pararibulitis observation:
the disease flare-ups in both of the brotzman siblings are stress-triggered, but it's sensory-heavy for amanda and emotion-heavy for todd. cases in point,
amanda:
freezes when she goes out on the street;
hurts her hand when she drums;
bursts into flames in a loud & bright store, despite feeling proud of herself for leaving the house;
todd:
gets a burn on his hand in which he held the phone when panicked amanda called him;
chokes when farah leaves him alone and he ends up running into police (while on the run from the government).
though, despite the difference, there's a similarity in that both cases somewhat represent the idea that "what you fear most in yourself, will hurt you (so let go of the fear)":
— amanda knows she's got the disease, so she stays holed up indoors despite hating the boredom, so even mild sensory distortions send her careening.
— todd believes his feelings are not worth examining, so he doesn't, and they boil under until they boil over.
advice for amanda: live your life, even if it's dangerous.
advice for todd: be honest, even if it's inconvenient.
