#we are multifaceted entities! we have different identities and experiences and they dont exist in a vacuum -- they interact and overlap

[zephyr-paladyn]

dan heng from the angle of dissociative amnesia and trauma

a Lot of my different life experiences lend themselves to understanding and relating to dan heng a good amount from different angles. so one thing that kind of bothers me or even intrigues me is how much different people interpret him in relation to dan feng, and his past/connection to the vidyadhara & xianzhou at all.

like. i just saw a post just now that was intriguing and i kinda understood what they were getting at, but the wording felt a bit off to me. yes, the sins and memories of dan feng are his to bear. but he isn't dan feng. he's a different person, although within the same reincarnation lineage as dan feng. on a technicality; physical level... yes, they're the "same person." but emotionally, psychologically, and in terms of memories -- the things that make one a person shaped by experiences -- he's not the same person. take someone (like a system) who experiences dissociative amnesia and trauma, and forms a new identity afterwards. while their new life and identity is different from their past, echoes from the past -- the way their past played out -- has an undeniable influence on their current identity. i don't remember my entire past, but the pain i experienced shaped me into who i am today. this is a similar case with dan heng in relation to dan feng. like with all trauma and healing, coming to terms with your past is how you can move on. so with the post in question -- they did say dan heng has to reconcile with his past as dan feng and pay for his sins, which yes i agree with. but, he's not the same as dan feng. to say so is to be disrespectful and dismissive of the new life and identity one takes on. if you came up to me and talked about my deadname or my past that i don't remember at all it'd be very awkward and weird, lol. but, to come to terms with your trauma is key to understanding yourself and who you are, and thus you can take that new identity and go forwards with it in full understanding and peace, shaping a new future and life for yourself. dan heng is dan heng.