Thumper is rooted in a feeling I know well: the difficulty of letting go, and the way love can turn into routine, dependency, and shifting control. I’m drawn to complicated male relationships that exist in limbo, where intimacy isn’t clearly defined, and identity isn’t forced into explanation. Thumper uses two characters as vessels for overlapping romantic, familial, and deeply intimate dynamics, allowing something unnamed to emerge on its own terms. I chose to explore these themes as a way to understand what I was moving through more clearly. I found satisfaction in letting the unknown stay present.