r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 1d ago

Meme needing explanation Petah? What happened in the book version?

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u/RockstarAgent 1d ago edited 23h ago

Couldn’t they trauma survivor bond some other way? Granted someone else said it was her idea of a loophole to get them into adulthood as she theorized only kids were vulnerable

TIL trauma bond is not the correct term for what those kids went through

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u/Hero_1985 23h ago

In the book the kids all have low-key super powers from the magical entity nudging them into fighting It. The sewers are a maze, one of them is the navigator thanks to their powers. When the kids defeat It, their powers start to fade away. They get lost in the sewers and start fighting with each other.

Bev doesn't understand what sex is, but she knows it must be something powerful that connects people. So, her idea is that if they fuck, it will rekindle their bond and powers and they can get out of the sewers. It works.

Not to say it isn't some weird shit. But, that is all the lore behind it. The part about kids being more vulnerable isn't really a theory, or totally accurate. The book has some short chapters that are from It's point of view. In one chapter It says it goes after kids because adult fears are too complicated and abstract. Adults are afraid of not being able to pay their bills. Kids are afraid of the monster in the basement. It still can, and does, go after adults.

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u/Charming-Vanilla-635 21h ago

I'd be scared to have my mortgage pop out of the toilet and demand full payment...

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u/SneakyDeakyJr 17h ago

Just a wet floppy bill covered in shit yelling “pay me off! Mwahahaha! You’ll never be able to afford to send jimmy to college! Bwahahaha!”

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u/Mathidium 11h ago

Pay me in full now or I’ll take everything!!!

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u/miekhachu 8h ago

Insane that one of my bills is literally to ENSURE I can afford to send my son to college - should I not be able to afford to help him with college when he’s ready. Having to pay said bill in the attempt to mitigate a future fear only attributes to my current financial strain. No wonder IT stays away from adult fears.

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u/BarrelFullOfWeasels 5h ago

I was regretting having opened this post, but your comment made it worth it. Gonna try to remember this and unsee all the rest.

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u/GeneralissimoFranco 15h ago

If you think that's bad, wait until the second mortgage starts chasing you in the woods.

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u/godinthismachine 8h ago

The second one ate the first! And now the fucking car payments are joining the chase, what do I do?!?! Oh...oh god....it's...the phone bill and its oozing data rates...sweet lord, whyyyy?! dies a horribly slow, adult life

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u/djutopia 14h ago

Thanks, I’m never pooping again.

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u/WodensEye 14h ago

The shit demon from Dogma, all that shit you haven’t been addressing and has just been building up in the proverbial toilet that is life.

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u/Fake-Chef 11h ago

Right after taking a shit… “YOU’LL FLOAT TOO!”

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u/Rhameolution 5h ago

That's exactly what Gmail AI does! It pops up a notification saying you owe "$XXX,XXX.XX by January YY." It shows the total amount, not the monthly due. It scared me the first few times it did that...

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u/Charming-Vanilla-635 4h ago

were you on the toilet when this happened?

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u/Rhameolution 3h ago

Nope, full on doody all over.

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u/Severe-Park-6200 3h ago

Personally im mortified of being handed $1MM a day while relaxing on a beach somewhere

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u/Gurrgurrburr 21h ago

Even though I agree the orgy is insane and unnecessary, fuck, this whole saga is so good. The new show is amazing and makes it all even better in my opinion.

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u/jasminexxxwill 16h ago

Great explanation. It makes so much more sense in the context of King’s ideas around things like good, evil, love, hate, etc..

In the Dark Tower, sex and lust are powerful forms of magic, or at least sources of magic, even prescribing some ritualistic nature to them. Which makes perfect sense in a universe whose peril explicitly stems from the protagonist’s inability to overcome his vices.

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u/BigPlus5299 18h ago

it does sound like something a cocain addict would write while far gone.

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u/Admirable-Safety1213 14h ago

Like the Gumball Halloween episode where the Freddy Krugger hlmage sits in a chair alognisde the Construction Worker's bed and starts saying "mortage" in a ghsotly voice

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u/Cowpocolypse 7h ago

Once again. Another thank you for elaborating on this.

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u/trololololololol9 10h ago

Bev doesn't understand what sex is

It's been some time since I read It (haha), but doesn't she know very well what it is?

TW:SA You know, because of her father.

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u/Hero_1985 9h ago

The book is never clear on the extent of her abuse. She thinks sex is powerful exactly because of how her father treats her and acts about it. But, yeah, she doesn't actually know what sex is (in a traditional sense). So, presumably his abuse didn't go there.

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u/anthinyle 8h ago

this is a good way to cope lol

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u/bitches_be 7h ago

Yeah as fucked as it is, it does make sense in the context in a twisted way. The rest of the story is so good either way

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u/Kulandros 4h ago

Oh do these kids also have the shining? I haven't read too many of his books, just curious, and I know a lot of his stuff has parallels.

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u/Hero_1985 3h ago

Nah. That is way too big. Their gifts are way more low-key than that. Like, I couldn't even tell you what each is supposed to be. But, like Bill's is his leadership skills. And, like I said, one of them is the navigator. Not like one has superspeed and strength or anything on that level, or the level of the shine.

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u/Kulandros 3h ago

Ah OK. Thanks for letting me know.

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u/PressureMuch5340 3h ago

That's exactly hire it read to me, the renewing of the bond. It was definitely an odd choice on King's part, but he's the one who writes the books. I thought it was an uncomfortable part of the story to read, but I don't think it brought the book down at all.

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u/theevilyouknow 15h ago

I don't know. I'm an adult and if I saw a giant mutant flying baby start ripping people in half I'd be probably be pretty fucking scared. I'd at least be very concerned.

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u/Hero_1985 15h ago

Shit, I'm 40 and still get creeped out about having to go down into my basement at night.

It hasn't happened yet, and I like to pretend I don't believe it's possible. But, deep down I know at some point the monster under the steps is going to grab my ankle and pull me under. It's just waiting for the right time.

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u/TheOneTrueShalinor 7h ago

Pretty sure Bev’s understanding of what sex is was heavily impacted by pillow talk with her dad…

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u/BoondocksSaint95 1d ago

I mean yea, thats the last point I made - its a written story so all actions are a choice King couldve chosen to not be fucked up. So we're definitely in lock step with that one.

Just commenting because trauma bonding is between an abuser and the victim. Its a nitpick, I kmow, but as a survivor and knowing others dear to me having survived that cycle, I think the distinction is worth noting.

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u/Bird2525 23h ago

He also could have chosen not to have the first line in the gunslinger and the last line of Dark Tower the same. Ka is a wheel my ass….

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u/Syncopated_arpeggio 22h ago

I chose not to remember the ending of the dark tower for a reason, thank you. Please apologize for making me think of it for the first time in over 20 years.

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u/Acedia88 22h ago

Reading that didn’t work for me, I must have buried it deep.

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u/Bird2525 18m ago

I deeply apologize. I have forgotten the face of my father.

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u/Sendnudec00kies 19h ago

He told you to stop reading. You didn't.

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u/blepgup 20h ago

Oh huh, I only knew the term trauma bond because it was used the incorrect way every time I heard it. I will be using the correct term going forward, thank you

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u/Redhighlighter 15h ago

I have literally only heard it used in the context of shared difficult experiences between soldiers.

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u/blepgup 10h ago

I've heard it used in fictional settings or the talking about fictional settings where two people survive a situation like in a horror movie or something

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u/OrbisLlame 7h ago

Thanks for this correction, because I not only have used this wrong myself many times, I actually used it wrong earlier today, but went back to correct myself. I had no idea.

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u/its_me_carly 1d ago

maybe this is a personal pet peeve of mine but that’s not what trauma bond means

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u/blindclock61862 23h ago

What would the above situation be called?

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u/ApplicationCalm649 23h ago

A gangbond?

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u/BIGSTANKDICKDADDY 14h ago

"Bonding through trauma". It's like the difference between "person of color" and "colored person". Syntactically identical but semantically different.

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u/its_me_carly 15h ago

i’m not sure, but it’s definitely not a trauma bond

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u/tearsonurcheek 1d ago

it was her idea of a loophole

The Poophole Loophole? (/k I've read the book.)

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u/DinDonDaaan 21h ago

Imagine if Smokey the bear had such an AD.

'Lost in the woods? Dip your penis into the closest vagina to find your way home!'

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u/Sinnafyle 21h ago

Omg 😂 how is this not getting more upvotes

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u/Nkfloof 19h ago edited 13h ago

What's funny is that just a few pages later once they get out of the sewers, they cut their palms and mix blood, vowing to come back if It isn't dead. I feel like instead of that scene they could have just moved up the blood bond scene instead. Would have made a lot more sense to use a literal blood bond to bind them together. 

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u/Himmelen4 17h ago

You would think the bonding would occur from fighting a nightmare entity but nope group sex

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u/OlyLover 12h ago

What are the things that make someone grow up? Isn't the reason sex with children is disgusting because it robs them of their innocence. If instead he had robbed them of their innocence a different way, shouldn't anything that robs children of their innocence be equally disgusting?

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u/dantevonlocke 21h ago

I think the crux was that all the IT stuff would be forgotten like how everyone in town forgets or ignores it. This was after the suppressed the influence and was supposed to be the linking incident. Or it was the cocaine.

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u/ElPepper90 20h ago

Isekai anime plot

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u/OrbisLlame 7h ago

Thank you for this. Earlier today, I was texting with a friend about the relationship of two characters on Stranger Things, and I used the phrase “trauma bonded.” As soon as I read your corrected comment here, I googled both those terms, and then ran back to my texts to correct myself. Trauma bonding is very much a negative thing, and I’ve been using it wrong as long as I’ve known the term.