teedee bank

when td was younger, they knew quite well that nobody ever had any real positive attention for her, that they never cared for her, because she 1) was completely nonverbal and 2) "scary" -- and so, she lived life doing whatever the heck she wanted, following her own impulses and whims. nobody ever bothered to connect with td on a human level, so why should td bother to connect with them? no, td was in their own world, mostly impervious to others' opinions -- at least, that's what they would like to think.

td would gain all of her happiness from physical activity: climbing, running, adventuring, and especially swimming. the urge to swim was so strong and so frequent that td would always wear her one bathing suit: 24/7, rarely washing it. td is very sensitive to heat, so particularly in the summer she would often strip herself of the blue hoodie she'd constantly wear to take a swim -- if it was hot enough, she'd even take her top off completely! this, of course, would be rather a shock to others around, but she could not care less. her extremities in particular have the tendency to heat up, meaning she also hated wearing socks altogether. inversely, td is also sensitive to cold, meaning she'd just as often randomly throw that same hoodie on, even if she was sopping wet. but td's love of swimming and their reckless romping about would have a negative impact on them: constantly covered in scrapes and bruises, hair tangled and skin dried out and deadened by pool water, feet blistered, and shoes beat up and holey. they never cared to do anything about any of this -- they had no care for themselves, only a desire for cheap thrill and the brief joy it gave them. nobody had ever really cared for her before, so frankly she didn't even know how to care for herself...

however, once td met gelatin and lollipop, everything changed. to make a long story short, not one but two people finally treated td like a person, like a human, and took time to not only understand her but care for her as an equal and a friend. in knowing them, td's mental and physical health greatly improved: groomed and newly dressed by her friends (owning good shoes and more than one bathing suit, among other things!), she began to learn to take care of herself and her body. her friends even helped her find socks that wouldn't cause her feet to overheat! no more matted hair and worn-out clothes for them -- they still stick to the style they love and are comfortable with, but now they can fully embody it, truly fearing no judgement and being their whole bright and sparky self.