#abuse ref

[altschmerzes]

any more details on jamie settling in living with ted + adjusting to that everything you’ve posted is so good

YES ABSOLUTELY here is, in no particular order, an assortment of details about the process of jamie settling into living with ted and adjusting to that new reality:

(cw for non-detailed references to abuse and ptsd symptoms stemming from abuse trauma)

- when ted first takes jamie home from the hospital, roy goes with them. he sleeps on the couch in ted's flat for over a week before he's finally willing to spend the night in his own house (away from jamie) and that is far from the last time he stays at ted's just because neither of them can stand to be away from the kid overnight. eventually, bc it is murder on his back, roy starts sleeping in ted's room with him when he stays over on those nights, bc their dynamic is evolving too as all this is happening and they get a lot closer as they're like, really in the thick of basically co-parenting this kid together. (i am EARNING my platonic co-parenting tag on this fic okay sdlsk) this part isn't so much about jamie but it's a detail about those early days that i think about a lot.

- in the early days jamie really tries to like- he wants it to be Clear that look i'm not asking for anything i'm not entitled to, this is a Business Arrangement or whatever, you're too good a guy to let me go back to my dad after what happened or keep bouncing around my friends' couches like i've been doing while in london, but i know what this is and what it isn't. and ted's just like. respectfully. i do not think you do.

- (bc obviously ted is like. i did not take in an abused sixteen year old to be my roommate. when he talked to michelle on the phone about what he wanted to do, how he wanted to take action not only to get jamie away from james but to bring him home as well, and he wanted to make sure it wasn't going to be a bad decision for henry's sake, michelle told him to go get his kid. that's what this is. as far as ted's concerned, this was his official step into the role of being this boy's father, and he's going to live up to that.)

- even though ted's never raised a hand to him, it's hard for jamie to believe, really internalize and believe that he's safe there. sometimes, something will trigger him and he'll be pretty sure for at least a brief period of time that ted's going to snap and things are going to get bad. one time when this happens and jamie has a particularly bad panic attack as a result, once he gets calmed down and settled a bit, ted decides to try something new to see if it'll help. he first explains that jamie is never, ever going to be hit here, because this is not a hitting family, and ted is not going to scream and holler at him either. he'll make mistakes, and might raise his voice every so often, but he'll do his best not to and he'll always apologize if it happens, because that's not okay here.

and then after that, after making that extremely clear, ted goes on with his new plan for something that might help:

"Until you can believe me, or any time you’re just not sure, that’s the real nice thing about this community we got here, is you’ve got plenty of real good people around you that you can go to. So if I ever do anything that hurts you or scares you, you can call one of them, and they’ll help you and keep you safe. I’m not ever gonna give you a reason to need to make that call, but it’s important you know that it’s a call you can make. So we’re gonna make a list, okay?"

"A list?"

"A list of people you can call, if I ever hurt you or make you think I’m gonna hurt you. So that you can look at it and know you have choices."

so they make a list. (roy is the first name that goes on it. but they add a lot of others too - beard. higgins. julie. sarah kent. rebecca. mae the pub owner, which gets a laugh out of ted.) (it's a big list, and it's a little overwhelming for jamie to look at. he spent a long time suffering and scared on his own, and now he's only got the memory of that, the way living like that has made him afraid even when he's safe, and he has this whole list of people who'd drop anything to get him out of a bad situation if he just made a phone call.) (ted DOESN'T ever give him reason to use it, but while he's working on believing that ted isn't going to hurt him, even now that jamie lives with him even now that ted is becoming, has become his dad it makes him feel just that much safer to know that even if it did happen, he wouldn't be alone again)

- the first time that jamie's friends come over to hang out is a really, really big deal. not just to jamie (who did not bring friends over to his dad's place) and to ted (who knows it's a big step for him to do this, to take up space like that) but to the kidgang too (they've never seen him like this, without the looming threat of what he went home to hanging over him).

[marblebagcollective]

meow

[sleepy-spacetronaut]

Here’s more of Bill, he officially has invaded my sketchbook and claimed it as his home. For real, more than half of it is about him so far.

[2snuffseb]

let me kiss your knuckles before you punch me in the face??^_^

[oh-sturg-art]

FROSTPAW 2024 REF !!

Haven’t touched this one in a while

MEET FROSTPAW !!

Since birth, Frostpaw’s known she was different. Despite her blindness, she knew by the words of her parents that she looked different, though she didn’t know in what way. She was avoided throughout her kithood, and still is presently because of her odd appearance. Her mother believes her kit is cursed. Her giant ears don’t help. Somehow, someway, she was apprenticed to a warrior. It makes little sense considering her condition, though she hopes one day she can serve as a helper or a storyteller among the Clan. She hopes someday she’ll be respected.

She hates confrontation but still tries to make friends. It’s difficult, as she’s frequently brushed off by others her age. Though some take pity on her, she wants a genuine companion that doesn’t judge her in a good or bad way.

Reblogs will contain future refs and names!

[potatoqueensays]

May I humbly request you elaboraremos om the Bill = Ford in your reverse falls? I am deeply interested 👀

WOHOHOHOH YES!!!! YOU SHALL!!

Thank you for your interest!!!

This makes me super excited to talk about, tbh he deserves his own post anyway!! Cause hoo boy there's a lot to unpack!! Forgive me for all the words, takes a lot to get to the main stuff.

Also thank you to @danklemckspankle for helping with a lot of the details. It's a collaborative project 💪

Let's get into it, shall we??

So! Ford in this au didn't get his science fair project wrecked by Stanley. Now Stan did drop it, but funny enough, to Stan's hopes it did work. Now that might sound like a copout, but it actually is a very damning event for Ford.

Ford gets the scholarship, and goes to West Coast Tech. He thrives, but amongst all these other geniuses he's just another face in the crowd. Now he's busy at school, but he doesn't get the research grant for Gravity Falls because he's just another smart guy.

He returns home after college and his father is expecting him to have millions and already have a job and a bunch of money. But Ford tells him that he's looking into it and doesn't have anything yet. He needs to stay at home until he can get an opportunity, but his father doesn't take too kindly to that. He kicks Ford out. Unknown to Ford, Stan isn't waiting at home due to also being kicked out. So Ford thinks his whole family abandoned him. He thinks Stan is out adventuring the world. So he's all alone without a place to stay.

Ford has already heard of Gravity Falls, even going as far to write a thesis on the weirdness of the town. But it wasn't what the college wanted, and they even went as far as to reject the thesis and the request for a research grant. So now Ford is stuck.

He does odd jobs around the states and winds up in Gravity Falls. One of those jobs landed him a place in the town. Now he hasn't commissioned Boyish (not yet Manly) Dan to make the shack yet, so he couch surfs. He does research on the side for Gravity Falls, eventually finding a cave painting of a weird zodiac and a triangle.

He summons Bill, and they make a deal for Ford to make a portal for him. Ford requests that he has a partner in knowledge and power in return. They shake on it. You need to understand that Bill isn't yet all sad boy in this as he is in the original au, cause it'd be a bit hard to change an integral part of him. Just bear with me for now!

Now Ford isn't well acquainted on the engineering side of things, so he's in a bit of a pickle.

But!! Lucky for Ford, there's a southern hick a couple states away that matches his smarts! A scientist named Fiddleford McGucket made a personal computer that while expensive, Ford managed to get his hands on! This guy seems promising, so Ford reaches out to him with a request and shares his thesis on Gravity Falls to hopefully drag him in.

McGucket loves it! So they agree to work in Gravity Falls together and they build the portal.

On the side however, Ford is talking with Bill. He fills his head with dreams and visions of acknowledgement. It's everything he's needed and more. It kinda goes to his head as he ignores personal needs like eating in return for the dreams. The dapper dorito eats up the seeming gullibility of the scientist. Inflating his ego to the damn heavens at this point.

Ford and McGucket have been arguing on the side as the research gets back seated. After a test with the portal, McGucket falls in and sees what's on the other side. He tells Ford something is wrong with the project and goes radio silent for a couple weeks before returning back in hopes of convincing Ford the dangers and hoping to see it through.

At this point it's important to note the Gremloblin incident didn't happen so the memory gun has not been made. Despite McGucket's hopes the portal is almost finished at this point and it seems like it's all Ford cares about.

Eventually an altercation arises as McGucket realizes Ford is not stopping. He tries to tell Ford of the danger and what he saw. He says he misses time with his family and wants to go home. Nothing is right anymore and he's being plagued daily with nightmares and declining mental health.

Ford is fed up at this point. He comes to a realization, that everyone has only ever told him what he can and can't do. This is his one shot, a chance to make everyone see. Everyone see him.

He pushes McGucket into the portal.

Oopsies. That's a problem!! Welp. He has no assistant now. Now granted, Bill is real happy for interruption being gone, but good ol' Sixer doesn't work with engineering. Someone else has to step in!

So Bill gets on his case now. Even tho McGucket has been dealt with, the portal isn't finished! So he threatens him, simple threats really. Stealing eyes, puncturing holes in a lung, just basic stuff.

Suffice to say Ford isn't happy about this. He's being rushed, and he already had a hell of a reawakening. So he starts to get back at Bill for his harping. Using his power to harness the portal. Experiments to see how he interacts with the world, testing the limits of Bill's body. All under the guise of research. On a...base level of course! All research is important, but Bill has become an obstacle on his own.

Bill was never his muse, just....a means to an end.

So Ford calls Stanley. Of course he doesn't forgive him for not asking about him, but that doesn't matter now. There's more important things to tend to. His brother has actually ended up making money, if the number of commercials he's seen on the television says anything.

He keeps Stanley at arms length, never actually letting him see the portal. Vague explanations of an important project, he just needs Stan's funding and some parts, he can handle the heavy lifting. Lest someone meddle into his work again

He has another side project on his mind, a little bunker somewhere in the woods of the town. In case of a cataclysmic event, or man eating creatures. Do he gets Stanley to help build it for him. Floor planning, parts, doors, tech and all that.

The interactions between them are kept to a minimum, to keep from bothersome questions and meddling. Eventually Stan has enough from the cold treatment and backs out, saying he's got better things to tend to. (In a future post I'll probably elaborate more on Stan :] )

So Stanley leaves. Keep in mind it's the 90s now, and even if technology improves, this isn't a one man job. No matter how much Bill likes to say he's support. You could say Ford is more focused on the portal than Bill, who had the idea in the first place! But whatever, it'll all be worth it once it's done.

He figures maybe he could do this alone, the last two people turned out to be hindrances, so maybe for a year or two he could try his luck.

Of course he gets side tracked with messing with Bill, with his harping on the portal growing less and less. He even....starts to slowly change color? Growing less yellow and more dull. That's something to research more! His research is definitely not humane, but Bill isn't human! He's a triangle! So what does it matter? This won't have repercussions!!

When Bill possesses his body from time to time, he tries to mess with him, but it weirdly doesn't deter Ford, only spurs him forward. Anything to test the limits of Bill. For science!

The couple years of working alone don't prove at all very helpful. Unfortunately, it looks to be like he needs a new assistant and he needs to get back on track. That bunker won't make itself!

So he calls someone new. The last two people proved to only be hindrances, and he actually went easy on Stanley all things considered. But he needs to be more hands on!

So he calls a lady who just moved to Gravity Falls with her husband, someone unaccustomed and unbiased. A one, Mrs. Gleeful.

She is decent enough as an assistant, proving actual decent company. Being that she doesn't question the work or interrupt. She does what is asked, serving coffee if needed, or getting spare parts.

It lasts up until late 2003, where she reveals she's having a child with her husband. She needs maternity leave, but she claims it won't interfere! So long as she swears.

She has her child the next year, but something changes. A couple months after, she makes the same claims of her family needing her. Claiming they're more important than the project.

This doesn't go on well. A spark goes off in Ford's brain. The last time this was brought up it didn't go well. So he digs up old blueprints, something he was working on when McGucket was around.

He erases parts of her memory when he calls her back. Her thoughts of her family are gone, they don't exist in her brain anymore. He tells her they're roommates working on a project, and convinces her to stay.

If she questions him or asks about her family he erases her memories again, and again, and again.

This goes on for a year, and eventually her mind turns to mush. Leaving her a crazed shaky husk of a sensible woman. She is too crazed to work with anymore, so he kind of sets her free like an animal. Throwing her into the woods for whatever creature out there.

Word reaches round of a missing woman relating to a researcher. This naturally reaches Stanley's ears for his penchant for gossip. He tries not to assume the worst and visits Ford.

Ford is so sucked into his work, solidifying his previous belief of doing work on his own. The portal is just one move away from opening, Bill has shut up, and no one is in his way.

Until Stanley. He visits, and sees the man Ford has turned into, and all hope he ever had is gone. He decides to needs to do something about this, stop whatever his twin is up to.

He leads him to the bunker to talk. But when his fears are confirmed true, he punches him. Brass knuckles reluctantly worn. The altercation results in cracked glasses and shards of glass cutting an eye, Ford goes blind in his left eye.

With the man injured, Stanley leaves the bunker and closes it, locking his brother in. No amount of begging or yelling will get Stan to open the door.

During the time he was alone, Ford had a creature in the bunker to study. It was thought to be too dangerous, but that same claim doesn't hold up anymore.

He still has the contract with Bill. So the two are trapped with Ford. The only ones to talk to for 7-8 years. He pushes his anger onto Bill, and talks to the Shapeshifter in spare time. The only beings to talk to for so long does things to your brain. Not good.

So when eventually two young kids open the bunker, he has some plans to set in motion, particularly considering a certain triangle.

So!!! That's the overall idea, ofc to elaborate on more when I talk about the mystery twins and Stan since that could tie more things in. And also weirdmageddon (normageddon? Fordmageddon?) would have to be it's own thing.

But uhhh, art!!

This was a little idea of what Ford would look like post bunker, or after getting out. (Ignore the lack of sideburns this is all I have rn)

Bill changes his name shortly before the mystery twins summon him, cause like. Oof. Separate himself from the guy that outcrazied him!!

Probably a future post about Bill would be better, cause like the physical, emotional, and mental torture he went through is kinda glossed through in this. It's mostly Ford heavy and on his side of things.

But!!! I had fun establishing all this, again my friend is to thank for a lot of this stuff. I recommend following or sending an ask to get his side of this!!

Also apologies for the wall of text, this man is a loaded gun.

Oh also he couldn't have gotten out of the bunker since it remained semi unfinished, since Ford focused more on the portal. So he's trapped until into the bunker 🤷‍♀️

Thank to again for the ask, this was probably a doozy to get through lmao 🫶

[avoidcrowdraws]

Gren is a bearer of burdens, and it takes on the suffering of others - a person can take their frustrations out on it and receive euphoria

Sometimes, Gren's eyes open and its fur turns black. If you strike it in this phase you will experience dread and horror beyond mortal comprehension

Some stuff:

Its eyes do not open when in white phase

It cannot speak or even open its mouth

It uses some form of sign language, but it is not tied to any earthly language and cannot be understood

No one knows what the different heart phases mean

[npdfavs]

Gregory House from House MD has NPD! ( headcanon / implied? )

[pandelacreme]

at first glance i thought the fixation on till’s neck was a sly joke about a/b/o, a genre heavily based in bl works, in the same cheeky way ivan’s name is a play on korean lgbt slang.

but the recurring motif of strangulation, how till's relationships (excluding his infatuation with mizi) are largely characterized with him being the object while the other is the subject; how him being on a leash, not just a collar, is quite literally one of his defining visual traits...

it reminds me of shakespeare's othello, where the titular character strangles his wife to death in a fit of jealousy over her alleged infidelity... the results of round 6 almost feel like a subversion of that play, where the leading artwork, esp the red one, seemed to suggest that ivan would strangle till in an act of possession, but it ended up as just the opposite.

but i wonder if there's more symbolism we can extrapolate if we hypothesize that some of the imagery are allegories to othello...

[saturnine-saturneight]

Experimenting with covers. Here's Nat (they/them)

[altschmerzes]

Gav, in the tags of your last wippet you talked about how they weren't going to send Jamie back to his dad because he's back in manchester and now I have the burning and probably spoilery question of does that mean Jamie commutes to Richmond from Manchester or is he living on his own in Richmond?

YEAH SO. here's the situation vis a vis Where DOES Jamie Live in wriggle up on dry land when things start moving around a la his departure from richmond in 1x06 and his return in 2x02 -

the move back to manchester happens bc his dad has been chomping at the bit to get out of london and back to the city he loves, which makes sense. jamie didn't really like being there at first either, not until he made friends and started working at nelson road. and so when he and his dad move back, it's as soon as possible after his dad gets a job offer up there and a friend offers to let them stay with him until they find a new flat or something. and the final straw is rebecca arranging for jamie to get a job doing similar stuff at the man city training facilities and the arrival of a break in school for him so there's no excuse left to keep them in london.

(this is the wriggle up version of the loan termination. rebecca does not have ANY idea that he's being hurt at home and she feels like, revolted when she realizes that he was and that by allowing james to more easily move them back to manchester she unwittingly facilitated his isolation and further harm. she's NOT a Bad Guy here, she genuinely thought she was helping this boy and his single dad out here. i wanna be clear with that.)

and so when he decides to come back, he does so by like...... james is NOT returning to london. jamie also doesn't have a job anymore though because he left his job at city's facilities to be part of a. youth shakespeare troupe. called gen b(ard). and james doesn't like him much anyway so having him out of the house for a while isn't like... the worst thing, to james.

so what happens is he stays in manchester during the week at school, and takes the bus down to richmond after school friday, stays with one of his friends on a rotating basis (shannon's house, then dean's, then ella's, etc) and then goes back up to manchester late sunday evening. this is an insane thing to do for a part time job. everyone is fully aware this is an insane thing to do for a part time job. it is an HOURS long bus ride and he won't accept a train pass from rebecca because it's Too Much (he does accept the club covering his bus tickets after a while though).

but everyone can tell this is like. very important to him and you know how sixteen year olds can be. so they just. do what they can to make it easier for him. he's tired all the time, but he was like that before. he studies and does his homework on the bus. it's a whole.... it's tough. it's really tough, but he gets by. it does make it tricky though sometimes like when he comes to work on a saturday sick and it's not like he can just slink home because home is a four hour bus ride away and so that's why roy is like. fuck it okay i'll look after him.

[swiftfootedachilles]

ian being so great at sex and knowing exactly what his partners want because at the club he just needed the money and wanted to be left alone so he learned how to make johns finish as fast as possible

[karimationkat]

WHY. MY BOY DIDN'T NOTHING WRONG.

An actual short - colour sorter

ALL RED DID WAS JUST MAKING ALL THE THINGS RED. BRO JUST WANTED SOME STUFF TOO.

WHAT IS GREEN AND BLUES ISSUE, THEY LITERALLY JUST BEAT UP RED WITH THE MACHINE FOR IT. LIKE. HOW PETTY CAN YOU GET---

[robingivesmemagic]

sorry old doodle but jasons expression is still so funny to me

[oh-sturg-art]

WISHKIT 2024 REF !!

The baby…

MEET WISHKIT !!

Wishkit, formerly named Kingfisher, was the runt of the litter. Her father looked down upon her, favouring strength above all else. As such, he allowed her siblings to abuse her physically, which he would oversee and join in on. A loner witnessed the torment she faced, scooping her up and bringing her to SkyClan to keep her safe.

She’s incredibly skittish, flinching whenever anyone so much as looks at her. She suffers from CPTSD, and does not look forward to being a warrior. Her caretaker and the medicine cat try their best to help her feel welcome, but she can’t bring herself to trust these strangers quite yet.

Reblogs will contain future refs and names!

[0809sysblings]

Amane, indoctrination, and gaslighting

and why voting Amane innocent would be the best course of action

I've been wanting to write a big post on Amane talking about indoctrination and such. Because I see takes sometimes that make it clear the person doesn't really... Get It.

Most of what I'll be explaining comes from my personal experiences growing up.

Additionally, most of what I say when it comes to outcomes (i.e. "If x happens, Amane will do y") will be based on the assumption that realism, not entertainment, is prioritized in the writing and that there are no major holes in our knowledge of what's going on. Theoretically anything could happen since this is a fictional scenario and we don't know everything when it comes to the world, the cases, and the characters. Not to mention my situation was nowhere near as extreme as hers. So although I probably have a better understanding of it than most people, I definitely can't claim that I know what she's gone through.

Personal anecdotes I add to better support my points will be in the small font (this!) since I don't want them to distract from the main text and so that they can be easily skipped for those who may be worried about being triggered. But if anyone needs plain text descriptions, I'll happily provide them!

!! TW for child abuse, religious abuse, and cults !!

I recommend skipping my personal anecdotes if more detailed discussions about these topics are a trigger for you.

At the heart of "good" (read: successful) indoctrination is gaslighting.

Since gaslighting has been one of the many psychology terms completely watered down and distorted by the internet, I will define it just so we're all on the same page!

Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation used to make the victim question their own sanity, sense of reality, or power of reasoning.

Basically, you can't trust yourself. You can't trust your thoughts, your feelings, your interpretations, etc. You become completely reliant on other people (usually specific people who are the ones doing the gaslighting) to figure out what's real/true or not.

Toxic/extremist religious groups like to take gaslighting a step further though. Not only do they make it so you cannot trust yourself to judge what is right or not, they may also teach you that what feels wrong is actually right. You can see where this can start to cause some issues lol.

Anything your gut may tell you that contradicts what the group/cult leaders tell you—"this is wrong!", "this is bad!", "I don't want to do this..."—must be ignored. Because those feelings and thoughts, according to the leaders, are actually the sinful part of you trying to lead the good and faithful part of you astray. They make you question yourself to make sure you never question them.

They will figuratively or literally beat this into you until your first instinct is no longer to listen to your gut and do what it says, but to dismiss it and do what it's telling you not to do. Existing becomes a chronic power struggle between your unconscious mind and your conscious mind. Unfortunately, the fact that you're struggling often then gets used against you as proof that you need to follow their teachings. Because if you're unhappy, then you must be doing something wrong. You just need to have a little more faith, dedicate a little more time to the religion/group, go a little harder into your duties... Only then will you feel better—feel more enlightened.

An integral part in making all this work is isolation. If you don't somehow isolate the members, they may figure out that they're being manipulated and abused.

Now, isolation doesn't always mean purely physical isolation (though Amane is being isolated physically to at least some capacity). Psychological isolation is almost just as powerful. An almost universal psychological isolation tactic used by extremist groups and cults is the "Us vs Them" mentality. We can see this being very prominent with Amane. A lot of things she talks about with regard to the cult involves an Us-vs-Them dynamic. There is "Us", the cult, and "Them", everyone else.

Personally, we were taught that those who weren't believers of our religion were out to get us or will, at the very least, get us hurt/killed somehow. We were told many people wanted us dead just for being believers. You had to be careful and watch out when interacting with non-believers; you couldn't trust them. God was constantly testing you via others, and you had to make sure you stayed faithful.

This in particular is why no matter if you vote guilty or innocent, that itself will not actually do anything to change her beliefs. Voting her guilty will not make her start to feel bad and then question her beliefs. Voting her innocent will not make her listen to us and then question her beliefs. If we make her have any doubt about the cult, that's just proof to her that what we're telling her is wrong and is just another "trial" from God for her to overcome. So, changing her beliefs should not be a factor considered when voting since it's completely irrelevant. Everything can be twisted to support the cult. That's just how it works.

I don't think any amount of punishment will make Amane "come to her senses". I mean... what could we possibly do to her that she hasn't already had to endure? Punishment will likely only escalate things even more. Not to mention that having a bit of a fascination with martyrdom isn't all that uncommon in those who have been religiously abused and indoctrinated. The threat of punishment may only serve to motivate her to double down on her beliefs and behavior. Not to say she wants and likes punishment. It's obvious she's both scared of punishment and wants it to stop. After all, that's most likely the motive behind the murder.

Even prior to Amane's age, I was already fantasizing about being a martyr. A part of me almost wanted to be killed for my religion and community. It was seen as something extremely admirable. The ultimate sacrifice, if you will. We were taught that if given the choice between saving yourself by denying your faith or letting yourself be hurt/killed by standing your ground, you should choose the latter. Of course, I also did not want that to happen at all. It scared me shitless. But we weren't allowed to be scared about that stuff. It was seen as questioning God and the religious authorities, which was completely taboo. So I had no choice but to "want" it.

Isolating Amane is the worst possible thing we could do to her. No one gets better from being isolated, and this goes double for people living in abusive environments. She's been isolated her whole life. The best thing for her would be spending time with the other prisoners without restrictions. The more time she spends around people who have no connection to the cult, the better. Trying to argue with those in cults about why they're wrong and why they are in a cult (because most don't even recognize they're in a cult due to the gaslighting, indoctrination, and stigma) will almost always backfire. The best thing to do is to just be there for them to have someone to interact with who is not a cult member.

The only reason I left the extremist religious community I grew up in was because I made a friend who was not affiliated with it. I don't think I would've been able to see that the conditions I was living in were Not Very Good without that friend. He didn't even really do anything to actively help me. Just learning more about the real world through him was enough to make me start looking closer at my life.

To vote her guilty would be to continue isolating her. Not just physically as the guilty prisoners get restrictions put on them, but it's also an inescapable psychological isolation. Innocent vs Guilty is just another Us vs Them dynamic.

I fear that, if she ends up guilty this trial, she will likely be voted guilty again in trial 3. Her aggression will probably only escalate as she feels herself becoming more and more cornered. And since I know many people are voting her guilty solely to make sure she doesn't hurt Shidou or other prisoners, I can only imagine what the voting will look like for her in trial 3 once she's forced to become even more aggressive to protect herself.

And tbh... I can't imagine that having a prisoner with 3 guilty verdicts will make for all that interesting of a story for them. Not that it would be boring, per se. But having variety would, in my opinion, be the most interesting and entertaining! So, if nothing else I've said has been able to sway those who vote her guilty, then think about the entertainment factor!

Please vote this severely traumatized 12 y/o girl innocent. We can give her so many secret cakes to eat.