So, I like Toko as a character, but the way they portrayed her mental illness is pretty crappy. I think it’s a horrible thing to do to use someone’s mental illness (especially a TRAUMA DISORDER) as a plot device for “owo plot twists” you know? Like, they even used the updated name of Dissociative Identity Disorder, and then immediately not only gave her a classic homicidal alter, but also called her a sch!zo and having such obvious switches and complete blackout memory loss. Such a freaking cliche, to the point where I honestly just didn’t enjoy that part of the arc. This isn’t completely a rewrite as such, it’s more of just a fixed interpretation that complies with that actual disorder and says f u to canon for quite a bit of it-
Mkay, so he’s what I offer on her ACTUAL (fixed*) character:
The alter Genocide Jack isn’t the *real* Genocide Jack, they’re literally just a factive. (A factive is a type of introject, an alter designed to match the identity of another real person and believing themself to be that person even as an alter in a system. The other type of introject is a fictive, an alter with the identity of a fictional character) Having a factive of a serial killer may seem bad at first, but hey the favourite characters are always murderous and evil in their source, only to be big softies in the system. Plus, the reason alters form is for survival. Alters form to take on specific roles, such as protecting the body from bad situations or holding past memories of trauma. For a scared little kid, a serial killer is tough and scary and untouchable - you’d feel pretty safe if a serial killer was on your side, fighting for your safety, right? That’s essentially the reason that type of alter can form.
Genocide Jack hasn’t actually killed anyone in Toko’s body. They’re just an alter designed after the identity of Genocide Jack, that’s why they are the way they are. The real Genocide Jack does not have Dissociative Identity Disorder, the way they shoved that into the file with the reasoning of “confusion” is bs. Mans could’ve just been drunk as hell or something, how the hell does “but he was confused” immediately draw a line to D.I.D?? That doesn’t make any sense, it could’ve been caused by literal normal human emotion, a physical medical health issue, or literally any other mental disorder ever. Lack of sleep, maybe drunk, maybe just unsure what to do next, etc.
Now, Toko is also extremely unstable during the events of the game, rather obsessed with Byakuya and very uncapable at “handling” Genocide Jack. (You don’t “handle” or “control” alters, you learn to cooperate and compromise with them because they’re all still people (not literally, there may be inhuman alters but you know what I mean) with their own right for a share of the body). Also, by the way, sch!zo is for schizophrenic disorders (schizophrenia, schizoaffective, etc), which are psychotic disorders (READ: psychosis is a disconnect from reality, complete with delusions and hallucinations), NOT dissociative or trauma disorders. Granted, I headcanon her as Paranoid Schizophrenic, but they were specifically talking about her D.I.D, which is, again, NOT a psychotic disorder but a trauma+dissociative disorder. Also heads up, sch!zo’s also a bad word and you shouldn’t use it, along with words like r3tard, sp@z, etc, unless you’re on the schizophrenic spectrum, neurodivergent, or have a motor-affecting/epileptic disorder (in order of the words mentioned). It’s a slur, it really isn’t that hard to understand.
Anyway, I believe Byakuya took advantage of her a lot, since he really does not care for her at all and finds her quite repulsive. There’s probably a lot more alters than just Toko and Genocide Jack, as is common in systems, so I believe if anything Genocide Jack ended up forming due to Byakuya’s influence. He’s shown in Chihiro’s trial to be able to friggin string up a corpse with no issue, frame a murder scene, share private information especially about someone’s mental health and trauma, and take every advantage of Toko simply because she’s mentally ill and likes him, all without batting a goddamn eyelid.
Byakuya has no issues mistreating her, especially when she’s enough of a kicked puppy to just endure it all. (*Cough cough* Due to her trauma *Cough cough*) It’s really not a stretch that he could’ve manipulated her enough, put her under enough stress, and intentionally caused her to form a specific alter, considering her mental instability and unconditional love for him. And of course the fact that he wants her to control Genocide Jack is absolutely not the way to go with D.I.D and is super toxic giving her the conditional “I’ll give you a chance if you gain complete control over her”. Like, with a disorder such as this, you’re scared enough of yourself and everyone around you, you really don’t need other people affirming that horrible paranoia. In Chihiro’s trial, Byakuya was literally just trying to trick Toko into thinking Genocide Jack had ACTUALLY killed someone with her body, which he would’ve known is her worst fear ‘cause she blabbed her major secrets to him, remember?
Conclusion:
Genocide Jack is just a factive. Byakuya is a little btch and manipulated the forming of Genocide Jack. Stop using mental illness as a funny-haha show gag. Also stop using slurs, for god’s sake, people.
