late night yugioh rambles

ive discussed this on my Tumblr as well (ill link the post somewhere here) but i genuinely think Malik& is a good representation of DID for it being 2002.  

the pair operate similar to real-life systems (my credentials are that i AM a system), with the blackout switches being triggered by a trauma response.  switches usually arent random, theyre triggered by something in the enviroment–anything from a mild stressor to full-blown trauma.  the fact that Mima fronts for the first time onscreen when Malik sees Rishid hurt in his duel against Katsuya sets himup as a protector, and his actions towards those that want to cause them harm, as showcased in their backstory, sets him up as a persecutor as well.  

for what little knowledge was available on the subject at the time in general, Takahashi-sensei sure as hell did a decent job of showing that no, they're a system, and Mima isn't some Dark Alter Ego, nor is he a product of the Rod or a spirit dwelling within the Item, unlike Atmiw and the Ring Spirit/Bakura, who ARE trapped in their item.  rather, he is a product of Malik's trauma, born from the hatred and anger he felt after the Initiation.  most likely the process itself was enough to create Mima, as i can imagine that would be... uh, rather traumatic, to say the least.  this is, as far as i am concerned, in-line with how traumagenic systems are formed.  

what i think people tend to fail to realize is that Malik is also evil.  He is canonically a manipulator, and has little to no moral standing.  he does things in line with what he believes is just, by any means necessary.  Mima does this too, to an extent, though he tends to be more impulsive than his host.  the differences are in their methodology.  Malik prefers to charisma-and-control his way through every situation, oftentimes getting others to do the dirty work for him.  meanwhile, Mima brute-forces things a majority of the time, choosing questionably-motivated acts of violence.  Malik thrives with long-range passive combat, while Mima is very much close-combat oriented, to put it a different way.  

this, of course, is why i think the pair work so well together as a system.  where one of them might falter, the other picks up the slack.  they complement eachother with their methodology, and operate similarly to how not only my cohost and i operate (to a degree, murder and killing aside), but how other duo systems ive come across seem to operate.  ive spoken to a few of these sorts of systems–and a few of my plural friends who are larger in number than just two–and they often say theyve found some comfort in Malik&'s portrayal.  

i will be Malikposting more in the future, but thanks for coming to my TEDtalk :>