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#neurodivergent bella swan
them-bo-dacious · 9 months
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i relate to bella swan on a spiritual level for got the autism from my father and the bpd from my mother. who wants to be my AuADHD alice?
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reclusivebookslug · 10 months
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Bella Swan is Autistic: An Analysis
(Disclaimers: I enjoy Twilight in spite of its problematic elements, not because of them or in ignorance of them. There are as many different ways to be autistic as there are autistic people. Many allistic people will relate on some level to some aspects of the autistic experience; this does not make them autistic. This is all just my opinion, based on my experience as a late-diagnosed, low-support-needs autistic woman. I am aware this is not a brand-new original idea.)
I reread Twilight (I think for the first time since getting diagnosed 4 years ago) and I found a bunch of things I relate to Bella about. Below the cut is a list of some of her autism-related character traits with quotes for textual evidence. The links lead to articles explaining how these traits relate to autism. The list is ordered chronologically based on page number of the accompanied quotes. Page numbers are based on the paperback edition with ISBN-13: 9780316015844. A backslash in a quote signifies a paragraph break. I’ll update if I read any of the other books or rewatch the movies and anything new comes up.
Bella has trouble regulating her emotional expressions: she has to put conscious effort into how she presents herself
"I'd always been a bad liar" (p. 4). "For some reason, my temper was hardwired to my tear ducts. I usually cried when I was angry, a humiliating tendency" (p. 25). "I had never been enormously tactful" (p. 31). "'My face is so easy to read -- my mother always calls me her open book'" (p. 50).
Bella is shy and a bit socially awkward: she avoids attention for fear of embarrassment
"Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud. I inherited that from him" (p. 7). "Mr. Varner... was the only one who made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself. I stammered, blushed, and tripped over my own boots on the way to my seat" (p. 17). "To my dismay, I found myself the center of attention for the rest of the week" (pp. 68-69).
Bella feels different from other people: she doesn’t know how to connect with others and feels pressure to fit in
"I didn't relate well to people my age. Maybe the truth was that I didn't relate well to people, period. Even my mother, who I was closer to than anyone else on the planet, was never in harmony with me, never on exactly the same page. Sometimes I wondered if I was seeing the same things through my eyes that the rest of the world was seeing through theirs. Maybe there was a glitch in my brain" (pp. 10-11). "I answered honestly, instead of pretending to be normal like everyone else" (p. 47). “'My mind doesn't work right? I'm a freak?' The words bothered me more than they should -- probably because his speculation hit home. I'd always suspected as much, and it embarrassed me to have it confirmed" (p. 181).
Bella has a unique sense of humor: other people don’t get her jokes and she doesn’t get other peoples’ jokes
"'You don't look very tan.' / 'My mother is part albino.' / He studied my face apprehensively, and I sighed. It looked like clouds and a sense of humor didn't mix. A few months of this and I'd forget how to use sarcasm" (p. 16). “Bella was being unintentionally funny” (p. 367).
Bella finds comfort in routine: the change in routine from moving was difficult for her, and she felt better once the new routine became familiar
"I fell into the pattern of the familiar task gladly" (p. 33).
Bella is academically gifted: she finds assignments easier than her peers do, she has already read the books assigned in her English course
"'Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?' / 'Yes'" (p. 47).
Bella enjoys being alone: she is introverted and enjoys solitary activities
"In a lot of ways, living with Charlie was like having my own place, and I found myself reveling in the aloneness instead of being lonely" (p. 54). "I've never minded being alone" (p. 241).
Bella has motor difficulties: she is clumsy, uncoordinated, accident-prone, and bad at sports
"Possibly my crippling clumsiness was seen as endearing rather than pathetic, casting me as a damsel in distress" (p. 55). "My sense of direction was hopeless; I could get lost in much less helpful surroundings" (p. 136).
Bella has special interests: Edward and books
"... no one else was as aware of Edward as I always was. No one else watched him the way I did" (p. 69). "I was sitting in my room, researching vampires. What was wrong with me" (p. 135)? "... they didn't know how preoccupied I could get when surrounded by books; it was something that I preferred to do alone" (p. 156).
Bella is perceived as different by others: a history of social exclusion is hinted at, Edward’s mind-reading doesn’t work on her
"'It's better if we're not friends,' he explained. 'Trust me.' / My eyes narrowed. I'd heard that before” (pp. 74-75). "He enunciated every syllable, as if he were talking to someone mentally handicapped" (p. 83). "'My mom always says I was born thirty-five years old and that I get more middle-aged every year'" (p. 106). ".'.. maybe your mind doesn't work the same way the rest of theirs do. Like your thoughts are on the AM frequency and I'm only getting FM'” (p. 181). "'You're not like anyone I've ever known. ... / ... 'I have a better than average grasp of human nature. People are predictable. But you ... you never do what I expect. You always take me by surprise'" (p. 245).
Bella has sensory differences: she notices and is bothered by things others don’t and aren’t, she engages in sensory-seeking and sensory-avoiding behavior when stressed
"'People can't smell blood,' he contradicted. / 'Well, I can -- that's what makes me sick. It smells like rust ... and salt" (p. 100). "I put in my headphones, hit Play, and turned up the volume until it hurt my ears. I closed my eyes, but the light still intruded, so I added a pillow over the top of my face" (pp. 129-130). "'You're always crabbier when your eyes are black ... I expect it then' ... 'I have a theory about that'" (p. 171). “For three and a half hours I stared at the wall, curled in a ball, rocking” (p. 425).
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bohobooks · 10 months
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You like my personality? Thanks, it's purely made of attributes of fictional characters that I hand picked over time :)
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ginnywings · 11 months
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bella swan c:
always i thing that she is a weird person. idk, reading again books, i believe that she is ASD.
it's not a headcanon, it's true (?.
commissions are open on dm!
follow me on linktr.ee/ginny.wings
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kitty-the-wizard · 30 days
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Twilight Brain Dump✮⋆˙
i literally love twilight so much. it is my greatest special interest and one that has impacted my life the most. other special interests ive had have also shaped my life but fixating on twilight lead me in to a different part of my life that had some positivity to it, some depth, some cool lore, etc. when i first got in to twilight i was definitely team edward, i guess because bella and edward seemed “better” together and it was just a cool original plot. but, now that im a few years deep in to my special interest, im 110% team jacob. and, with changing teams, ive changed my favorite movie to new moon because hes more in that one and greatly in bellas life. i enjoy the original twilight movie a lot because jacob does make appearances earlier and throughout the movie unlike the book (which im still in the process of reading) where he doesnt until pretty late. i only recently started reading twilight because i was scared that it was going to alter my perception, idea, and extreme interest in twilight. but, it has actually made it greater! im pleasantly surprised and relieved. i have the mass market twilight book and it is SO adorable- i literally almost cried when i got it in the mail! my dear boyfriend bought it for me <3 im kinda assuming that every neurodivergent person goes through this with special interests, but i go through waves and phases within each other - if that makes sense lmao xD like, sometimes ill be way in to one part of twilight, or not so in to the details but in to the movies, or detached from the movies and book but love merch, etc. it’s fascinating when looking at it from afar but scary when you feel like you are falling away. ive never actually fallen away, only “evolved” with my special interest in it. this evolving and growing interest makes me wanna be in the twilightverse so bad ;-; i want to live in this world!!!! i also really want to see bella just be with jacob OMG dont get me wrong, i love edward and his plot line/his family’s plot line - but HEAR ME OUT!!!! bella and jacob look so natural and cool as a couple, plus they have family friend relationship lore, bella moving back lore, getting back to knowing each other lore!!!! maybe wattpad has fanfic?? probably XD
i highkey wish i wasnt a CHILD when twilight came out. i should’ve been 16 LMAO i shouldve been able to cry at hot topic and scream at the movie screen XD
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offspringofapollo · 9 months
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Ok no hear me out. What if Bella was just neurodivergent
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hollow-l1es · 2 years
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Happy bday loca🥰😳💀💕💫
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no-where-new-hero · 9 months
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Some thoughts and a little story time inspired by something @kraytwriter was talking about.
l think the worst thing that modern YA has done (and it has done a LOT of poor things including normalizing abusive and predatory romances but that’s a topic for another rant) is to make the “not like other girls” main character trope something you want to actively avoid. I think it was created from Bella Swan’s I’m-so-awkward-and-plain-but-hot-guys-love-me! schtick, and it has been used to interpret pitting a female protagonist against other female characters who are seen as lesser (Sarah J Maas is guilty of this, as well as many of her successors—disclaimer that I’m more familiar with YA fantasy than YA literary/non-genre writing so I can’t name drop there). It’s also become a staple of Y/N fanfic circles and likely even more mercilessly lambasted because of it.
And this is certainly bad character development (and absent feminism), but I think the bones of the trope aren't inherently negative. Because this whole concept of difference can extend to literally not being like the majority of people around you. If you grow up queer, or neurodivergent, or BIPOC in a white community, you are going to need an iconoclast protagonist to project onto for sheer sanity.
As a biracial baby gay (as well as homeschooled), I attached myself intensely to Emily Starr at the age of 12 from this urge. Despite being white and only subtextually fruity, her stubborn nonconformity gave me an anchor to quiet my anxieties and uncertainties about not fitting in at camps and in other social contexts. LM Montgomery is queen of writing “not like other girls” protagonists who have rich friendships and relationships with girls, and their “difference” comes down to an internal quality of uniqueness—something that I think should be encouraged.
“Not like other girls” as it’s written now is a problem (and it’s still being written! Look at Lightlark!) but I think the people who slam it are slightly off target with it. The best message to get from the critique is to illustrate how no one (even your overpowered protagonist) is better than anyone else—though honestly this shouldn’t be a revolutionary message and if you’re not depicting that nuance then why are you writing a novel. But I also think trying to abolish the trope without teasing out the repercussions could backfire into passing a message of conformity and sameness: as though the only way you’ll be “safe” or not seen as a “pick me” (another cringe target of social media) is to behave and talk and think like everyone else.
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People making fun of Bella swan and Edward specifically for not showing facial expressions, having facial twitches, doing lip biting, stuttering, clinging to each other, being extremely reserved… mmm… it’s giving ableism.
The idea that a character isn’t a character because they don’t show emotion, whether through their face or through their voice, is very much ableism. Characters are allowed to look and be cold and standoffish. There are people like that in real life. Not everyone needs to show facial expressions or express themselves dramatically, and to expect them to do so is very much ableism.
Not to mention, pushing all of the problematic shit aside, I find myself relating to bella on a specific level as an autistic person, because we’re both extremely reserved and don’t like hanging around other people, but when we like someone we’re very clingy, we both have blank faces (because why do I need to fake my expressions? If I don’t feel something, I don’t feel it), we both stutter A LOT, and we both have very limited interests. AND WE ARE BOTH CLUMSY AS HELL!!! THE MOST AUTISTIC TRAIT OF THEM ALL!!!
Not to mention, her suddenly going from this calm, and almost emotionless character to becoming extremely angry when that Jacob thing happened in Breaking Dawn Part 2 is a very very VERY common trait for some autistic people.
We can express ourselves in ways that seem very overly dramatic and even exaggerated, and cartoonish to allistic people. I’ve done it many times. It’s a thing. And people laughed because they thought I was joking… every time I express myself even a little bit, people find it amusing. As if I’m just faking it.
So yeah… BELLA SWAN IS AUTISTIC!!!!!
(This doesn’t mean I suddenly like the characters. I still hate them very much, and I still don’t like the story. I’m just very passionate about calling out ableism, and begging people to realize that neurodivergent people exist.)
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cjriles · 2 years
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my (incomplete) neurodivergent headcanons:
Autism:
Jojo Betzler (Jojo Rabbit)
Spencer Reid (Criminal Minds)
Juno (Juno)
Bella Swan (Twilight)
Peter Parker (Spider-Man)
[Zendaya’s] MJ (MCU Spider-Man)
Melanie (Bunheads)
Jake Peralta (B99)
Amy Santiago (B99)
Captain Holt (B99)
Katniss Everdeen (Hunger Games)
Otis Milburn (Sex Education)
Lily Tucker-Pritchett (Modern Family)
Newt Scamander (Fantastic Beasts)
Leslie Knope (Parks and Rec)
Anne (Anne with an E)
Beth Harmon (The Queen’s Gambit)
Dipper Pines (Gravity Falls)
Sherman (Mr. Peabody and Sherman)
Hermione Granger (Harry Potter)
Katie Mitchell (Mitchells vs the Machines)
Rick Mitchell (Mitchells vs the Machines)
Ryan (Game Night)
Dr. Temperance Brennan (Bones)
Dr. Zach Addy (Bones)
Jeremy Heere (Be More Chill)
Brooke (Be More Chill)
Teresa (Maze Runner)
Mike (Hocus Pocus 2)
Harper Moore (Set It Up)
Paul Munsky (The Half of It)
Robin Buckley (Stranger Things)
young! King George III (Queen Charlotte)
(Inattentive) ADHD:
Darbie O’Brien (Just Add Magic)
Christine Canigula (Be More Chill)
Arthur (BBC Merlin)
(Hyperactive) ADHD:
Thomas (Maze Runner)
Stiles Stilinski (Teen Wolf)
AuDHD/Comorbid:
Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls)
Merlin (BBC Merlin)
Dylan Lenivy (The Quarry)
Aaron Mitchell (Mitchells vs the Machines)
if you want me to deep dive into why I think they are ND, just let me know!! <3
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firelordgrantham · 2 years
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I kinda love seeing what people hate or love in Twilight, in a political sense as well as in characterization/plot sense.
Because every single thing in it or something like that has two edges.
Like:
Bella:
the heroine is named (Isa)Bella Swan.
She is pretty, intellectual, introverted, shown as different from her girl friends.
She falls madly in love with a vampire and
leaves family and friends behind to be with him.
Cons:
Bella Swan is litteraly ''beautiful swan'', it's bad as an onomastic but it doesn't even have a dramatic reveal of her being associated to swans or anything. Also it focuses on her beauty and (snorts, she doesn't have any) grace, so it's kinda sexist to reduce her to that.
She's not like other girls = internalized misogyny. Hurtful propagation of the myth girls are airheads who don't have hobbies or wits.
the guy she falls madly in love with wants to drink her blood and is genetically coded to hurt her. To see her fall for him is bad enough, but she doesn't second think that or anything. All she is good at is falling in love and be pretty.
Also she falls into this predator-prey relationship quickly and cuts herself from her family and friends, which is clearly indicating a toxic dynamic: yet, she is happy with it.
Conclusion: She is a bad example, she reeks of internalized mysoginy from the author and ends up in a toxic relationship, cut from her family.
Pros:
The heroine is Bella Swan. Her name doesn't mean anything grand or defining because she's just a teenage girl. She's a work in progress and also not to be defined as the heroine but as herself.
She is so much not like other girls that there is a high chance she is secretly neurodivergent (https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/firelordgrantham/692028706877784064?source=share). So props to Smeyer for showing a bit of well-done representation (yeah I know it might seem like dark humor considering the other representations but we'll come to it), and may I add (for those who won't click the link) that among other things it is highly canon that her mind is not like others because the telepaths can't read it. Also, it's from her pov, so it's kinda normal to be 17 and introverted and think ''I'd rather be in my bed reading Jane Austen than go to parties with Jessica, so I'm not like her nor like the other (extroverted) girls from Forks High''. She has trouble fitting in -> she is a relatable introverted protagonist!
Although Edward is dangerous for her, she can handle it. She also sees past appearances and loves him when he is not capable of loving himself (seeing himself as a monster).
Her family and friends are not great anyway. Her mother is a toxic womanbaby who had to be raised by her own daughter and then threw her out with the trash when her new husband came along. Her father tries his best (we love Charlie Swan on this blog) but he's busy and he barely knows her. Her friends are either pushy boys or gossipy girls who will gossip about her as soon as her back is turned. So leaving them is a symbol of leaving a toxic relationship and mindset for a thriving, closely-knit network of family members and friends with the Cullens.
Conclusion: any introverted girl can identify with Bella, as a down-to-earth, not-a-chosen-one-with-a-big-destiny girl, who feels out of her world in Forks and will leave a toxic relationship to a healthy one in the end.
The romance:
Love triangle.
There's a vampire guy and a werewolf guy.
She chooses the vampire guy.
Cons:
Love triangle. It's overused. And it shows Bella once again as only capable of falling in love and nothign more. It takes over the whole story when it could have been exploring vampires vs werewolves vs other vampires. Bella falls in love with guys is just not enough and too much seen in YA books. (Anti-feminist)
Both of the guys are obsessing over her and neither really seem like a good match.
Her choosing the white, privileged male instead of the native boy, despite Jacob giving her much more thought out presents and giving her more time and considering her opinions more, is a textbook example of golddigging from her and internalized racism from the author. Bad thing.
Pros:
It is centered around a teenage girl's passions and attractions and not shaming her for being in love or for hesitating between two guys. (Feminist)
both guys have the same intensity, which explains why Miss Thrill-Seeking is interested in both: having one be a mild-mannered gentleman and the other a charismatic bad boy would have made the ''choice'' too easy. For a real duality between Life (werewolves) and Death (vampires), Killing and Sparing, etc, she couldn't have two love interests so different in characters that the endgame is an evidence: she has to struggle to chose because both options (life and death, human and monster, Jacob and Edward) need to be equally attracting, so equally intense.
she has a choice and so she doesn't just chose Edward out of spite or because he's the only one to ever have been interested in her: it's a real love story and not just the girl eloping with the first guy to show her some affection.
it... it is a romance fantasy, not a war or thriller or else book. I mean yeah some characters could have been more developed, but the story is about Bella and Edward (and a bit of Jacob), not about the vampire politics. Putting it here because I think, even if the book is not the best written ever, well... it is a romance. So the fact the other aspects are secondary is defendable.
Edward:
108 years old
died of spanish flu
edgy boy
vampire, killed people
Cons:
Big age gap that doesn't really justify. Problematic.
ok I gotta admit I don't see anything wrong with the spanish flu.
Edgy boy. Drama queen. ''it is the skin of a killer, Bella''. ''I have no soul, god hates me, etc''. ''I'm a danger to you.''
well he is stalking her, watching her sleep, overall toxic. All the above category is right tho (except mybe the ''god hates me'' part)
Pros:
still a teen and didn't mature much so it's not too bad.
kinda actual depiction of someone with self-esteem issue who becomes immortal and has to feed on blood.
well everyone loves a bad boy, and he did kill criminals didn't he?
etc.
People will argue over everything. And the best part is most of the arguments are right both ways!
anyway here is my little beginning of an analysis of the twilight fandom/hatedom.
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3scythes · 2 years
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back on my twilight shit and I just wanna say: Bella Swan was an excellent representation for many people of a neurodivergent, emotionally neglected teen and the fact that I, at age 11, saw myself in her and proceeded to vehemently reject the notion that I was anything like this character, even jumping on the “shitty emotionless character” bandwagon, really says something about how I viewed myself at that time and the lengths I would go for self preservation in a society that had already ousted me.
anyway let teen girls enjoy teen girl things
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franzias-cave · 2 years
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🧂1 & 11 😜
from this delicious salty ask list
Since this ask is from a venerable Twilight Renaissance blogger/tastemaker/maverick, I’ll keep things Twilight related (but I will happily do naruto stuff too.)
1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?*
I’m a fan of the ship and let ship approach. If it the ship does it for you, great, good, have fun. I’ll read just about anything as long as it’s well written. That being said, there are a few ships that I personally* can’t get behind. 
Jacob/Renesmee: No. Just. No. Absolutely not. It’s weird, gross, and tragic and not in a fun way. I don’t even think I need to explain this. I genuinely cannot think of a way to make this ship work.
Leah/Any vampire: I’ve seen a few ships that pair Leah up with a vampire, and I just don’t see it. Beyond the physical repulsion, vampires ruined Leah’s life. They tore her fiancé away from her and brainwashed him. They caused her father’s deeply traumatic death that was then followed by months of living in a close approximation of hell. Her life went to shit because of vampires, and that doesn’t seem like something Leah could easily get over.
She also expresses that she wants to stop shifting ASAP, which would never happen if she got romantically entangled with a vampire. I particularly can’t see her happily dating a vampire who ate people. I can sort of see a Leah/people-eating vampire ship happening, but only if Leah passes some kind of moral even horizon. It would not be a cheerful scenario, and one of my true OTPs is Leah/happiness.
11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?
The renaissance really rehabilitated unpopular characters like Jessica and Maria, which rocks. Lots of great content being made about them. But, despite being a fandom based on a book about Bella Swan, most people don't seem to like her very much.
As in any fandom, there are the haters who think she’s a terrible character. Very understandable, she’s a mentally ill 17 year old girl who isn’t very likeable. Then you have the “Bella is boring and I wish the book wasn’t about her” camp, who are also doing great. Lots of good content coming out of that neck of the woods.
Then there are people who claim to like Bella, but only like the unrecognisable fanon version they've created in their heads. I’ve encountered this problem often in fandom, where people will take a (usually female) character they think has been done dirty by the author due to misogyny and completely change them. There's nothing wrong with fanon drift, but it gets a little stale when that's the only content you see.**
I like shitty selfish probably neurodivergent canon Bella. She kind of sucks, and that's why she's a blorbo of mine.  
*This is a personal opinion. I am just some guy. If you like the ship I’m happy for you. Go forth and do your funky thing. 
** I realise this may sound rich coming from someone who did a canon rewrite with an alternate Bella but rules do not apply to me that was for a specific au. and also rules do not apply to me.
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stimlord · 2 years
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Alice Cullen stimboard!
Black, blue, and beige
🌑🌒🌓|🌔🌕🌖|🌗🌘🌑
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twilightishot · 3 years
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AU where Bella’s autistic and Alice gives her a makeover for the first time. Bella has a meltdown because she hates the feeling of something on her face and makeup products in general, and Alice quickly cleans her up and decides instead of pushing Bella to be something she isn’t, she decides to learn what Bella’s style really is and find ways to incorporate better clothing that would make her best friend feel more comfortable and relaxed in. Loose clothing without tags, seamless socks, and even a pair of noise canceling headphones.
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bellasgreensweater · 4 years
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Happens all the time
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