Higokuni

He might cry if you cry.

Strade is and isn’t an emotional person, both at the same time. He doesn’t always feel the same way others feel, especially when it comes to what he presumes is correct or rightful.

However, he also experiences some form of dark empathy. In YKMET, when MC cries hard on a few occasions, Strade will tear up as well. This is because he does feel empathy, he feels it on such a level that he can live vicariously through his victim— but that’s what he likes about it. That’s what he means when he said you two are ‘sharing a very special experience,’ because in his eyes he is sharing it with you. He almost gets high on those feelings, and definitely gets off on them.

Hi! In BTD2, when MC shows clear aversion to Ren’s torture which he claims is a form of care, he says “you’ll learn to appreciate it.” Because of his Stockholm, he expects the player to easily fall into the role of ‘pet’ that he was forced into himself when he was with Strade.

Now, Stockholm is a mental condition where a victim becomes attached (emotionally, mentally, etc) to their kidnapper. It is usually powered by some delusion; in Ren’s case, because of all the things Strade told him about (how hurting people was a way to get to know them, etc) and all the torture he inflicted on Ren— his only victim kept alive, who was ‘special’ in some way— Ren is convinced that Strade’s abuse was love.

Because of this, the way he processes relationships and the correlation between abuse and affection, his judgment is a little messed up. He remembers how he (over time) learned Strade’s ways and accepted that Strade’s torture meant he loved him; even though this is sadly a delusion. But because he experienced it, he assumes if he copies Strade (putting on his clothes, assuming his role, kidnapping someone instead of befriending them normally, and even putting them in his old shock collar) you will fall into the same role just as well.

This is an unrealistic expectation of course, but he thinks it will work because of what he believes to be true.

Now, as Fox, Ren has learned to exploit those feelings in his new victims. He remembers how he was conditioned by Strade, and implements the same things on his new pet.

So to answer your question, torturing doesn’t exactly ‘help Stockholm’. It’s a long process. Torture (I’ll give you an example- being left alone with minimal food, with Fox being the only one you see for days on end. But he only visits for short periods before leaving again.) can start to drive you a little crazy. You have no sense of what time or day it is. You start to loose hope of anyone coming to rescue you. You feel helpless, or maybe insane. Maybe Fox even hurts you during this time. But it all comes back to one thing— Fox is the only one you see. Ever. He brings you food. He talks to you. (People are social creatures. We go crazy very fast without any social interaction of some kind. True isolation is not healthy). Yes, he hurts you, but he also tends to your wounds afterwards and whispers to you sweetly. He hurts you but he cares about you.

The longer this goes on, the longer you’re left alone, except for him— your brain will try to save itself. It’ll try to keep you from breaking down, keep you from hitting rock bottom by finding the good in the situation. This is when Stockholm starts to develop. Your reliance on him starts to blur with thankfulness. You’re happy when he visits, because he brings you food, he brings you the only human connection you ever get. You start to look forward to seeing him. Over time, you start to deal with— or even appreciate— the injuries he gives you, because at least he spent time with you. At least he stayed with you a while, even if it hurt.

I mention Stockholm a lot on my blog, but it’s much deeper than most people mention. It doesn’t happen overnight. It involves someone mentally breaking down enough, or being brainwashed enough, to become emotionally attached to their kidnapper somehow.

How do you think Ren would behave around mc if Strade decided to keep them after that? I imagine he’d feel really guilty about it.

How would he react if mc forgave him? Or with a mc that was scared/resentful of him because of it?

Yes, I do think he would be guilty, but it depends on how you treated him.

At this point when we meet him in YKMET, he’s on a very dangerous ledge. There’s still a small part of him trying to hold onto humanity, and morals, although he is worse off than BTD Ren was.

Generally, he is frustrated that Strade forced him to do that; although, he does justify himself a tiny bit because it was forced (to keep himself from spiraling about being a horrible person, he’s just accepted that he has no choice). What was he supposed to do? He’d only get shocked if he didn’t listen to Strade.

He can only hope you understand that, but he would still feel guilty— especially if you were nice to him at first, because he worries it could ruin any possibility of a relationship.

If you’re cold and resentful, a small part of him might feel bad, but in order to preserve his sanity he’ll probably return the favor and be standoffish to you as well. He had no choice! It wasn’t his fault. Why can’t you understand that? It will probably put a wall between you. He might feel a bit hurt if you’re scared of him, (he doesn’t want to be viewed as another Strade just yet) but still upset, because you just don’t get it.

Also, good luck with your school. Hang in there! (Cat holding on to a tree branch poster)

I’ve always liked how this could go lots of different directions. It’s open ended, and every answer is technically correct. It really depends on Ren’s relationship with MC, and how they both felt about Strade before he died (had they both developed Stockholm? Did MC fight Stockholm but was unable to sway Ren? Did MC convince Ren to have a healthier outlook on things and not be so dependent on Strade? The list goes on).

Yes, I do think that if they had a healthy relationship they could heal from their traumas together, and avoid the events of BTD 2. Ren wouldn’t suffer the loneliness he did leading up to the second game, and therefore wouldn’t fall more into Stockholm as he missed Strade, because he’d have someone there who genuinely cares about him. In the right circumstances, this could be a great path for both Ren and MC.

And thank you :) you should know that when you mention the poster I picture this:

So, since I like your drawing, can you draw Hertha if she were a boy, please? 👉👈😞 i really like her 🤍

You're fine anon! :D.

Anyway here's ur gender swap 🫡🫡 hope u like it

I don't like how he looks sm like his dad ☠️☠️ scares me

CW/TW: BLOOD

An archive of canon Fox information from Gato’s old blogs!

Check my page for other characters! Screenshots under the cut: