Yeah, that was my reading exactly. Though I'm torn between whether Stick would actually acknowledge this to himself, or if he's in denial and convinced himself that he actually did leave because Matt was getting too attached. On the one hand, he said getting in touch with your "deep down feelings" was a part of his whole ninja philosophy, so deluding yourself seems like the kind of thing he would try to avoid, but I'm not sure he always practices what he preaches. The mere act of him keeping the bracelet for sentimental reasons is already a betrayal of his own philosophy.
Re: Humanizing Stick
Yeah, that was my reading exactly. Though I'm torn between whether Stick would actually acknowledge this to himself, or if he's in denial and convinced himself that he actually did leave because Matt was getting too attached. On the one hand, he said getting in touch with your "deep down feelings" was a part of his whole ninja philosophy, so deluding yourself seems like the kind of thing he would try to avoid, but I'm not sure he always practices what he preaches. The mere act of him keeping the bracelet for sentimental reasons is already a betrayal of his own philosophy.