This is – honestly only relevant in Our Mark Is On The Other, as the likelihood of these truths coming to light in any other verse is very slim. Theodore, by his point in meeting anyone in that verse, has nine marks – of them, seven have turned black.

This is a truth in all his verses – he’s not typically well treated by lovers, and it often takes him a long time to realize he is being mistreated, or to reach a point where it feels “too much” and leaves. He loves deeply, and tends to be a bit too forgiving of terrible tempers, cruel words, infidelity, mockery and even violence.

In Our Mark, the fading of a piece to black forces him to move on – otherwise, he likely would have hung on longer ( as long as he does in his main verses, tbh, which means in Our Mark things aren’t quite as disastrous for him )

Theodore is a swooping romantic – he lives his life to the absolute fullest, and holds on to happy moments rather than the negative ones. Even when realizing something isn’t quite right, he generally tries to “make it work” before acknowledging it is not meant to be. Life is too short to live in constant pain, and when he feels that a relationship hurts him more than it brings him joy, he will step away.