4/08/2026
Okay so I really wanted to talk about my favorite video game right now but... all my friends are busy OF COURSE so I figured I'd put my blog to use and talk about it here...
My favorite game right now is Bully 2006... Bully Scholarship Edition... all of the things... And I think it resonates with me so much because I see it as a commentary on American school systems and the way that students -- children before anything -- can affect each other when pitted together the way they are in schools. I know the game probably is never going to be this serious but it's serious to ME.
I feel like the game really shows how children from various backgrounds (only one shown because in reality you're only ever going to fully know your own background) interact with each other through the world where some are given a giant advantage to others. For example-- Jimmy has been put behind other students because he's seen as undesirable and problematic for the way he acted in other schools before being sent to Bullworth. He is a genuinely good kid but his upbringing and therefore presence at school makes it so that nobody... really likes him. If that makes sense? He is essentially neglected at home and doesn't receive attention from his mom and doesn't have a stable father figure so when he's in a school setting he acts out to get the attention he doesn't get at home. This causes him to be outcast by other students and easily manipulatable because he's seeking the praise or positive views from other. Obviously since the game is ultimately A Game the player as Jimmy is going to do things for others but if you look at it from the lense of character building it seems like (or just is that) he's doing things for others to win their favor/ for people to like him. Clearly he's not a people pleaser but when it get's to a point nobody likes you... You're gonna want at least some people to like you. That brings me to Gary... Oh boy. I relate to him a LOT so this is gonna be very annoying. He is very clearly a traumatized neurodivergent child. I say that as a traumatized neurodivergent child. He does bad things and treats other people like shit because he's been treated like shit before. Nothing is known about his past before the events of the game but I feel like it's... kind of clear... at least to me. So this is kind of where I talk about my trauma to reiterate why I feel like he's experience the same/ similar things::
I was never physically abused. I wouldn't say I'm a direct victim of abuse in the context of my family but I have lived around abuse my entire life. I never received much attention at home because of my parents both being incredibly abusive and gross to each other. There was a disconnect in the relationships between me and my parents. There were things that I knew that I didn't need to know. I digress. Due to my upbringing and relationship with my parents I acted out severely when I was younger. It was partially due to still untreated mental illness as well as simply needing attention. I would bully and harrass people including my closest friends because it made people think about me. I still slip into this habit today. I don't have the resources to treat any of this medically. That is EXACTLY what I see in Gary. I see somebody traumatized and mentally ill and desparately in need of attention and control over people's view of him. okay i gonna take a break DONT LOOK