something I think about a lot is that c!tommy genuinely has a lot of really destructive coping mechanisms (both for himself and for those around him). he takes out the trauma he’s been through on others- like when he tortured c!fundy and c!connor for instance. he's mimicking a lot of things that happened to him in exile- the drowning, the physical violence, the constant switching between verbal abuse and bizarre normality in his words.
and like, obviously this is a very very bad thing. this isn’t defending this. what it is is pointing out that this is actually really common for abuse victims, especially those who are young people like c!tommy, who aren’t receiving therapy and help. lashing out and recreating your trauma in a way that has you as the one in control is a surprisingly common unhealthy coping mechanism, and it's difficult to talk about bc you can’t excuse someone for hurting others, but it’s also unfair to hold severe mental health episodes over someone’s head forever.
and. idk. i guess i just like that the dsmp doesn’t excuse c!tommy for his actions, but gives him grace. he's not a monster for lashing out, he’s a hurt kid, but he's not excused for the pain he caused. c!connor forgave him, and that was his right, but that was because c!tommy genuinely did his best to work on himself once he realised he was starting to mimic his abuser. idk it just feels like a very kind way to look at a situation that can easily devolve into victim blaming one or both parties.
