|
Post by Kimron Posstoppable on Oct 9, 2006 23:20:10 GMT -5
Monique is Kim's best female friend and confidante, Club Banana Sales Associate, fashion enthusiast, GWA fan, X-Games fan, and in Season 4, a part of Team Possible. When Kim and Monique met in Club Banana (in "Pain King Vs. Cleopatra") they had an instant rapport and have been tight ever since. This thread is intended as an examination of Monique's character and her role in the show. We don't know a lot about her, not even her last name. Let's get to know her a bit better together, shall we?
|
|
|
Post by Avenger on Oct 9, 2006 23:42:53 GMT -5
I'm reposting from the "K/R Re-evaluation" thread. Although I agree it was off topic there, it was only supposed to be a minor deviation in the larger picture of K/R. But, since you bothered to make a Monique thread, I guess I should give her her due. We never see her dating anyone throughout the series, so it's pretty likely she went stag. Is she conniving enough to purposely make moves on someone else's boyfriend? I doubt it. Brick seemed to show interest all on his own, anyway. Maybe Monique ought to have her own thread. I don't think "conniving" is the right word. But Monique is a girl who will go after what she wants. And I think she wants Brick, as dumb as he is. My main evidence for this is when Monique calls Kim at the very beginning of StD. Honestly, even though I'm sure Bon and Brick are a very popular couple at the high school, I don't think it is that big of news that Kim would care if they got back together. Everyone knows they've always had this "on again, off again" relationship. The only reason Kim would take this call while she is flying through the air, gripping an old Japanese dude, is because she wants to know whether her good friend Monique has got her boy lined up. But, of course, Brick got back with Bonnie. I don't think Monique is necessarily all that upset by it, but she is still interested in him. Even if it's (most likely) superficially. I can agree with the idea that she may be still interested, but taking it in stride. Maybe she intended to ask him if he had a date for the prom but Bonnie got to him first. Who knows? Monique's lack of and pursuit of a date isn't really talked about at length in StD. Yeah. That's kind of what I meant. Monique was like, "Well, Brick's available. And a hottie. I should totally ask him to the Prom." But then, of course, Bon-Bon gets her claws into him again. And I know her "pursuit" isn't talked about. But I think it might be fun to contemplate... Why do you think she's only superficially interested in Brick? I've seen some suggestions that she's shallow and into looks over character, but I've seen no proof of that. More likely she actually thinks he's a nice guy (and deserves better than Bonnie). Besides, he might not be nearly as dumb as he was in season one. I don't think Monique is as shallow or "food chain" obsessed as Bonnie. But she does like cute boys. And maybe she does think Brick is nice. But let's face it. He's a big dumb jock. That is exactly what he is there to be. A big, dumb jock. Although, the way he acts towards the end of StD, it would seem that he is at least starting to think for himself, and maybe getting a little bit more brain power upstairs...
|
|
|
Post by Ot@ru on Oct 10, 2006 2:55:39 GMT -5
I don't think Monique is as shallow or "food chain" obsessed as Bonnie. But she does like cute boys. Monique is no Bonnie.She will not be like Bonnie...
|
|
|
Post by SonicElectronic on Oct 10, 2006 4:36:44 GMT -5
We know she has a brother that we've never seen...
Yea, I'd like to know more about her too but I dunno, I always liked that Team Possible was KimRonRufusWade. No offense to her at all, love the girl just... Out in the FIELD it was Kim & Ron (+Rufus) & I thought it was nifty they spent all that time to and from missions (that we never see), etc. just hanging out and being best friends (and more in S4). I always liked Monique to be more in the 'real' world. I thought that gave her something special too how she was more grounded in that area and brought that TO Kim.
BUT we shall see what they have in store for her as apart of Team Possible ^--^
|
|
|
Post by Ashley Benlove on Oct 10, 2006 8:59:13 GMT -5
I still say Monique's last name is Baxter.
LOL. Bad joke.
|
|
|
Post by campy on Oct 10, 2006 9:14:09 GMT -5
I was going to assign Monique a last name when she appeared in my current fic in progress, but couldn't find one in my name source (towns in Western Massachusetts) that seemed to fit. Monique Granville? Monique Hancock? Monique Russell? Monique Hawley? So I gave up.
|
|
|
Post by Ashley Benlove on Oct 10, 2006 9:16:31 GMT -5
Salem! Boston!
In my KPD Universe fics, I gave her the last name of Kingston for some reason. It just worked.
|
|
|
Post by campy on Oct 10, 2006 10:37:28 GMT -5
Too far east.
|
|
|
Post by Ashley Benlove on Oct 10, 2006 11:29:49 GMT -5
But Salem is cool. All the witches are there.
|
|
|
Post by cloudmonet on Oct 10, 2006 20:24:33 GMT -5
Well, I already, several times if I remember rightly, went into an analysis of Monique/Brick shipping in So the Drama, but here's a summary of what I'm reading between the lines after also seeing "And the Molerat will be CGI."
In "Molerat," Bonnie hangs out with Monique as part of her plan to meet Heather. Monique willingly helps her. In "So the Drama," we see Monique and Bonnie together more often than ever before. In most of the series, they hardly even cross paths. At the beginning of "So the Drama," Monique calls Kim to talk about Brick and Bonnie, and Kim is concerned enough about this to take the call in the middle of the most thrilling action scene of the whole series thus far. At the Prom, Monique and Brick flirt with each other, although it must also be said that Monique seems to flirt with Erik briefly. In most of season three, we see a somewhat kinded, gentler Bonnie, but in "So the Drama" she reverts to bi t ch.
Do all these curious details add up to something? I think they do, and when I pointed this out to Mark and Bob at the Gargoyles convention, they agreed that I had a good idea. "Of course, that's it!" one of them said, and they both laughed.
This is the theory I told them, although I actually just sketched out a couple of phrases before they knew exactly what I meant.
The Heather scheme in Molerat leads to Monique and Bonnie hanging out together more. Monique sees Brick more, and the two begin to get friendly. Bonnie gets jealous and develops a dislike for Monique, which spills back over onto Monique's friend and Bonnie's rival Kim. Maybe Monique has a date or two with Brick. Then we're at the start of So the Drama, with the triangle going on in the background (which Bob and Mark acknowledged).
Yeah, actually Bonnie's bi t chy in "So the Drama" because it was written before "Bonding," but Bob and Mark thought I had a good explanation for it here.
And probably Monique's out of the picture again by the time Brick goes away to college.
|
|
|
Post by Avenger on Oct 10, 2006 23:21:58 GMT -5
Thanks for the insight, Cloud. Glad I'm not the only one to notice. ;D
|
|
|
Post by Kimron Posstoppable on Oct 11, 2006 0:29:56 GMT -5
Well, I already, several times if I remember rightly, went into an analysis of Monique/Brick shipping in So the Drama, but here's a summary of what I'm reading between the lines after also seeing "And the Molerat will be CGI." In "Molerat," Bonnie hangs out with Monique as part of her plan to meet Heather. Monique willingly helps her. In "So the Drama," we see Monique and Bonnie together more often than ever before. In most of the series, they hardly even cross paths. At the beginning of "So the Drama," Monique calls Kim to talk about Brick and Bonnie, and Kim is concerned enough about this to take the call in the middle of the most thrilling action scene of the whole series thus far. At the Prom, Monique and Brick flirt with each other, although it must also be said that Monique seems to flirt with Erik briefly. In most of season three, we see a somewhat kinded, gentler Bonnie, but in "So the Drama" she reverts to bi t ch. In what scene, other than at the very end, does Monique flirt with Brick? Did I miss something? And when did she flirt with Erik? When she smiles and says, "Erik, hi!"? And when was Bonnie "kinder and gentler" in any episode other than "Bonding"? And please don't say "CGI". She was so classically Bonnie-ish in that ep, it's surprising anyone would fall for her phoniness. Do all these curious details add up to something? I think they do, and when I pointed this out to Mark and Bob at the Gargoyles convention, they agreed that I had a good idea. "Of course, that's it!" one of them said, and they both laughed. This is the theory I told them, although I actually just sketched out a couple of phrases before they knew exactly what I meant. The Heather scheme in Molerat leads to Monique and Bonnie hanging out together more. Monique sees Brick more, and the two begin to get friendly. Bonnie gets jealous and develops a dislike for Monique, which spills back over onto Monique's friend and Bonnie's rival Kim. Maybe Monique has a date or two with Brick. Then we're at the start of So the Drama, with the triangle going on in the background (which Bob and Mark acknowledged). It's nice that they liked your idea. I wish I had been able to be there to put forth my speculation, too. I'm sure a lot of us do, too. Interesting... To a point. Monique is Kim's best girlfriend and probably would have met Heather eventually because of that. She wouldn't have had to scheme with Bonnie to meet her. In fact, Monique knew Kim would come to Club Banana for the new capris that came in. To get to meet Heather, Bonnie needed to get through Kim. In this ep, Kim clearly does not like Bonnie nor does she appear to enjoy her company. If anyone needed to scheme to meet Heather, it was Bonnie. I can accept the idea of Monique and Brick liking each other, but the idea that she would be buddies with Bonnie, her best friend's rival, makes no sense. There is nothing in "CGI" that even suggests genuine friendliness between Bonnie and Monique, nor Bonnie's alleged post-"Bonding" niceness. Bonnie is still behaving like the self-absorbed opportunist she is. There's no indication that Monique has dated anyone throught the series either, including Brick. Since we're speculating here, I think there may have been an off-screen triangle, but I think it may go back as far as "Exchange", when Bonnie essentially cheats on Brick with Hirotaka. I think it's possible that Monique may have gotten the impression that that Bonnie wasn't serious about Brick, that he deserved better treatment and slowly developed her own interest in him. Let's say soon after "Exchange", Monique was asked to tutor Brick (by Mr. Barkin, or even Brick himself). She's a bright girl who maintains "Kim-level grades" so that's entirely plausible. Maybe she tutored him so well* he was even able to skip a grade (which explains his going to college next season). Over time, they get to know each other, they realize they share common interests, like GWA or the X-Games, and they become friendly. Even though there's nothing going on between Monique and Brick, Bonnie gets jealous (cheaters tend to think their SOs cheat too). She's not only suspicious of just Monique, but of any girl in the vicinity who looks in Brick's direction (Remember how Bon-Bon panics when Monique suggests Brick's hitting on someone in StD? Monique may have experienced that same panic either first hand, through observation, or something Brick told her, and used it to get Bonnie away from Kim). Brick tires of Bonnie's paranoia, insecurity, and jealousy; they break up again. Monique realizes she has feelings for Brick and tells K.P. she might want Brick to go to the Prom with her. Kim is supportive about it and tells Monique to call her anytime to let her know how things work out. Eventually, the prom rolls around and before Monique can let Brick know she's available, Bonnie somehow gets him to be her date. (...End speculation on off-screen events. Monique is annoyed at Brick and Bonnie's on-again-off-again sitch and complains to Kim about it (during the action scene). She buys a nice dress and goes stag to the prom anyway. The idea of going it alone doesn't appear to bother her at all. She's not seen hanging around Brick at the Prom until the end and there doesn't appear to be any point before that at which she openly flirts with him, either. She seems to spend most of her time around Kim and Erik. She discourages Kim from answering her Kimmunicator the first time it beeps. (Off-screen speculation: Could she have been enjoying the Prom vicariously through Kim? Did Monique not want Kim to leave so she could avoid seeing Brick and Bonnie together?) After Team Possible saves the day, Brick openly expresses an interest in hanging with Monique, who says she likes the idea herself as Bon-Bon fumes. The end. Yeah, actually Bonnie's bi t chy in "So the Drama" because it was written before "Bonding," but Bob and Mark thought I had a good explanation for it here. Hmm... I wonder what they'd think of my explanation of events? It makes just as much sense as yours. It even accounts for why Brick would be able to graduate early and keeps everyone in character. I just may bug ask them about it. BTW, Bonnie is actually back to her old self after "Bonding". In "Emotion Sickness", she couldn't wait to tweak Kim after seeing Josh with Tara. Not something a kinder gentler person would do, is it? Seeing Moodulated Kim openly crush on Ron (the "loser") is probably what makes Bonnie mock her in StD and likely had nothing to do with Monique at all. Kim's lack of a "real" BF is the one thing Bonnie knows she can twist the knife about. There's plenty there for Bonnie to pick at Kim about already without needing Monique to be a direct catalyst for her animosity. And probably Monique's out of the picture again by the time Brick goes away to college. Monique and Brick could always write or call each other. *I mean "tutored" literally, as in "coached him with his schoolwork". Don't get any ideas, Ashley.
|
|
|
Post by Avenger on Oct 11, 2006 1:44:30 GMT -5
Yay... more good stuff from KimRon. I unfortunately don't really have anything to add or dispute with both Cloud and KimRon. They are both plausible explanations, and for the most part intertwine with each other. I think I'm kinda leaning more towards Cloud's theory about Monique and Bonnie being "friendly" thing. Yeah, Bonnie's still... Bonnie. But, I'm thinking maybe after "Bonding" perhaps Kim saw that more vulnerable side of Bonnie and that there wasn't as much animosity from her side anymore. And perhaps Kim discussed what happened with Monique... or at the very least said something along the lines of "Maybe we should lay off Bonnie a little bit." So, Monique shows a little bit of kindness Bonnie's way. They don't become anything near to friends... just amiable. So, yes... Bonnie schemes to get to Heather, but Monique is willing to help Bonnie out because they are getting along. Alright... I guess I did have something to add/dispute.
|
|
|
Post by Kimron Posstoppable on Oct 11, 2006 7:17:43 GMT -5
I was going to assign Monique a last name when she appeared in my current fic in progress, but couldn't find one in my name source (towns in Western Massachusetts) that seemed to fit. Monique Granville? Monique Hancock? Monique Russell? Monique Hawley? So I gave up. I've been toying with last names for Monique myself. I looked up her name and found it meant "advisor" and settled on Ames, which means "friend", for her last name. Yay... more good stuff from KimRon. I unfortunately don't really have anything to add or dispute with both Cloud and KimRon. They are both plausible explanations, and for the most part intertwine with each other. I think I'm kinda leaning more towards Cloud's theory about Monique and Bonnie being "friendly" thing. Yeah, Bonnie's still... Bonnie. But, I'm thinking maybe after "Bonding" perhaps Kim saw that more vulnerable side of Bonnie and that there wasn't as much animosity from her side anymore. And perhaps Kim discussed what happened with Monique... or at the very least said something along the lines of "Maybe we should lay off Bonnie a little bit." So, Monique shows a little bit of kindness Bonnie's way. They don't become anything near to friends... just amiable. So, yes... Bonnie schemes to get to Heather, but Monique is willing to help Bonnie out because they are getting along. Alright... I guess I did have something to add/dispute. LOL. Looks like it. There are only two issues I have with Cloud's theory. First, it assumes Bonnie really likes and respects Kim after "Bonding" and becomes friendly with her and second, it uses Brick and Monique's attraction to each other solely as the catalyst for rekindling Bonnie's anger toward Kim. My theory is about Monique's relationship with Brick and Bonnie, how it continues into StD, and avoids using Monique as a cause for Kim and Bonnie's rivalry. To use Monique as the reason Bonnie returns to being mean to Kim doesn't really do her character justice, IMO (or Brick's, or even Bonnie's for that matter). As I said upthread, we more or less agree that Monique and Brick may have become friendly and developed feelings for each other at some point and Bon-Bon had a problem with it. So I guess it's there that our theories intertwine, Avenger.
|
|
|
Post by Ashley Benlove on Oct 11, 2006 11:31:08 GMT -5
Oh, I won't. I'm not gonna write about Brick. It's rare that I do.
Although I had APB dance with him at the S T D Prom. LOL. Of course, APB's is like... sl.utty ABL or something.
|
|
|
Post by Avenger on Oct 11, 2006 12:04:44 GMT -5
There are only two issues I have with Cloud's theory. First, it assumes Bonnie really likes and respects Kim after "Bonding" and becomes friendly with her and second, it uses Brick and Monique's attraction to each other solely as the catalyst for rekindling Bonnie's anger toward Kim. Well, I'd like to addend that theory, then. I guess my theory is slightly different, then. My theory is that Kim's attitude towards Bonnie changed, but not Bonnie's attitude toward Kim. So, like I said, Kim decided to let more of Bonnie's actions kinda roll off her back after "Bonding." And maybe she let Monique and Ron know this, too. And I don't think Bonnie ever really held hostility towards Monique. So, I think somehow they just kind of got along and perhaps if they were ever some place together, would enjoy each other's company for a little while. Talk about fashion, or something. So, that way Monique and Bonnie get a little bit of a relationship, but Monique/Brick is the source of Bonnie's anger towards Kim. It's just that she's... well, Bonnie.
|
|
|
Post by Ashley Benlove on Oct 11, 2006 17:53:41 GMT -5
Bonnie's a simple b.itch. How hard is that to say?
|
|
|
Post by Avenger on Oct 11, 2006 18:11:12 GMT -5
Bonnie's a simple b.itch. How hard is that to say? I don't think there is anything simple about BonBon. She's a very special breed.
|
|
|
Post by Ashley Benlove on Oct 11, 2006 18:14:22 GMT -5
Special breed? Okay...
|
|
|
Post by Whisper from the Shadows on Oct 11, 2006 18:22:57 GMT -5
Bonnie's a simple b.itch. How hard is that to say? I don't think there is anything simple about BonBon. She's a very special breed. Hard and crunchy on the outside, nice and fluffy on the inside. Well, you get the idea .
|
|