kubyaya land

TW FOR IMPLIED PAST SA AND ABUSE

thisjust clicked for me. the only way mal can think of to sabotage cameron courtney and scott (at least i think that was his intention) is through physical actions. not just like a brush or anything, but a kiss. mal is using the fact that scott and cameron would be people courtney “toyed” with as a way to climb the ranks because thats what he knows. he knows how that feels and he, in return, uses it to get further in the game.

when cameron asks for another way, mal genuinely looks stumped. he can’t think of anything else because the most toxic and traitorous thing to him is physical affection, which is what he was talking about. mal is using his own past experiences in the game because it’s all he knows. he breaks things, hurts people and uses affection like this because these things were used against him.

all in all, this scene gives me an idea that any form of manipulation beyond what mal experienced he avoids, because he doesn’t actually know how to use it. pretending to be mike? his abuser pretending to love and care for him. breaking shit? abuser breaking things to intimidate. hurting people? self explanatory. he can’t think of a different solution because, like i said, kisses (at least to him) would be taboo.

when he mentions instant commrodery, he thinks of how he bonded with mike over his trauma and experiences. he thinks that trauma lile that should bring people together, and like i said kissing in his mind is taboo ergo (at least for him based on what likely happened to him) traumatic. this is why cameron seems more hesitant, and why mal is confused as to why cameron is hesitant. to cam, kissing is romantic. to mal, kissing is disgusting and awful. but it’s the only thing he can think of to use against anyone. he doesn’t do it himself because he would probably freak out or genuinely despise it.

There's nobody else here. It's just You...

...and Me.

Lindsay for a Total Drama Pride 2026 collab. Finished on June 17th