her to die.

HOWEVER!!! Unfeeling robotic bitch Bree left a plate of food for her

[Lurker]

HOWEVER!!! Unfeeling robotic bitch Bree left a plate of food for her

True, true. One last egg salad sandwich for Cute Bree From Last Summer.

[LONGTIMELURKER]

were there shaved almonds on the plate ?

[BTStars]

were there shaved almonds on the plate ?

Yep!! and a slurpie too