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Immediately, I was placated.
Minutes later, I received a tweet back from an Australian woman namedCourtney Thompson.Its a movement!
Here, enjoy a new pic of them smoking each day.
I hadnt realized that my third(?
Id never probed it very deeply from a psychological standpoint either.
Why was watching them smoke as soothing to me as actual smoking is to most normal people?
It was before the year where everybody did it, and Amanda Peet walked in and said, Pee-yew.
Hiding is another iconic part of their personality, explained Viviana.
Nobody could take photos.
You couldnt see across the room because there was so much smoke, gushed Matt.
To re-create that heady sensation, Matt and Viviana sold gold cigarettes for $20.
We wanted to make it a beautiful, topical thing, said Viviana.
Theyre wearing amazingly gorgeous clothes, on a gorgeous fall day, with a giant fucking coffee.
And a slight breeze taking the smoke away, said Matt.
A lot of its lasting power is that its left up to your imagination, too.
They dont tell you their workout routine or what juice theyre drinking.
They dont let you know anything.
So when you do find out something, its like, Whoa.
Theres mystery and glamour.
Added Viviana, Its like visual ASMR, a metronome.
If they quit, I dont know what I would do.
Everythings better when its small.
And then they brought them in my size, I was like, These are hideous.
I asked if they were similarly calmed by other activities the Olsens partake in.
Arriving, said Matt.
You never see them departing, said Viviana thoughtfully.
Drinking coffee.Stompingdown the road.
My next call was toDr.
I dont know whats soothing about these photos, she began.
They look famished and cold.
I asked her to pretend I was her patient instead of her idiot friend.
Okay, she said.
From a neurologic perspective, smoking is a breathing exercise.
You inhale, you exhale, and that will relax your body.
The other piece is nicotine, which activates your pleasure receptors.
In and of itself, those things make you feel good.
These elicit a reaction in our brains from observing a behavior thats goal-directed or an emotional response.
Its a lesser reaction.
That would be a really weird intervention, she said.
So seeing them smoking at first, I was like, Whoa.
Its almost like theyre breaking away, said Courtney.
Its subversive: This is who we are.
It reminded me of a story Viviana had told me earlier that day.
We waited in line for three hours.
When we got there, they were really tired and sad.
I was like, Oh, this is dark.
Im gonna cool it for a little while.
Viviana took a few years off from stanning the twins that is, until they began smoking outside.
When I saw them smoking at NYU, I started back up again, she said, laughing.
I was like, Dang.
These girls are cool.
