Natsume Yuujinchou

I was a misfit as a kid and had a horrible time at school, so I don't have very much nostalgia for that stage of my life. (I'm still a misfit, really, but it matters less when you're an adult.)

You know, I don't think Natsume is naturally a secretive person--his concealing behaviour was learned, with pain and with difficulty. He might be glad to be able to shed it, once he gets used to the idea.

I now have a really bad fanfic idea: Stalker!Tanuma.

Well, Natsume's in a pickle this time . . . or should I say, in a bottle? And it's up to Tanuma to rescue him. Should be interesting to see how this plays out.

@eliddell (will you see a mention in a group post?)

"It matters less" because you are less noticed among greater numbers of people, but also because, in a larger world, you can discover that you aren't the only one who is different from the "norm" or, as I now perceive it, the dominant culture. I think the greatest damage is caused by the loneliness of being the odd one out, reinforced by the cruelty of others. Verbal abuse does as much harm as physical abuse. Once you discover there are others who are also different, and in many different ways, the burden becomes much lighter.

Sadly, most damaged kids are never able to fully recover. I think Natsume will be an exception, because of his essential innocence. He's been hurt and isolated, but he never stopped caring for others, nor did he ever hate anyone for the way they treated him. Sheer love, that boy!

@kinsugi: I check back here occasionally, anyway, rather than relying on the "mentions" thing (which other venues I participate in don't have).

Yes, verbal abuse does lasting damage, and I get really angry when people try to trivialize it. I grew up in a small, isolated town—one of those places where everyone minds everyone else's business—and there would have been no way to conceal the fact that I was different even if I had thought to do so. There are a lot more oddballs in a city than in a town of ~2000 people with a homogeneous cultural background (one that I happened not to share). In a weird way, I envy Natsume sometimes: his difference can at least be hidden, although doing so is neither easy nor painless.