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Something that's interesting about the way Steven keeps his space in comparison to Marc's...

Throughout the show we were given a lot of instances where Marc and Steven are extremely dichotomous. In the beginning, it felt like the purpose was to demonstrate juxtaposition between them, where they define each other by mutual exclusion. So why would it stop at levels of organization, right? I like to read it as going deeper than just 'one's more cleaner than the other'. Idk why but I do so here lol.

Your physcial environment subconsciously acts as a reflection of yourself.

Everything from the lighting, the colors, noises, the people occupying the space with you. Warmer lights induce relaxation, pleasant aromas promote peace of mind, good company encourages positive mindsets, etc.  Because of this, clutter is a strong source of anxiety for people; essentially, if there's a mess outside, than the inside can't be much better.

One of the first things we see in the show is Steven's flat, and it's...cluttered. But he doesn't seem bothered by it. He doesn't make his bed, his clothes are laying about, there are a million books stacked on pretty much every flat surface, a shameless hobby that indicates where he goes to seek comfort. There's a wall of maps and postcards that spread all the way to the fishtank, depicting an obvious adoration for the world and travel, little windows into places he feels intrigued by. Instead of the state of his flat inflicting unease, it seems to instead be a source of solace.

Then we look at Marc's space in the storage locker. It's nearly empty, which is him detaching himself from tangible things to add separation from the life he's convinced himself he doesn't deserve, a life he's disgusted with living in most of the time. (And even though it's safe to say most of his belongings are likely still with Layla, having his current space nearly empty hints at the amount of time he spends fronting, which is significantly less than Steven). It's organized, perhaps reflecting childhood discipline as well as habits picked up from his time as a Marine. And it's completely enclosed and reflective, no windows to let in the outside world and external stimuli, with walls that provide nothing but his reflection to look at. It's not only representative of the physical solitude that he forces himself in but the mental. He gives himself nothing to distract from his intrinsic guilt and shame, nothing else to look at besides, most torturously, himself.

But WAIT. Marc and Steven shared a space before...

And it was Steven who liked to keep a tidy room, with Marc who was on the messier side. When little!Steven fronts in ep 5, he immediately begins to clean up little!Marc's mess.

But as they get older, this obviously switches, and we even get ep 6, where Marc lightly jabs at Steven's flat ("I can't believe you live in this frickin' mess"). This is a full circle moment, imo. As if Marc loses the freedom that comes with simply making messes, whereas Steven gains enough autonomy that allows a more lived-in space, something that finally belongs to him.

Marc distances himself from the prospect of settling down and indulging in life while Steven attempts to immerse himself in it. Marc isolates himself from attachments and Steven surrounds himself with small pieces of the world. Both of them yearn for connection but show and mask it in different ways.

That's why I think the way their spaces were portrayed goes deeper than just illustrating their differences. It shows that even though they are separate, their lives were bleeding into each other long before Wendy's Shiva, (I adore the concept of Marc sharing his toys with Steven)

(But there's also parts of Marc overlapping into Steven's life within the flat, like the postcards, the sand around his bed, the shape of the roof reminiscing a pyramid, the platform above his bed reminiscing a tomb, the additional fish, etc). It's acknowledging that it's a journey of acceptance, that as their time together progresses, it turns more into a glimpse at potential harmony and embracing those distinctions. It's not just, 'they contrast so strongly, how will they ever even get along?', but also 'oh, this is how they learn to coexist despite their differences'. And if when we get s2, Jake will have to be apart of that journey as well, like adding little parts of himself throughout Steven's flat and allowing himself that physical space of a home.

I also can't help but think of the day that Marc or Steven go down to the storage locker to turn in the key. How strongly it translates to Marc that he no longer needs to hide anymore, that he's not alone in this and that maybe one day he can leave around a bit of a mess too.

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CHAN IS A REALLY GREAT LEADER

now all we need is NCT 2020 and Sicheng’s instagram account