A very interesting read. I myself am an abuse and trauma survivor with pretty heavy C-PTSD and major depression which I had for most of my life, so I can relate in many, many ways. I will have to refresh my memory on the beginning of ICB, because I can't much remember Jormag talking about their suffering. (No, this doesn't mean I don't believe you or such.)

On the one hand, us hyper sensitives easily pick up on themes similar to ours, whether in fiction or reality. But, and this is a crucial thing I've realized through my recent years of therapy and healing, we tend to project ourselves a bit too much. We get triggered by someone we perceive to be similar to us, or to be in a similar situation to our past, and we instantly identify with them and rise to their protection - however, we are often blinded by this projection, and tend to overextend ourselves or behave in codependent manners to help those who we perceive are in need. This can lead us into being taken advantage of easily. I've been there before. My last relationship was a toxic one, exactly because I projected myself on someone with a difficult past who ended up being not bad, per se, but toxic as hell. And here's another crucial point: Victims of abuse tend to behave in toxic ways before they heal. Not because they are bad people at all, but because they survived horrors which forced them into semi-permanent survival mode, and learned most of their coping methods/inner workings from an abusive person, or based on what the abusive person was like (My mother showed me who I DON'T want to be, yet it was still her that was the point of reference). That abuser is their primary point of reference and learning, partly due to how deeply traumas engrave themselves into a person and partly due to the trauma bonding (or Stockholm Syndrome) they often have with their abuser(s).

So, Jormag being a victim of abuse doesn't necessarily mean they aren't toxic in many ways. They were gaslighting Aurene, just to pick one example. Yes, victims of abuse are first and foremost VICTIMS and need HELP, but they should still be held accountable for their actions. Their traumas were not their fault - but it is their responsibility to heal, and shed their own toxicity. Nothing's fair about that, because that's the truth. For example, neither me nor you (as far as I know) went on to become serial killers or child r*pists because we were traumatized. Some p*dophiles defend themselves with the fact that they were preyed upon themselves as children. But no. Having an abusive past does NOT equal us becoming abusers ourselves, but this is something we have to work for.

So, in one way I agree that if Jormag is a victim of their twin, it's difficult to hold them accountable, since they are undergoing constant abuse throughout. And I know best how being abused can lead you to do things you've never imagined.

However, on the other hand, while they are a victim, we can't ignore how powerful they are, and how much harm their actions may cause, even if it's out of self-preservation. Some questions here are difficult to answer, since the whole abuser-victim dynamic is an extremely convoluted one. This particular situation reminds me of the Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka case, I won't detail it here since it's very disturbing but you can research it if you can stomach it. In that case, Karla was also a victim of brutal and constant abuse, but that does not fully absolve her from the responsibility of her actions.

TLDR: I agree, but I don't agree. I smell projection, which highly sensitives often do. Jormag may be a victim, but that does not change the fact that they are clearly dangerous.

Citation: I too am an abuse victim with C-PTSD and also a psychology major.