#i know a lot of survivors hate the word rape i do in some circumstances it's jarring when it's casually dropped and takes me off guard

[wahbegan]

This world of video essays with SA this and SA that makes me genuinely miss the old days when edgelords would say rape every five seconds

[hxhhasmysoul]

Despite Megumi thinking he’s being very progressive or less shallow by breaking some rules within jujutsu society and with that one answer he gave to Toudou. I think Megumi is still somewhat traditionalist than he wants to admit.

Maybe traditionalists isn’t the right word… He seems very content on not changing the status quo and he would rather be a cog within the horrible system. Perhaps a centrist is a better word for him.

Does this mean I think Megumi will be transphobic or is going to say slurs? No, of course not. But he would be the type to say he supports any minority communities but does nothing when their rights are being taken away.

That’s what I gathered from him in my opinion.

It’s interesting that you specifically mention transphobia in the context of Megumi, considering how a lot of people head canon him to be transmasc due to his comment about his name. Or gay due to the context of his conversation with Toudou. But for the sake of this answer let's put those discussions aside and work with the assumption that Megumi is cishet. 

I find Megumi rather unpleasant as a person, possibly because I see a lot of my teen self in him. I mean this statement should hint at me being sympathetic towards him but considering how I view myself and how I’ve never forgiven myself for anything, I can’t. 

There are a few things converging when it comes to how Megumi seems to view the world: his age, his circumstances, the abuse he’d suffered since early childhood and good grades at school.

Age kinda brings it all together. The younger you are, the less you’ve experienced and your worldview relies on that. You encounter a lot of ideas for the first time, sometimes without even knowing that the person Talking to you is expressing an ideologically-charged opinion. And people purposefully obscure their meaning with language. When recruiting gender criticals don't lead with “all trans people must be exterminated” which would put off most people they haven't indoctrinated into their hate cult. They say that they “protect the rights of women who are survivors of rape” or “women rights in general”, or “the safety of children”. On the surface it sounds like they are doing something noble. You need to have experienced people being misleading like that to pause here, to try to investigate how gender critical ideology is really supposed to protect anyone, and it quickly becomes clear it harms the very people it pretends to want to protect. 

The detention centre situation shows clearly that Megumi has adopted his political views because they sounded good, likely felt emotionally satisfying. Why should a guy who was a repeated offender be saved, let alone prioritised? He killed a little girl after all. He clearly fits into the rigid binary of good and bad. The moral superiority is alluring and Megumi falls for it. 

But his views don't come from some deep convictions. It's clear he never spared them a deeper enquiry because the moment they are challenged by Yuuji, Megumi goes silent. He has nothing. 

Circumstances and abuse

Megumi was dragged into the world of sorcery at a very young age, likely 6-7, so for most of his life that was what he knew best. In that world he was treated as property. He was literally sold to Gojou who then instilled in Megumi that he has to work as a sorcerer to secure his basic needs. And the needs of his sister. 

He essentially works as a child soldier. He sees people around him die at a very young age. 

It’s all dehumanising and traumatising. 

The way you phrase his cog mentality is as if it was an active choice. I see it more as a result of how he has very little control over his life and no adult who’d care for him or at least take care of him. 

It’s very hard to look from the outside at a system you’ve been indoctrinated into since childhood. It’s hard to reject it. But ever since meeting Yuuji, Megumi has been slowly rethinking it all. 

Good grades

There is a bias in our society that associates smartness with good school results. Megumi’s are excellent. It also associates reading with smartness and Megumi likes to read.

It’s pretty clear that he considers himself an intellectual, he speaks with authority, uses long words and so on. But when you look closely at what he says, he’s repeating what he’d been indoctrinated into. He’d never been challenged on it because everyone in the jujutsu world is buying into the same bullshit he is. They all believe in the cult of strength. Even Gojou buys into the system. He says the system is corrupt and he wants to change it, but only change it in such a way as to put his followers at the top. He never challenges the foundational ideology. 

When it comes to political views, the closest to a centrist is Gojou. He used to be seriously rightwing in his youth, very might makes right, why shouldn’t the strong just kill whoever they want. Later he became a centrist. He turned the might is right into bullshit meritocracy, where the elders are idiots who shouldn’t be in power because they are idiots. But he and his handpicked disciples are smarter and will know how to run things. Throughout the manga we see the miracle that is Gojou’s leadership.

Megumi is very much a product of that. The system likely tells Megumi that he’s smart. And that’s all this boy has to build his self worth on. He has his powerful technique (Gojou explains to him that through suicide Megumi could even win with him - Gojou just loves to give this boy more and more trauma casually like that) and good grades which culture tells him make him smart. He can’t make any decisions about his own life because he’s Gojou’s .. I guess the closest word would be “serf” or “indentured servant” with the compounded factor of him being underaged. He’s also heavily traumatised so his ability to challenge his circumstances is impaired.

It's very hard to see outside your context, especially with trauma on breathing down your neck. Megumi adopts an ideology that makes it easier for him to exist in the context he's in. He escapes into the simple black and white world of right-wing morality.

Right-wing worldview

Politically Megumi is right-wing, not centrist, especially at the beginning of the manga. He sees the world in black and white terms. He believes in the legal system and sees jujutsu sorcerers as part of it. He has a disdain for evildoers be it bullies at his middle school or convicts at the detention centre. 

His right wing attitude is very clear in how he beats up all the bullies as a principle to establish order or how he believes the convicts are not worth saving. Like many rightwingers he treats badness as an identity. Someone is either good or bad, no nuance. Jujutsu sorcerers are good because they are legitimised by the legal system, they uphold the law, even if they are kinda dodgy people when it comes to their motivations like Maki, or try to murder people for political reasons like the students from Kyoto - a typical right wing view point. Bullies are bad so they deserve to be beat up. Convicts are bad so they don’t deserve to be saved. Curses are bad so they deserve to be killed. 

Both Megumi and Yuuji beat up bullies in their middle school days, both were delinquents getting into fights. But the political ideology that is at the basis of their characters really shines through in these situations. 

Because for Megumi “badness” is an identity he beats up bullies proactively. He seeks them out to enforce social norms onto them. In his eyes his preventative violence is justified. It's hard to tell whether Megumi’s violence scared the bullies off and saved people from being victimised. We don't even know whether everyone Megumi beat up was indeed a bully, how did compile a list of targets? A very typical issue with law enforcement. 

Yuuji's values are left-wing, he values human life and dignity above some abstract ideas like the law. His violence is reactive, he protects victims in the moment, doesn't try to enforce his rules on a more systemic level. 

Yuuji sees Junpei as a human. He uses violence to fight Junpei to prevent him from killing his schoolmates, but he also tries to reach out to Junpei. He isn't trying to assign the good or bad label to Junpei or the other students, he knows two wrongs don't make a right.

Megumi's rigid worldview is even present in how he views people close to him. Tsumiki is good because she thinks people should concentrate on positive interactions in life, and she always took care of Megumi. Megumi had no idea Tsumiki did dodgy shit like going to cursed bridges at night, because he replaced the real Tsumiki in his head with an image of Tsumiki. 

Right-wingers have a very rigid and binary view of the world. They will ignore things that contradict their beliefs. Megumi's belief in Tsumiki as a good person caused him to dehumanise her and turn her into an icon he could derive his morality from.

When Tsumiki was cursed, a crack appeared in Megumi's worldview. He was feeling cheated because “goodness” didn't protect Tsumiki. The jujutsu society and the law assign people a “good” or “bad” identity. The bad get jailed or exorcised, but the good? Their reward should be being left in peace, but it's not.

Yuuji really throws Megumi a curveball philosophically. Yuuji formally “becomes” not human to the jujutsu society, a curse that should be exorcised. But he’s a good person, he’s so similar to the morally good icon Megumi idolises. 

Megumi’s ideology fails him again, the cognitive dissonance is too much to handle for him - right wing people really struggle with this one. So he does the typical rightwing manoeuvre: people who are on the right side of the law are good, people who are on the wrong side of the law are bad, but there are also special people, that I like, who are awarded special rules. 

It's very clear how confused Megumi is during the Culling Games arc. How he assigns blame to himself and Yuuji for what happened in Shibuya but on the other hand he still considers Yuuji of killing humans during the games.

Yuuji is so “pure” in his mind that Megumi is taken aback by Yuuji's angry outburst, by him directing his bad mood at Angel and Hana.

But by the Culling Games Megumi's already moved away from the rigid right-wing binaries, he's moving left. He thinks that saving people is what will give him a place in the world. A view that he develops through absorbing Yuuji's worldview.

Centrists are usually people who benefit the most from the status quo, like Gojou in JJK. When it comes to rightwingers it’s more mixed. Some of them also greatly benefit from the status quo so they support it, but there are those who cling to the status quo even though it hurts them and direct their anger about their suffering at those who they consider “other” in some way. Minorities often become that other because they are unknown to some extent, because they are not part of the mainstream. In our reality most places around the world are patriarchal, are governed by patriarchal religions where women are not seen as fully human. Queerness through its complicated relationship with gender roles threatens the status quo of these patriarchal societal orders, thus it becomes a target of right-wing ire. And that’s why liberals/centrists only pay lip service to minority rights including queer rights, because it’s in their best interest that the right-wing poors have a target to direct their discontent and fears at.

But Megumi isn’t driven that much by fear and disgust as most rightwingers. He is a young traumatised boy who has never had any guidance and had to fend for himself, also had to make sense of the world on his own. So what drew him to right-wing attitudes was its simplicity, its binary nature. 

Megumi is not an active transphobe, when he sees Kirara, he stops using male pronouns in reference to her. He respects Kirara. Would he fight for trans rights? It’s not impossible. Yuuji is his new morality icon and Yuuji fights for human dignity. If Megumi saw trans people in the same way he sees Tsumiki and Yuuji (good people who are attacked by an unfair system/reality), he’d fight for them. Especially if Yuuji drew his attention to it, or called out his inaction. Is Megumi aware of the issues trans people face? I don’t know. He is interested in politics and society so it wouldn’t be impossible for him.

I don't know if this is what you were looking for. This fandom is going to make me tepidly like Megumi eventually, I'm very susceptible to character exposure (only Kurapika, Yuuta and Gojou's cases exposure just made me actively dislike the characters). Thank you for the ask.

[rotationalsymmetry]

Statement of ideology re: abortion (for what it’s worth):

Hard core pro-choice here.

Abortions should be legal, free, and unstigmatized, and they should happen however often they happen. Minors should not need parental permission of any sort. (Like…it’s generally a good idea for teens to talk to their parents, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to force teens to tell their parents.) No waiting periods, no late term abortion bans, no mandatory vaginal ultrasounds, none of that.

Contraception should be free, and available without a prescription. A wide variety of forms of contraception should be available, including specifically more penis-haver focused contraception. Information about contraception should be widely available and easy to understand. (And taught in schools ffs.)

Talking about sex should be normalized. Differences in sexual preferences should be normalized — in particular the idea that a woman who’s interested in any sexual contact with a man is interested in PIV sex with him needs to die in a fire.

Something something consent culture environment supportive of sexual assault/abuse survivors something something.

And, on the flip side, women and girls who want to keep the pregnancy — or who want to get pregnant on purpose — should be able to and should get all the support they need for that to be a viable option, period. (Yeah, not exactly where we are now.) And no stigma against those who become mothers really young. (Hang on, that was really gender essentialist, I also mean trans folks with uteruses. People with uteruses. Parents.) Sometimes people want to be a parent at disconcertingly young ages, or would rather do that than get an abortion, and that’s a bodily autonomy issue too. And “shit, me and my baby will be homeless if I don’t get an abortion” is just as much coercion as not being allowed to get an abortion. “Teenage pregnancy” is only a problem to the extent the teenager sees it as a problem.

(Abortion is usually not “an option” so much as “the only viable option, in practice”, which means most of the time “pro choice” is pro abortion — true reproductive freedom means abortion is a viable choice and having a child is a viable choice.)

(Sure, adoption is an option, it’s also a stunningly unpopular option. There’s something about going through pregnancy and childbirth and not having a child afterwards to mitigate the unpleasantness, that is just phenomenally unappealing to most people. Shocking, I know.) (But yeah, sure, that should be an option too, and open adoption on the birth parent’s terms should be an option for all those that want that.)

(And…I’m generally not very sympathetic to the MRA “financial abortion” (men shouldn’t have to pay child support if rye don’t wanna) concept just because, like objections to tipping, not doing that while keeping everything else the same means someone’s going to get screwed over badly. But ideally? Yeah, biological parentage should not automatically mean financial responsibility for a child, ideally; ideally this is a community support situation not an “each family for themselves” one.)

Likewise: trans people need to get their gender recognized without having to get sterilized; disabled people who want to be parents have as much a right as non-disabled people; and this thing where some women can’t get a hysterectomy that they want while others get sterilized against their will is …there aren’t words.

Anyways, we’re not going to be there any time soon, but in the meantime: an egg isn’t a chicken, an acorn isn’t an oak tree, and a fetus isn’t a child. Abortion is fine. There is morally nothing wrong with it. It’s just miscarriage on purpose. That’s all.

The moral issue comes with denying people the right of what to do with their own bodies and lives. (And since most people who get pregnant are women, and since there’s a fuckton of ways an unwanted pregnancy can fuck your life up, this is hella a feminist issue.)

And that’s not at all incompatible with understanding that when a person with a wanted pregnancy loses the pregnancy, that can be an unspeakable tragedy. Pregnancy has different meanings in different contexts; sometimes it’s a heart’s true desire and sometimes it’s a worst nightmare.

There is a thing about the issue of abortion that brings out the liar in so many people. Some truths: there doesn’t have to be a clear line at either conception or birth, the change between not-person and person can be a gradual thing with no unambiguous “this is a heap” point. Truth: a lot (maybe most? Don’t have the numbers offhand) of abortions are sought by women who are already mothers. It’s not some “irresponsible” young woman only thing. Truth: you can get pregnant from rape. Truth: late term abortion is fundamentally not the same thing as first trimester abortion; first trimester (normal) abortion is usually about not wanting a full pregnancy/child; late term abortion is usually when the pregnancy was wanted but something went horribly wrong and there is not going to be a living child at the end of the process no matter what. (Also: “partial birth abortion” isn’t a medical term and the ban didn’t stop abortions it just changed how they happened and interfered with parents’ ability to mourn a wanted but dead child. Sorry. But I think it’s important to point this out.) Truth: most pregnancies aren’t viable and miscarriage due to severe health shit happens all the time. (This might not seem like it is related to abortion, but to my way of thinking abortion can only be “murder” if miscarriage is the loss of a child, and realistically most miscarriages are not responded to that way, and many aren’t even noticed.)

Truth: laws are a sledgehammer and many people who think abortion should be illegal in general do actually get abortions themselves or help a loved one get abortion for the exact same reasons as everyone else, like “I’m too young and it would derail my life plans.” Not everyone who’s against abortion I’m sure. But also, not everyone who’s personally against abortion thinks it should be illegal. Truth: thinking something is bad and thinking it should be illegal are different things. I don’t really expect that to be compelling to someone who thinks abortion is bad, since I’ve already said I don’t think it is. But it’s an internally consistent position many people have.

Truth: abortion sometimes saves lives. Truth: abortion sometimes saves lives when determining there was a threat to life would have been incredibly difficult or unlikely. Truth: you can get pregnant from rape, and an abortion ban with a rape exception is either going to get a ton of people lying about being raped when they weren’t, or a ton of people who were raped but can’t get an abortion because they can’t prove it, or both. Truth: there are people who go to an abortion clinic who haven’t been to a doctor for any other reason in years and won’t go again for years.

Truth: some people who get an abortion regret it, and many others feel mostly relief or not much of anything.

Truth: from a health perspective, carrying a child to term even under the best of circumstances is far more risky than getting an abortion.

Truth: you can be a moral person and also get an abortion.

(Opinion: for people with uteruses who date people who could get them pregnant, especially who date cishet guys: you have to be on the same page about abortion on a personal level. If you’re not sure which way you’d go that means you need to only be (in a relationship with) people who think it’s your call and they will back you no matter what. Guys who have the capacity to get someone pregnant and who don’t believe in abortion ethically need to wait for sex until they and their partner are ready to have a child. That’s the only ethically consistent stance. A dude who says he’s against abortion but wants sex right away is the worst kind of shitbag and completely unfuckable.)

Anyways. Be well.

If I could talk to my teenage self, I would say: you will think about it, you will decide abortion is morally neutral, and you will be really pissed off that you were surrounded by “pro-choice” people who never just sat down and told you how they came to the conclusion that abortion was morally OK. I would say: most adults don’t actually care that much about what children are told, they think they’re too busy to worry about that, so there are vitally important things about the world that no one has told you for political reasons, because there are vicious hateful people who will fight like vipers to keep you from being told those things and the adults who would have told you weren’t willing to have that fight. This is not fair or right. But it doesn’t mean there was nothing to say. It just means there are vipers.

And yeah, you’ll still be pissed at the idea that if you’d gotten pregnant as a teen or young adult, you wouldn’t have actually gotten a choice. Fucking hypocrites.

There’s more than one way to deny people their reproductive rights.

[lovecanbesostrange]

I have a lot of feelings about the latest Grey’s Anatomy ep “Silent All These Years” and so let me ramble a bit. I can’t put everything into well written and organized words, but I have to type something:

First off all, hats off to writer Elisabeth R. Finch and director Debbie Allen. Amazing work. The script is tight, tackles so many issues about trauma (related to rape/abuse) all at once, without ever losing the focus that is on the victims. The SURVIVORS. They are the ones talking, they are the ones the camera follows, no unnecessary distractions. We are here to listen to their stories and empathize with their emotions. As hard as it is.

That said, I want to get one tiny thing out of the way. I like how the guys are handled, that we do see. There is Alex, supportive husband #1 who clearly wants to do everything that helps, having no clue what is going on (being concerned, not mad). There is DeLuca, who catches on to what Jo is saying without saying it and from there on following her lead, whatever she asks. And we get this minimalistic b-story about Tuck dating and getting a very important talk about consent from Warren. That is really good, because he is the young generation, the one we have to raise to be better. (Warren could’ve thrown in that Tuck can say no himself anytime as well, but that’s the smallest missed opportunity ever. The sports analogy of a time out is so good and easy to grasp.)

Where to even start? Just to pick something let me go with how trauma is not an Olympic discipline where the winner gets a medal. Because they have all lost already. In different ways. And you can’t deny somebody their feelings of pain and hurt, because you have been hurt as well. It does not work like that and that is the biggest take away I get from Jo and Vicki meeting. It should be a common sense statement, something we can agree on easily, but we are so trained to look for somebody being wrong, for somebody being right, for a conflict with clear edges. There are none.

Vicki was raped. At a time when she wasn’t even allowed to think about it as rape, because she said yes to a date. (It always makes me sick knowing that it was only in 1997 when German law ruled that rape in a marriage was a crime at all.) She felt all the shame and guilt and was completely alone, because how to even ask for help? To hammer this point home we get Abby’s storyline. Who so randomly bumped into Jo at the hospital and so accidentally found a person who would not leave her for a second. (I know Meredith would have caught on, just like Teddy did. But Jo was in this headspace already, and sometimes finding the help you need is dumb luck and that is a terrifying reality.) Vicki had nobody to push her, to talk to. She went down the path of staying silent. And nobody has the right to yell at her for that.

But of course Jo is hurt. And she has to now re-arrange everything she ever imagined about her biological mother and the circumstances that lead to her being left at a firestation as a baby who never did anything wrong. Just think about it, with all the crap that Jo has lived through, the one thing she never imagined was that she was conceived during rape. That was too far a reach for her. And I guess that is in part because she herself had an abortion, because she could not imagine bringing a child into her marriage with Paul.

That bomb went off. Wow. Like I could already see some pro-lifers gleefully using this episode. That if Vicki would’ve had an abortion, like we advocate for rape victims to have the choice to, there would be no Jo. It would be so easy to fall into this trap. But nope, Jo then talks about how she was in a different, yet also desperate, situation and she did the best she could think of – which was an abortion. And I dare anybody to try to weigh these two things and tell me there is an outcome that won’t leave people traumatized one way or the other. It is so not a sport and there is no always right/always wrong answer. And that makes this scene, that is just a long conversation, so difficult and powerful and brutally honest. That is something that more people need to fully understand.

Vicki never wanted to hurt Jo. The fact she clung to these stories that mothers feel all the love and joy once the child is born – she tried. And I admire that so much. But then there was only more pain. For nine months she was reminded of this event, she didn’t even dare name rape and the baby that came out of it made this open wound so much worse. And how much do you think she hated herself for resenting a baby? How do you even start to get back into your right mind? The way Vicki talks about this – it’s a memory, it’s a thing in the past, and with one flick of a switch it’s all fresh.

Michelle Forbes does such a good job to show this. Vicki opens the door, her kids are in the kitchen, she’s open to whoever just knocked, she gets the mail and all is well. All is this normal world she knows. And one word from Jo, who is a stranger, and it’s like her rapist is breathing down her neck. That is a trigger. They just show the thing. (btw as always such a good Meredith voice over for the beginning and end to remind us about this week’s theme) Vicki has a good life, a family, a job where she helps others. And all that is taken away in a second and she is put back into the worst place she was ever in.

I like how both, Vicki and Jo, have a moment where they get up from the table. The way Vicki asks if Jo came to hurt her and that worked. So here is something I wonder about Jo in this situation. Letting out her frustration and anger that has built up over the years is one thing. And it’s clear to us that she doesn’t have a real game plan. What to say, what to expect, what to even get out of this. There is a lot of uncertainty and she lets emotions take over. But what does it do to her to realize that her very existence is a trigger for Vicki? When she asks if she looks like her father. A word Vicki rejects for his contribution (she is the biological mother, not a mom though, but he is even less – a point explored in the film [i]Room[/i], with a far different set up of course). That nameless TA, that raped Vicki, never knew about Jo and now she has to live with the knowledge that this connection hurts somebody so bad on so many levels…

Vicki just listens to whatever Jo has to say. And how does that feel, that the baby she gave up had no break in life from the start and fell for an abusive man. (This is also of note, Jo makes it very clear when talking to Abby, that she suffered through domestic violence, but was not raped, nothing “like this” happened to her.) Once again, a tiny bit of luck was all that was missing. Being placed with a good foster family at the right time and Jo’s life could’ve been completely different. And now Jo and Vicki are facing off, both with their very own trauma, that can all be traced back to one night. But it was society that failed them both. They are not enemies, but how to reconcile the different points of view here?

Abby is the story in the now that anchors it all. As sickening as it is, I’m sure if we just had that diner conversation randomly thrown in as maybe even the B-plot, it would be easy to dismiss. Jo being angry, a woman talking about a rape that happened over 30 years ago… but seeing what Abby has to go through, just to get help, is the reminder of what rape means. And it is not about some quick sex. It’s not over and done and here is what the immediate aftermath looks like. Without being exploitative. They show how invasive and almost degrading it is to get that rape kit done. Even with the most compassionate people by your side, it’s torture all over again. And in the end that is for the benefit of the survivor.

Those moments before, when Abby vocalizes her fears, how she knows these stories and how that damn kit might never do anything good and she wants it done and be over with it – I felt all of that in my bones. So, another kudos here to Khalilah Joi. Both guest actresses give it their all. But Jo pushes. Against protocol. Teddy does everything the best she can think of and I like how she talks about giving Abby the tiniest bit of agency back in all of this. But Jo pushing with the right words, putting it into perspective that later on emotions change and this is about having a chance.

I love how Abby grabs Jo’s hand in a panic and then they never let go of each other. You can even see Jo switching hands so she can close the curtain and so it’s clear she did that again when getting her coat off. Never letting go. It’s such a simple gesture, yet so powerful and the clear picture of not being alone. Jo saying “I got you, Abby. I’m not going anywhere.” It’s a lifeline and I wish we could live in a world where this is the default response to get from doctors (other people in general, especially those with the knowledge/power to directly help). This is all about Abby, helping her and never is it made about the rapist or even the exact circumstances. It should not matter that she was out to get drinks. And that she questions herself if she should’ve taken another route home…

The most striking visual is of course lining up all the women so Abby won’t have to see a male face. And more than that, faces of so many women who are all willing to be here for her, symbolizing she is not alone. On the one hand it is mortifying, but on the other Abby isn’t the one who needs to hide. She survived. The only thing she deserves is help and support. And so we get this scene as a heavy show-don’t-tell of sorts.

“It’s not your fault.”

This is not an episode about fault. The abandoned-child-seeks-biological-parent has been played out in very many different ways. But this is not that story. Jo’s anger is understandable. Vicki’s behavior is understandable. Abby’s reluctance is understandable. Three women, all have their own story and in some ways Jo and Vicki have hurt each other, are hurting each other, but it’s not their fault. Because it is very complicated.

Oh, I haven’t mentioned her specifically, Camilla Luddington is once again doing all the small details just right. I have to say, in the end when Alex walks up to her and she is somewhat startled, that was like watching her back in “1-800-799-7233” again. Jo is on auto-pilot flight mode. That hurts. One day she sits down with her mother, triggering her pretty much by existing. And the next she is with a freshly traumatized patient being the emotional support.

[moczothe1st]

Let’s Play Fire Emblem IV: Genealogy of the Holy War, Part 19: He’s a Late Blume-er

Part 18

Welcome back to FEIV! You may recall last week we killed Ishtore, a man with amazing lightning magic and truly astounding (not GOOD, but astounding) hair. He will be missed. I mean, not by me, but someone will miss him.  I mean, not his girlfriend, she also died, but…. Look, it’s a whole thing. The key is that we took his castle, and nobody is gonna be happy about it.

(See? No happiness.)

Bramsel: Men, this is our chance! Jabarro, send in your brigade! Hit them hard while their backs are turned! Leave no survivors!      

Jabarro: At once, sir!

Lene: Don’t you get it? He’s just using your loyalty to treat you like a weapon! I… I hate him so much!  

Ares: Lene… no, that isn’t…

Lene: Okay, fine! Whatever! Go with him, if you love him so much! It’s your life to waste, after all! But you can just go forget we ever met!

Ares: Lene…

(In her defense, judging by last week we can safely assume she’s worked out Ares is the only thing keeping her from getting locked up in Bramsel’s rape dungeon.)

(Yeah, here it comes. And meanwhile, at the other evil castle…)

Blume: I want you to show these rebel pigs just what the empire can do!  

One of those Three Names he Just Said: Yes, Milord. Leave it to us.  

A Second One: We will never let you down, milord.

The Third: The rebels shall be destroyed quickly, cleanly, efficiently, and utterly. Excuse us, milord.

(All three of them are identical except for eye color and the game never says which is which until they’re on the field, so.  NO clue.)

Blume: Hmmm. Everything depends on you.

(You may recall Tinni as being mentioned by a village two weeks ago, wherein they said she was much nicer than her family and the best person ever and definitely recruitable. And if Blume is her uncle, that means Taillte is her mom.  Arthur will want to have a chat with this one!)

Blume: Hmph. One would think I could expect more gratitude from someone I raised out of the goodness of my heart after her mother died. Or have you forgotten my many kindnesses?

(Ass.)

Tinni: No, uncle…

Blume: Good. Now get moving! Remember, these rebels are responsible for murdering my dear son Ishtore, and his true love Liza! Avenging them is your mission, Tinni!

Banba: We will be the ones to claim Seliph’s head as a trophy this day. We mustn’t be beaten by Tinni’s unit.  

Tinni: I… don’t know what to do anymore. Oh, mother… what would you do…?

She would probably shout a lot, if I remember her right.  Now, our phase begins and…

(Dammit, everyone needs to shut up!)

Lene: I see right through you! The moment Ares is out of sight you think it’s okay to act all tough again, you vile louse! Don’t even think about coming any closer. I don’t need Ares around to stop you!

Bramsel: Of all the nerve! You little wench!  Throw her in the dungeon! You’ll have plenty of time to think about what you’ve done there!

Lene: No! Ah… Ares…

Jabarro: Oh well. I guess it’s all in the past. You’re gonna forget ‘er sooner or later.

Ares: I beg your pardon? What exactly are you trying to say, Jabarro?

Jabarro: Heh… oh, nothing. Well, ‘cept that I bet Bramsel’s right about to…

(Oooooh, that was the wrong answer.)

Ares: T-this can’t be… Jabarro! How could you know his foul intent, yet let your tongue lie still?!

Jabarro: You can’t worry ‘bout the fairer sex, Ares. Have your fun with ‘em, but never stick around for when their lives come crashing down…

Ares: How dare you?! And to think you held my trust for so long… I must return to Darna! Lene needs me!

Jabarro: Nah, that ain’t gonna happen, see. Nobody, and I mean nobody, blows off my orders and turns tail on my watch! Not even you, kid.

Ares: … I’ve come far in your company, Jabarro, but our association ends now. If anyone wishes to stop me, Mystletainn will eagerly welcome your necks!

Jabarro: Grr… I’ll show you your place, whelp!

And with that, Ares reveals what sets him apart from his dad: he puts his personal morals above his oaths to jerks! Or he just really digs dancers, one of the two. Either way, he is now on the team!

And here’s our new BFF.  Ares is an overall phenomenal unit; like Shanan he joins up with his Holy Weapon and can therefore wreck most of the enemies on the map, but unlike Shanan he actually has pretty solid growths and will likely be a much tougher unit by the end of the game than he is now. Better still, he has a horse and comes with three great combat skills, Pursuit, Adept, and Vantage. TL;DR, we need to get this man to an Arena. For now, though, I run him south toward the rest of the army to meet his new friends.  

Now then. We have three armies to deal with. One moving south at us, following Ares. One moving west at us, with Tinni and the Three Stooges.  And one moving north to try and make one more shot at conquering Leonster.  Time to split the army. First, Fee is going to head toward Leonster, she can fly so she’ll beat the enemy there. She has an armorslayer sword and the enemy is all armor knights, she can hold the castle.  

Second, to the east, there’s two swordsmen blocking us off from getting Leif, Finn, and Nanna to the rest of the army.  Let’s move them. 

 … Finn. For shame.  But at least you can promote now. I am going to send him off to our home castle ASAP. Going north to help Ares I send Oifey, Lana, Dermott, Shanan, Ulster, Johan, Patty, and Seliph since he needs to take the castle to save Lene.  Going east are Leif and Nanna, as they’re already there, and backing them up will be Julia, Larcei, Lester, and Arthur, who is needed to recruit Tinni.  I can’t see any reason this won’t work off the top of my head, but… I mean. Fire Emblem.  

End turn!

Only one person could reach us, so this was a boring enemy phase. Next one will be much more… active. For now, though, let’s try to purge some of the northern enemy. 

Well. This didn’t go badly, but not great either, barring Lana finally getting an Aideen-tier level. I just didn’t kill off as many as I’d been hoping to, and the enemy phase will be pretty dicey.  I think I’ll have Finn stick around to help this group, rather than letting Lana warp him back to promote right away.  

End turn.  This will be…. Fun.

… *sigh* Well, I knew something could go wrong, but I didn’t see it being everyone dogpiling Johan of all people. Well, nice to be surprised, I suppose.

Reset.  

This is becoming a pattern. I do something interesting, die, and have to go back to boring old ‘sit at the edge of their range and bait them out’.  I know it works, but really.

Not bad at all! They tried to dogpile Ares this time, and like I said: he’s pretty badass. Probably would have died if Jabarro had taken a shot at him, but since it was specifically Jabarro’s range we were staying away from, we pulled through just fine. Now, to the eastern front.  

… That was just sad, Leif.

Okay, our turn.  First thing to do is clear out Jabarro’s unit. The man himself is a giant pain, packing both a Silver Sword and a Skill Ring to leave him obnoxiously accurate. Let’s send in some heavy hitters to roll him down.  

And Shanan gets the skill ring, which he absolutely does not need. He does need money, however, so selling that later will be a nice source of income for him to keep Balmung nice and shiny.  And from here, it’s really just a nice, normal purge.  

And hey, Ares can chat with Seliph.  I wasn’t planning to do it right now, but they ended up next to each other, so why not.

Ares: They call me the black knight, Ares. Perhaps you would recognize me better, however, as the son of Eldigan.  

Seliph: What?! It cannot be… you don’t mean the legendary Lord Eldigan of Nordion, do you?!

Ares: The very same! I am the son of Eldigan the Lionheart, the man your father killed in cold blood! My noble mother, the Lady Grainne, died wracked with grief and rage at Sigurd! It is high time you knew my family’s pain!

(Weeeeeeren’t you an infant at the time, bro? How do you know?)

Seliph: That’s… I don’t understand. As I was told, your father and mine were the closest of friends. As tragic as their end was, I don’t believe our fathers would ever have begrudged each other.

Ares: That’s impossible… Sigurd was my father’s mortal foe! This… this is all I’ve known my entire life…

Seliph: Please listen, Ares. Would you consider traveling with my army? I know we can resolve this misunderstanding, if we just give it some time. I hold the late Lord Eldigan in the utmost respect, just as my own father did. Please, understand this.

(I don’t respect him very much, if that helps.)

Ares: Seliph… very well. I can stay my hand for now. However, be warned. Should I learn that even a single word of your claim is false, your life is forfeit in your father’s place. Do I make myself clear, Seliph?

Seliph: if that happens, then do as you must. Ares… I wish you could know just how ecstatic our fathers would be to know we’ve met at last. If only it had been under better circumstances…

Neat. Now, where were we? Oh right, IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR.

*snerk* I like how it took three people together to bring down the first Mage Sister, and Arthur alone completely wrecked the second.  Anyway, I have him and Julia blocking off the enemy; as long as Tinni doesn’t fuck this up and try to kill her invincible brother, I think we’re in a good place.

…

She’s gonna, huh.

*sigh* End turn.

Okay. So far so good. But there’s still one more…

Julia, I know you hunger for blood, but please don’t kill this one.

Tinni you magnificent bitch, dodging on a 93% hit chance. I love you.

Our turn, and I start it with Arthur:

Arthur: Really?! Then you’re Tinni! Oh, I’ve finally found you!

Tinni: Er… who are you?

Arthur: Here, maybe this will clear it up. This pendant is exactly the same as yours, and I’ve had it my whole life.

Tinni: Y-you’re right, but… what are you saying?

Arthur: See, years ago, my mother was a warrior in Sigurd’s army, and after the war she fled to Silesse with her children. When I was little, my mother and my newborn sister disappeared… I was left behind with nothing but this pendant. I only recently learned what happened. It was King Blume of Alster. He abducted them. He took my family from me. The rumors all said Mother had died awhile ago, but they also said my sister is still alive. That’s you, Tinni! I’ve finally found you after all these years! I came all this way just to see you again…

Tinni: I… I never even knew Blume did that to Mother… it makes sense, though. I can’t remember much of her, but I know I never saw her smile or laugh. You’re… my brother… ohhh… sniff…

Arthur: Would you play down your arms and join our army, Tinni? We’ve still got so much to talk about.

Tinni: Mm. Thank you, brother. I never did want to fight…

And that’s that. Let’s take a look at our new recruit:

And there’s Tinni! She gets a lot of flak because she’s hard to build super-well, but honestly I like her. She’s also hard to make bad; she doesn’t have Pursuit, but neither did Taillte and she did just fine. I suspect the people who don’t like Tinni are mainly the people who didn’t really like her mother either; I know she has a pretty wide selection of the fandom who view her as too poorly-built to use and she should be left childless. But unlike most of these chuckleheads, Tinni actually has a character arc, and for me that’s enough to bring her along. And you know, it’s not like she’s bad at combat. Wrath, Adept, and Critical are all fine skills, and while she won’t have growths as good as her crazy brother’s, she’s still got two different Holy Bloods.  In my experience, she’s gonna get on just fine.    

………………………

And then, I don’t know, either I forgot to save or my file got corrupted and I lost the last two turns. I… I was very sad. So I had to re-do them, and since that many shots would make the update unbearably long, I will summarize:  Ares got half the levels (people kept ignoring him to go after Ulster this time?) but he was able to kill his old boss and get the Skill Ring, Patty got a very good level thanks to Dermott leaving some half-dead dudes behind, and Julia almost murdered Tinni.   But, on the plus side, Finn finally got warped home to promote.  

*whistle* Take a look at that 25 Strength. That much power and a Brave weapon basically sets him up for the rest of the game, because he is gonna hit like a runaway freight train. Might have to be careful on defense, he’s only above-average in Speed and Defense and has no resistance worth mentioning, but as an offensive unit he’ll be a monster.  Let’s test him out in the arena while we’re here, he won’t be needed on the battlefield again for this map.

Finn: Seven wins, gained no levels. He might be a bit overpowered.  

Okay! End turn, this is going pretty well barring the occasional horrible glitch that I hate.  

…. Well, other than that. I underestimated how quickly they’d get to Leonster and… *cough* may have forgotten to move Fee once or twice, so I think the enemy will be taking the castle after all. It’s not a big deal, they’re really expected to, but I’m still a little annoyed this is happening because I didn’t think.  Ah, well, it will just be a quick detour to liberate it after Seliph finishes up at Darna. I have him head toward it, his army pausing at the edge of the defenders’ movement range (see, I can learn) and have the eastern group start moving up toward Leonster. Fee pauses in a position to challenge one or two of the armors, hopefully the whole group will turn to chase her and she can run up to the castle and hide inside.  End turn!

Jerks. You know, it’s kind of unfair that any of them can take a castle, but we can only have Seliph do it.  

God, you are just like your mother.

To the north, Darna’s defense line doesn’t take the bait. They must not move until attacked. Well.

Their loss. At our other army, I have Fee take out one armor unit:

And then run away, hiding out over the ocean to her west to avoid any other counter attacks.  She hasn’t got much health left, so she needs to avoid any damage until I can get Nanna or Julia up there to help her out. They’re on their way, so this will be turning around shortly.  End turn; no enemies are close enough to take a swing at us, so it goes immediately back to our player phase.  

Fantastic. Darna will fall on our next turn, and shortly after that the other team should be running into the unit who took Leonster. Fee probably won’t even die.  End turn! Once again, nothing on the enemy phase; they’re moving toward us, but they’re on the slow side.  On our turn, Julia patches up Fee to gain a level.

Hehehe. I’m legit impressed by how well her speed is doing, it tends to be a lower growth.  The rest of their unit parks on the local villages to await the incoming storm o’ units.  

Now then, Darna. First, clear the last defender:

 Bramsel is a general, despite appearances, and stat-wise he isn’t super impressive. His one and only real trick is that he’s packing a Horseslayer weapon, so cavalry had better be sure they’re gonna take him down if they take a swing at him.  He’s got no defense against distance attacks, but, like a doofus, I sent all the mages to the other army.  So, uh, Oifey… wanna try that javelin?

Bramsel: Darna is my city! Mine! Nobody will ever take it from me!

Well, it’s a start. Not sure this will work, but… Seliph, wanna give it a shot?

FUCKING PAVISE. Okay, so Darna will fall next turn.  End turn. Ya jackass game.

And that’s Bramsel. Our turn begins, and Seliph takes the castle.  

Lewyn: It was the last free land in Jugdral. In battle after battle, the overwhelming might of the Loptyr Empire had devastated the resistance. Ultimately, the last of the resistance soldiers barricaded themselves within Darna’s walls. Battered and wounded, they were nonetheless determined to fight to the bitter end. But then, suddenly, there was a miracle… from the heavens descended twelve gods, who bestowed upon twelve young warriors miraculous weapons and immense power. Thus were born the Twelve Crusaders, the heroes who led the resistance to victory.

Seliph: That was the legendary Miracle of Darna, yes?

Lewyn: The very same. And even as we speak, Seliph, another miracle is dawning. Just as the resurrection of Loptyr looms on the horizon, so too are the Crusaders themselves arising in our world once more…

Seliph: I beg your pardon?

Lewyn: Heh… don’t worry Seliph. You’ll understand soon enough.

(Well. Seliph may not have a ton in common with his father, but he clearly has Sigurd-tier obliviousness.)  

And of course he can’t rescue Lene because Seliph is standing in the way. Ironic, really; we could save Lene, our dancer, if we had a dancer to move Seliph. That’s Fire Emblem Philosophy 101, kids.  In any case, Lana starts warping people back to Melgen so they can have a shorter walk to rejoin the remaining action; Shanan goes first and Lana levels up.

Then, while he’s at a friendly castle, Best Prince takes the opportunity to run the Arena.

Shanan: Seven wins, gained one level: +1 HP, +1 Skill, +1 Speed, +1 Defense.

*sniff* I may cry. He’s doing much better than I’d expect from him, I tell you that much.

Now, to deal with the Leonster enemies, who are (finally) in range.

… Am I being trolled? Nanna? Are you trolling me? Because you’re doing the same fucking thing Ethlyn did.  You aren’t her child, Nanna. Leif is. If Leif didn’t get any magic ever I could understand it.  That’s genetics. But you’re just the same damn class!  I hate you.  

End turn.  Bitterly end turn.

…. Bitterness increasing.

*sigh* 25% chance to hit and she took it right on the jaw. Fire Emblem, ladies and gents!

Let’s… try this again. This time, let’s go mainly for the commander and try to take away their Leadership Stars, see if that works out better.

… Welcome to the team, Ethlyn 2. 

*sigh* Well, better. Nobody is dead, anyway.  Lana warps Seliph back to Melgen so he can start the long trek over to take some castles for us, and Ares goes into Darna to rescue his gal.

Lene: Ares…

Ares: Oh! Is everything okay, Lene?!

Lene: N-no… it’s not… but someone from the liberation army rescued me… and… I knew you’d come, Ares…

Ares: Lene… I beg your forgiveness… I was a fool! I should have heeded you…

Lene: It’s okay… after all, you’re here now…

Ares: I swear to you, I’ll never let this happen again.  

Lene: And I swear I’ll try to keep my big mouth to myself from now on! Don’t ever leave me again, Ares…

… Dark! Anyway, Lene has no signed up, and as you might have guessed she is Sylvia and Claude’s daughter. And like her mother before her, her stats and all that junk are irrelevant so I don’t need to waste time showing it! She’s a dancer so she’s amazing and will be very, very useful to the army in any situation. And unlike Sylvia, we can actually use her from day one because it doesn’t matter if she gets married.  Go team!

Oh, and speaking of the team, time to finish that actual ‘war’ thing.

Not bad at all, barring the fact Arthur has apparently decided he’s done with Perfect Levels. And with that, the map is basically over. The only enemy units remaining are Blume himself and the three generals in front of his castle. So it’s time, I think, to have assorted folks and units do stuff. I sell Seliph’s Brave Sword so I can pass it around, and have anyone who hasn’t finished the Arena take a shot at it.

Patty: Up to seven wins, gained two levels: +2 HP, +2 Skill, +1 Strength, +2 Luck, +1 Defense

Julia: Up to seven wins, gained one level: +1 HP, +1 Magic, +1 Luck, +1 Defense, +1 Resistance

Ares: Seven wins, gained two levels: +2 HP, +2 Strength, +1 Speed, +2 Luck, +2 Defense

Nanna: Seven wins, gained three levels: +3 HP, +2 Strength, +2 Speed, +1 Magic,, +1 Defense, +2 Luck, +1 Resistance

Leif: Seven wins, gained two levels: +2 HP, +1 Skill, +2 Strength, +1 Speed, +1 Luck, +1 Defense

Tinni: Seven wins, gained three levels: +3 HP, +2 Skill, +3 Speed, +1 Magic, +3 Luck, +1 Resistance

Also, Lana gains some levels from zapping people around:

And some conversations happen.

(“Ugh. More of the commonfolk. Oifey, where is my peasant-beating stick?!”)

Lene: I’m Lene, the Dancer!

Seliph: Y… you’re Lene?

Lene: Ooooh? Mister Seliph, is this the first time you’ve ever seen a dancer?

Seliph: Y-yes, miss…

Lene: Hee hee… that’s adorable!

(And it ends there. Lene knows what she wants in life, and it is to laugh at dorks.)

(

... Picture here an image of Leif introducing himself to Seliph. No such image exists because I’m a doofus.)

Leif: My parents both died in the Battle of Belhalla’s prelude… they were felled by a Thracian ambush. My homeland, Leonster, soon founds itself in the clutches of an Imperial occupation, and fell under the reign of its Duke Blume. If not for my knight, Finn, I wouldn’t be here today. He raised me in hiding in nearby villages, and we awaited the day Leonster would rise again.  We thought that day had finally come, but…

Seliph: … We both took to the battlefield around the same time, did we not? By now practically all of Jugdral knows of King Blume’s brutality. I sorely wish my army had arrived soon enough to properly aid you. You have my deepest apologies, Prince Leif.

Leif: No, Lord Seliph. I’m the one who should be apologizing. Our failure was squarely my fault.  However, this isn’t over yet. I am the son of Quan, a man worthy of being dubbed a Knight of Nova. I refuse to shame his legacy, and so I’ll live on. I’ll fight on, no matter the cost. To that end, Lord Seliph, my comrades and I would like to join your army.  I may not have much of an army left, but what I do have is yours. May we serve you well in restoring honor to Grannvale.  

Seliph: Thank you, Prince Leif.  Often have I heard it said that our fathers were inseparable friends, bound together to the bitter end in both life and death.  Not to mention your mother, Queen Ethlyn, is also my aunt…

(“Oh yeah, we’re literally cousins, forgot for a bit!”)

Seliph: Both of your parents gave their lives to support my father’s cause. Prince Leif, you have my deepest, most heartfelt apologies for their sacrifice.

Leif: Thank you, but that isn’t necessary. I’m proud of my parents, and have the utmost respect for Lord Sigurd. The only hatred I bear is for the true villains, Emperor Arvis and King Travant!

(Holy crap, Leif is logically blaming the people actually at fault? Are we sure he’s an anime teenager?)

Seliph: As do I. Prince Leif, in the name of our late fathers’ last wishes, I seek to restore peace and light to all of Jugdral. Please, join me in my cause!

Leif: Yes, milord! You have my blade as your own!

Dermott: Perfect! I’m your brother, Dermott!

(“Excuse me? I was always told my brother’s name was Diarm-“ “YUP, DERMOTT, THAT’S ME.”)

Nanna: What?! What… are you talking about…?

Dermott: I didn’t know until recently, either. King Lewyn told me everything.   In the war seventeen years ago, I was with the kids who fled to Isaach. But you were born after our mother went to Leonster.

Nanna: You… you’re my brother? Then where’s Mother now?!

Dermott: Er… ‘Where’s Mother’?  What are you getting at here, Nanna?

Nanna: I haven’t seen her in so long… when I was around three years old, she left us and traveled alone to Isaach, to try and find you. She never came back. I’ve waited to see her again for years…

Dermott: She did? But… but I never saw her…!

Nanna: You… didn’t? Then where is she…

Dermott: The Yied Desert… it’s a treacherous place. Very few lone travelers survive it…

Nanna: … No! Oh, mother…

(And Nanna gains +1 Luck from that, because… tragedy… builds character…?)

Tinni: I am Tinni… Arthur’s sister…

Seliph: Ah, of course. I’ve been told your story, Tinni.

Tinni: Um… I’m sorry!

Seliph: You’ve nothing to apologize for, Tinni. With the likes of King Blume for an uncle, I completely understand. You had no choice.

Tinni: Are… are you forgiving me, sir?

Seliph: Certainly! There’s no question that you’re not our enemy, and it would be an honor to have you with us.

Tinni: Wow… you’re everything the stories say you are! I wish we could’ve met sooner…

Seliph: Heh… thank you. Listen, Tinni… I know fighting your own family is a painful prospect, so please, don’t force yourself if you’re at all uncomfortable.

Tinni: Sir…

He actually means that literally.  Tinni vs. Blume is very painful to her, in a very literal, physical way.  He’ll kick her ass.  

All right. Now that we’ve gotten that all done, and Seliph has gone up to retake Leonster, the rest of the army turns to Blume.  He’s guarded by three generals, all of whom have Silver Blades and Steel Bows, so there isn’t a safe range to hit them from. But that’s nothing new. The real problem is Blume himself.

Yeah. Yeah. You remember Mjolnir, I hope, from when Reptor made our lives hell with it.  Well, Blume takes after dear old dad.  He can’t double attack with it, his only ability is Pavise, but he’s still very fast and hits very hard. And to make matters worse he has a droppable Silver Blade, so ideally we want someone who can use swords to bring him down. Realistically that means ‘Shanan or Ares’ because another Holy Weapon is your best shot at doing it without dying.    

So first things first, let’s move the guards.

Geez, these guys are beefy. That was to kill one of them.  Ulster, can you do better?

… Sorrrrrrta? He didn’t get hit in return, at least. But I also can’t get anyone else in position to support him, so he’s probably gonna get pounded in the face next turn.  Speaking of next turn, end turn!

CALLED IT!

Okay. Our turn, and there’s only one general left. Let’s clear that fucker out before we do anything else.

Ugh. I should point out that this is not actually the land of the Omni-Generals; Blume has four leadership stars and he buffs his troops up considerably. I take a few turns here to rest up, heal up, and send Shanan to liberate the remaining villages because he’s desperately short on cash.  Julia levels from healing:

You might have noticed she didn’t gain a point of magic? She’s already hit the cap. Can’t go higher until she promotes. I love my princess. <3

Now. Blume. He has conversations with three different characters, two of whom should not be allowed anywhere near him.  Since I love you guys, and I’m willing to use save states to cheese for story content, here they are.

(Frankly, I’m just amazed she hit him.)

Blume: Hmph! A likely retort, but only one of us will die this day, and it shall not be me!

(Well, he wasn’t wrong.)

Blume: Gah… impudent whelp! Just try me!

*whistle* Well. It was a close thing, but he clearly tried real good. It was caught at a bad moment, but that last shot was a crit that left Blume with only 13HP. And Ares is in range!  

Yeah, we’re not done with this jackass just yet.  Still, for the moment, Ares has a backup sword to use so he doesn’t burn through his Mystletainn all the time, and that’s all I asked for. Shanan spends the next few turns getting paid:

(Well. Only one now.)

Info Master: Ishtar’s ruling over Manster right now, and Ishtore’s posted at Fort Melgen, both doing Blume’s dirty work. Unlike their folks, they’re fine youths. You’ll be sure to face ‘em sooner or later… be on your guard, stranger.

(“They’re great kids! But, you know, they definitely will try to kill you.”)

Why Is He Smiling: His rule’s been one tragedy after another… Just when we thought he couldn’t get any worse, now he’s just letting those child hunts happen! We can’t take this anymore…

And with that, nothing else to do on this map, so let’s call it a day. Seliph, do the honors!

Lewyn: Eh, these sorts of things can’t be helped. After all, the war’s only just beginning.  

Seliph: And yet, the citizens are already all so eager to support us! I’ve seldom seen such joy…

Lewyn: For the first time, they’ve got hope for a future free from the Empire’s abuse.  YOU are the people’s last hope, Seliph, but the worst of the war still lies ahead.  

Seliph: Mm. And yet, I’ve so much incredible talent fighting by my side! With such amazing men and women with me, I know no challenge will be too great!

(I kind of morbidly wonder what he says if you let everyone die except him at this point.)

Lewyn: Yeah… you’ll all do just fine, Seliph.

 *whew* Well. Thank you for being chill about this for once, Lewyn.  I enjoy you more when you aren’t bitching at me.  Now then, see you all next week when… *shudder*

When Blume calls in… … … …

Her.

Resets: 24. It’s all downhill from here, folks.

Part 20

[greatprocrastinationgodsledyouto]

I’ve been rewatching “Little House on the Prairie” on TV recently and I came in just before my favorite episode came on, the two-parter “Sylvia.”  This episode may be triggering for some people (these episodes address rape against a young teenage girl), so I’ll put the rest under a read more. 

I just want to say that I am still s o  i m p r e s s e d with how this 1981 episode addresses the issue of Sylvia’s rape. These episodes aren’t perfect by any means, but there are still so many great, sad, and even funny lines and moments in this episode:

*First off, I really appreciate that this is a two-parter episode. Putting it mildly, this is a heavy subject matter, and I’m glad that the writers decided to let the story and characters breathe and grow and develop properly

*Michael Landon’s respectful writing, producing, and directing for these episodes

*Willie saying that he and the boys have a “nature project” as an excuse to, ahem, go see Sylvia

*Mrs. Olesen rightly standing up for Albert when Mr. Webb tries to physically hurt him for spying on Sylvia

*Mrs. Olesen rightly being disgusted when she learns that the boys were peeping on Sylvia 

*How funny Mrs. Olesen is when she asks Willie if he saw “the difference” when he went to go spy on Sylvia 

*Mrs. Olesen rightly calling a board meeting to address the problem going on between Sylvia and the boys (even if by this point, she is incorrect about who’s to blame)

*Despite using the old “boys will be boys” adage, it’s not used to justify that Albert, Willie, and the other two boys peep on Sylvia. Instead it’s used as a reason to explain why it’s necessary to have serious conversations with sons about how to treat women properly and respectfully

*Albert apologizing to Sylvia about peeping, and consistently tells the other boys to be respectful to Sylvia thereafter, and stands up for Sylvia whenever they tease and bully her

*The fake-out suspense that builds up when Sylvia is walking through the woods alone, thinking what she hears is just a flock of birds, but it really is her rapist. (I know that sounds like a weird way to phrase it, but it’s the only way I know how to right now, and I think the way it’s done is pretty important, since it shows that even those looking out for themselves can be attacked like that.)

*This episode may be why I hate clowns

*The episode showing Sylvia right after the rape, so we can see the full picture of how it’s affected her 

*The episode showing how being touched unexpectedly can trigger the memories of rape for survivors

*Dr. Baker and Laura knowing that Mr. Webb lied about Sylvia falling to explain her bruises (a common excuse to cover physical abuse), even if they can’t explain the cause

*Sylvia being open to love, despite her recent trauma

*The innocent summer-like romance that develops between Albert and Sylvia

*How concerned Albert is for Sylvia when she faints after school

*That a 1981 TV episode actually used the word “pregnant.” It’s not a word that would have been used at the time the show takes place, which I think just puts more weight on the violence against Sylvia

*How numb Sylvia is when she asks, “You blame me for this, don’t you? Don’t you?” and the equally cold and shaming reply from her own father, ”You reap what you sow.”

*Pa Ingalls reminding Albert not to hate or judge Sylvia without understanding the full circumstances behind her pregnancy

*The ugly close up of Mrs. Olesen’s teeth when she spreads the ugly news and gossip of Sylvia’s pregnancy and that Albert is the father after listening in on the phone call between Dr. Baker and Mr. Webb

*Albert standing up for Sylvia when Willie calls her a “tramp”

*Willie getting punched in the nose

*Twice

*Albert taking responsibility for Sylvia’s pregnancy, because he loves her 

*”Well, I don’t much care about what other people think, so long as I know I’m doing right.” YOU GO, ALBERT. MY SON IS BECOMING A MAN.

*Except, he’s still not one, no matter how much he tries to convince his parents otherwise

*Pa Ingalls chuckling and saying, “Good for her,” when Ma Ingalls storms out to take a walk when she’s angry about Mrs. Olesen spreading rumors about Albert and Sylvia

*Ma Ingalls’ quiet frustration as she kneads the dough 

*Ma Ingalls shoving the ball of dough into Mrs. Olesen’s face

*Ma Ingalls saying that even God Himself would have shoved that ball of dough in Mrs. Olesen’s face

*”I”ll be back in an hour, Nellie. Make sure your mother isn’t here.”

*Everything about Mama Bear Ingalls

*The continuance of Sylvia’s overactive flight-or-fight responses whenever she’s unexpected touched

*Albert genuinely wanting to care for and marry Sylvia, because he loves her, even if it’s not the right thing to do, since they’re so young (14/15)

*Sylvia pointing out that they’re too young

*Sylvia being open about how much her father’s abusive behavior scares her

*The episode’s portrayal of the negative effects of not believing victims and survivors when we see the betrayal in Sylvia’s face when her father asks, “How can I believe a whore?!”

*I’m sorry, but this time watching the episode, Pa Ingalls reminding Albert needs to wait until after finishing high school, college, and med school to even think about getting married just made me laugh. I mean, it’s the 1880s. What are the odds that Albert would actually get a proper high school education, if he were alive in that time period? Plus, that certain episode that brings Albert’s future into question....

*The Ingalls discussing that Albert, at 14, is not ready to face the commitment and heavy realities of married life

*Queen Mama Ingalls pointing out that loving Sylvia and loving her baby are two very different things

*Queen Mama Ingalls pointing out that, since Sylvia became pregnant through an act of violence, not love, that even Sylvia herself may have a hard time loving this baby

*Queen Mama Ingalls straight up asking if Albert has even asked Sylvia what she thinks of her baby

*Queen Mama Ingalls making Albert realize that he did not have this serious, necessary conversation with Sylvia (or anything beyond the early phases of teen love...)

*Queen Mama Ingalls

*Mr. Webb’s sadness after he lets go of his anger against Albert, whom he thought was the father of Sylvia’s baby

*The genuine panic I always feel when Sylvia’s rapist returns when she’s happy thinking it’s Albert

*Sylvia’s on point fight-or-flight responses. YOU BANG HIM IN THE HEAD WITH THAT WOODEN BOARD, GIRL!

*Sylvia being able to hang on to the dream of having a traditional church wedding

*”Kiss me, my love”

*THE UGLY TEARS I ALWAYS CRY AT THIS EPISODE. ALBERT AND SYLVIA TOGETHER WERE TOO PRECIOUS FOR THIS WORLD!!

I know this is a lot to spend on a tv episode that’s almost 40-years-old now by this point, but “Sylvia” is really a great episode with a respectful story arc, and has some of Matthew Laborteaux’s and Ma and Pa Ingalls’ strongest character moments, and, of course, Olivia Barash is perfect in the titular role. There’s a reason this episode was nominated for awards for its cinematography and Barash’s acting. 

[chellyfishing]

telling a violent story vs using violence as a story

i really want to write this essay but as usual i don’t have the spoons for doing it justice so it’s pretty much just extemporaneous word dumping. anyway.

every story has a different tone about where they draw the line with violence and death. you can probably think of a lot of examples of both ends of the scale. there’s a misconception that being higher up on the violence/death end of the scale is more adult and more realistic, which ps is bullshit thanks bye. if anything it’s a sign of immaturity but that’s sort of beside the point atm.

the point i wanna make is this: it’s not a secret that i have strong feelings about killing off major or otherwise sympathetic characters. i have an opinion about this that differs from the majority in that i don’t like a character dying in order to motivate another character. it’s tacky. it’s cheap. it’s boring. it’s overdone. and a character can motivate another character while like. still being alive? weird right? live characters always present more options than dead ones. (obviously discussions of character death but also #rape mention ahead.)

to me character death should be a result rather than strictly a catalyst. think about ASoIaF, which is much more violent and upsetting than my typical tastes lean but credit where it’s due, GRRM knows how to do character death. when you know they’re coming, it becomes incredibly obvious. choices, circumstances, motivations all come together to create this unavoidable moment. nothing exists in a vacuum. in ASoIaF, death is a result and a catalyst, but not purely for character motivation; rather, it changes the game itself, leading to a domino effect. ned’s death at the end of AGoT is unavoidable, and it turns things on their heads (heheh) for everybody. the red wedding is built up to for a long time, and obviously that goes on to have huge repercussions. so, counterintuitively, one of the most violent stories in the zeitgeist right now is, for the most part (not a perfect record) is telling a violent story without necessarily using violence as a substitute for a story.

contrast with GoT, which throws in rape and gore like glitter to accent their teenage/twenty-something boy hypermasculine wank power fantasy. GoT is at the other end and it’s super gross and disturbing.

one of the best-known and most prolific offenders of “death because death” is joss whedon. it seems to be the only way he knows how to create shocking “plot twists” and heavy emotional drama. and the worst of the worst sins was tara macclay on buffy. the thing about joss is that he thinks he’s being incredibly clever surprising his audience with this stuff. he’s said as much himself. there is no effort to build up to it. it’s just, well, nobody’s died for a little while so idk find something to impale someone on. tara’s death was everything death in fiction should not be. first of all she was a lesbian, and one in a happy relationship to boot. need say no more. second of all she was literally caught in the crossfire. the bullet that killed her was meant for someone else and it just happened to strike her down instead with no effort or chance to save her. third, it had to happen so willow could be evil for a bit. and fourth, most obnoxiously, that episode was the first and only time amber benson appeared in the opening credits. this was done deliberately. i wish i could find the quote but alas. to the best of my recollection joss said they wanted to do something like this with another character, possibly jenny calendar, but were unable. it was fully planned well ahead of time to “trick” the audience, which is kind of... sad? that you feel the need to resort to a meta trick like that to maximize shock value? (oh, and don’t even fucking start me on dr. horrible’s and penny. ffs, joss. that didn’t even fit the fucking tone. fuck.)

there are more examples (i am looking directly at you, the 100) but i think those two pretty much put the cap on that point.

death in a story can be important and moving without making the audience feel cheated. HIMYM is largely a light-hearted romantic comedy, but it’s also one about transitioning to adulthood and what that means. and unfortunately, adulthood often means unexpectedly losing loved ones. the death of marshall’s father was surprising, but less than to motivate marshall in some way, it’s more to clarify that adulthood means loss as much as it means gain. it means change more than anything. also story-wise it was a good choice of character, as marvin had deep important connections to a character we loved without leaving a gaping void full of what might have been.

wynonna earp is another story that knows where to draw the line. most of the “victims” are cartoon villains who are inhuman and already dead. the framing of the story leaves us no reason to have sympathy for these literal monsters. when a more sympathetic or humanized character has to go, it’s because there’s no other choice, and each time rather than being a motivator for wynonna, we can see instead the psychological toll it takes on her. she is someone who is surrounded by death, the one with this burden to make the hard decisions and pull the trigger. she killed her father on accident when she was just 11. she’s forced to kill beloved shorty, who is pretty much family and one of the few people who didn’t think she was trash, in order to save him and potentially a lot more. levi and fish were mercy kills that forced her to confront the fact that these monsters truly were once human. and in the finale she gets a double whammy: willa’s betrayal leaves her once again turning her gun on a family member and fatally pulling the trigger. we’re even relieved to see her shoot bobo, not just because she has to if she ever wants to break the curse but because again there’s another dimension to it, maybe even a tinge of mercy. bobo is not exactly sympathetic, but he is someone with dimension, someone we know. willa pretty much had to go story-wise, if nothing else she was a threat to wynonna’s position as the heir and the show is called wynonna earp. but her death also tied into the themes of the show: how to make and live with hard choices, how to stand up and be the one to do the unthinkable because you’re the only one and you have to, whether you want to or not, how to be the one who bears the hate of the very people you’re sacrificing everything to save.

and of course, i can’t not address harry potter, which i think is hit or miss. surprisingly i think cedric’s death was well-done and important, because it was shocking without being done for shock value, and because it was a result: a result of cedric being honorable and good and at the wrong end of the wand of a man who feels nothing about killing anything not useful to him. and ironically, it should have been a catalyst, but it wasn’t, but that’s its own story: the warning everyone failed to listen to, at their own peril. some deaths were organic in that jkr herself went against her plans once she realized what made more sense for the story. iirc, she’s on record as saying arthur weasley was originally meant to die when he’s attacked in ootp, but she spared him at the last minute. he didn’t need to die, it wouldn’t have added to the story, and killing arthur weasley is like joss whedon-level bullshit. on the other hand, she initially intended to let snape live (again iirc) but here she backed herself in a corner. snape was another result. it became obvious that according to the story there simply wasn’t a feasible way to save him, even if in context his death was for nothing. and of course la pièce de résistance, dumbledore, who is GRRM levels of inevitable and necessary.

i feel different ways about other deaths. they mostly happened for the sake of happening, to remind us it’s a war and people die in wars and she wanted faces and names we knew. that’s fair, as it goes. and i don’t begrudge the fact that she didn’t stop to dwell over some of them, because again, war, chaos, you don’t have time to grieve as it happens. but like. fred? i feel a little cheated. lupin and tonks? especially transparent and... unfulfilling. it was like bringing them together was done only to produce teddy, and then they became more useful dead first so harry would be more important to teddy and also because lupin needed to be there with harry in the woods alongside the rest of the marauders. i think of all the deaths these ones are the ones that bother me the most. just... really... meaningless.

also, the movie feeling the need to go a step further and giving us a nice close-up of lavendar brown’s very dead face because... aesthetic? it’s more ambiguous in the book, and even pottermore can’t seem to decide which way to go. it’s so irrelevant that people can’t agree it even happened.

death isn’t the only kind of violence in fiction or necessarily even the worst, but it is the one that’s always on hand like a tissue to grab as you need and the one that is abused by unimaginative writers who just... can’t think of how else to move the story forward. i do think there is a place for stories that involve rape, because it’s real and just like any other group survivors need to see themselves acknowledged as being real and more than their trauma. i don’t really feel too comfortable speaking for survivors here tbh but i do know that all of us need stories to keep us from feeling isolated and unworthy. but i cringe at the idea that it’s just something that happens to women and therefore let’s add it here, here, here, and here. using it as a turning point for the survivor like assault is enlightening and transformative is gross. using it as a turning point for someone else, usually a man, is A WHOLE LOT GROSSER.

also i just realized i didn’t get into tarantino, but i’m too tired for the kind of analysis his work requires. anyway one of the things i liked about kill bill, for example, is that the violence is so over-the-top that in places it’s comical. the whole film is just so extra. afaik that’s what tarantino was going for.

quick shout-out to snk: my favorite comedy. when this first came out it was hailed as The Best Thing Of The Year, it was SO GOOD, so quality. anyway so i finally got around to watching it. i watched it twice in relative succession in fact. and i laughed a lot. you can ask @second-stringer, she was like “oh my god, i’m in a room with a sociopath.” snk is so extra, but i... don’t think that’s what it was going for. i think it was going for shock! and drama! and plot twists! and look at all that blood and gore and dead people! this is obviously Very Mature! i feel so cool and grown-up watching it! and (sorry, not to get passive aggressive at my mutuals who were into it at any point, this is honestly about conversations i had with or read between people not on tumblr/in other contexts) the general trend was the raves were coming from the younger and frequently male audience. like it was the usual kind of thing where you couldn’t be like, are you... serious? didn’t you find it kind of... ridiculous? because you would be mobbed by rabid fanboys eager to mansplain that i don’t know i stopped listening. anyway, the steep decline in worship for the series over time leaves me feeling smug and satisfied. i actually might still watch it out of morbid curiosity and in the hopes that it’s as funny or, prayer circle, even funnier.

in conclusion, bobby has an email from me that includes a lot of yelling, “DON’T KILL THE LESBIAN. DON’T FUCKING DO IT.” this is my contribution to the cause.

[ghiraheeheeheem]

I'd kind of like to expand on that thing with rape jokes, just, hear me out for a moment. According to every psychological study, if we are to move past something we must be able to encounter it regularly and pulling back from it actually increases the damage, now obviously with something that severe, jokes shouldn't be the first thing, and I personally will never make a rape joke, it's far too difficult to make one, anything I would make would definitely come off as insulting and I would feel--

ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE over that. I suppose a better way of putting it isn’t jokes are the coping mechanism but humor, the actual ability to laugh is the coping mechanism. Of course they’re also a bonding mechanism as well, but it is one of the main things humor can do, I mean, if you look at war stories soldiers in the most terrible positions make jokes about their stuff. It isn’t for everyone, and some people need much more gentle touch ESPECIALLY with something that serious. 

I’m just trying to point out it isn’t wrong to laugh at a joke no matter how horrible the joke may be. Because it is a joke. I get where you can call it desensitization, and there are times I believe that is definitely a legitimate statement, that it IS desensitizing and we CERTAINLY shouldn’t make these jokes standard, but I also believe adults can identify the difference between something said in a comedic area and something said in a serious tone, but there’s times and places for these things. 

Just don’t say because you like or make this kind of joke that means you don’t care or there is something wrong with a person as that post implied, just as there isn’t something wrong with you if you don’t laugh and feel offended. Different strokes for different folks. 

Rape is something incredibly traumatic, it is a devastating thing, and it takes a long and slow recovery. This is something that does cause LEGITIMATE PTSD so it is something that needs to be warned. I’m really just saying liking OR hating rape jokes does not make someone bad, immoral, or humorless. Your post asked why rape jokes are funny, so I wanted to give an answer. 

I think perhaps… we should put the concept (rape jokes) in terms of the context (our culture). As an anthropologist, and yes, I have a degree and everything, I think the reason that many consider and push for rape jokes to be more taboo is because of the prevalence of the problem. 

It’s not something that we see all the time in the headlines perhaps, because the nature of rapes makes them not often reported, or not reported immediately. And even when they are, it’s usually not enough of a story to make papers, or it is kept on the down low for privacy reasons. It’s not murder for instance where word spreads quickly and openly. What I’m trying to say is… when rapes happen, you don’t usually hear about it. And as a result, it is not recognized as being as much of a problem as it is. 

I could probably write a book about all the problems we culturally have regarding rape. Problems with rapists not being held accountable or punished harshly for such a serious crime, problems with how we view the victims (e.g. she was asking for/wanted it OR he should have just enjoyed it), problems that stem from covert and enculturated sexism within our culture. Cans and cans and cans of worms that all result in rape being prevalent while being dismissed as either not frequent, not serious, or both by a frightening percentage of the population.

Now… I think murder is also a very serious and very devastating crime. But people joke about killing people, don’t they? Well murder isn’t as prevalent of a problem culturally speaking. People are afraid of being murdered, sure, but it is much less of an omnipresent threat as that of being raped. And in the unlikely event that someone DOES get murdered, people will certainly not question whether it was deserved. It will be taken very seriously. No one will ask the victim’s family if the victim ever had suicidal thoughts or made comments about wanting to die. We don’t see murder as something that can be justified culturally.  (It’s not a perfect analogy. You can’t rape someone in self defense. Rape is a unique circumstance and it is difficult to find a perfect parallel.)

So why am I bringing all this information to the table? What difference does it make what the cultural perception of rape is compared to that of murder? Well, the harm that comes of it. 

There is the matter of prevalence. If you make a joke about rape, it is FAR more likely to be heard by a rape survivor or a rapist than it is to be heard by a murderer or someone who has suffered a loss from a murder. Partly because there aren’t as many murders and partly because generally people who murder are locked up for a very long time.

Then there is the matter of impact… See the thing is… you and I know rape is atrocious. A lot of people do. But… because of the cultural perception of rape, there are a lot of people who do NOT recognize it as atrocious. To you and I it’s not a gray line. It is black and white. Rape is wrong, no doubt about it. But to a lot of people the line is fuzzier. Depends on what the victim was doing/wearing/etc. It depends on if the attacker was under the influence. Some people honestly don’t think it’s that big of a deal at all. You want proof? Just look at the things politicians have said about rape. And politicians of all people, because if they justified murder or theft the same way they justify rape, how long do you think they would last in office?

And that’s really what it comes down to. That’s the point I’m trying to get at. Because to too many people in this culture, rape is not taken seriously. And that’s why joking about it causes legitimate harm. Because to those people who already don’t think it’s a big deal, joking about it re-enforces what they already believe. That it’s not a big deal. And validating to them that others feel  the same way. 

On the flipside, turning to them and saying “Hey, that’s not funny. You shouldn’t joke about that.” Tells them they are among people who DO take it seriously. So seriously that it’s not even okay to joke about. And if it happens enough, the people who don’t take rape seriously will start to realize that they are the outsiders. It’s not enough on it’s own to change the whole problem, but it’s a step in the right direction. It’s like recycling. Every bit helps. And bonus, you aren’t upsetting rape survivors who may be in the vicinity without you realizing.

I hope someday we live in a world where rape is so scarce and taken so seriously in reality that we can joke about it. Really I do. Joking about rape is not objectively bad. It is only bad in the context of the culture that we live in. And until such a time that it is no longer as big of a problem as it is, I think we are right to call it offensive, inconsiderate, and harmful.

Let me know if you feel this did not address your points.

[representativecharacters]

What characters can be submitted?

In short, whatever groups are underrepresented in the media. This includes, but is not limited to, the following groups:

LGBT+ members

POC characters.

Characters with disabilities

Characters with mental illnesses.

Addiction 

Religious characters*

*This will be on a case by case basis; if the character is, say a Christian in America, they will not be accepted as they are already thought to be the norm. However, if a character is from a region where it is underrepresented (ex. Christians in India) they may be included.

Are there any characters that can’t be submitted? 

Yes. representation has to be canon, number one. Non-canon examples, such as queerbaiting, will not be accepted. Please remember that fanon =/= canon. Although some headcanons are popular within a fandom, they do not count as actual representation - and this doesn’t mean the blog doesn’t love those headcanons, but this blog is about canon rep that people can watch and explicitly see rep in/is known for this representation. Examples include: 

Dean Winchester from Supernatural - not a canon mlm character

Harry Potter - not a canon desi character

Peter Parker from the MCU - does not canonically have ADHD 

Characters who are heavily represented - if a character is a white Christian man, for example, they are already represented heavily in the media. While they can obviously be important to you, they are not meant for this blog. 

Characters who have threatened, attempted, or did rape another character. 

Pedophilic characters, including “non-acting” characters. 

Characters involved in hate groups (such as Nazis, KKK, etc.). For superhero/fantasy groups - if the character had to do it for a job, or was brainwashed, or realized they were wrong and stopped, they may be submitted, but characters who knowingly and willingly went along may not be submitted. 

These are submissions that I will not accept under any circumstances; if I am aware/made aware that these characters fall under any of these categories, the submission will be deleted. I also reserve the right to deleted submissions that may also be triggering/offensive that aren’t mentioned here. 

Does the representation have to be canon?

Yes. There are many blogs who will take non-canon submissions (who will be added soon), but we want to celebrate the characters who are canonically representing specific groups. Therefore, we will not accept queerbaiting, or any other implied subtext - we would like canon examples as a reference for people who want to see themselves represented.

In this case, canon counts as:

Explicitly stated in-canon: If the content specifically has the character say: “I am ____”, that is the most ideal form of canon representation, or if it’s stated by another character (*in terms of they know the character is this, instead of speculating). This tends to supersede all other forms of representation (ex. if a character says in-show they’re pan but an actor or writer later says they consider them bi, the pan label stands, as that was what was shown/portrayed/stated to the audience watching).

Shown in-canon: Unfortunately, most shows don’t have characters explicitly stating their rep. But, they do at least show it - for example, Tony Stark clearly has signs of a panic disorder throughout the Marvel series (not in a one-off episode like procedurals or superhero shows may show). There can be speculations on what it is, and signs point to PTSD, but it’s not explicitly mentioned. So, a submission for him would be “mental illness”. Or, a character who’s expressed attraction to men, women, and/or nonbinary people may be largely considered bi in fandom, but a submission would say “mspec”, “mlm”, or “wlw” as we do not know the specific label used.

Actor-stated: if the content shows the character as [xyz] and the actor gives a specific label, it is fine to submit the character as what the actor says (ex. Sara Lance in Arrow wasn’t stated to be bi until years later on LOT, but she was in a relationship with both a male and female character at points in the show, and her actress specifically stated that she is bi throughout this time). 

Word of God: There may have to be an “issues” section in these submissions due to the fact that many Word of God (aka creator-stated) rep isn’t explicit to the audience, but it still counts as canon as it comes straight from the creator 

Coded representation: This is the one I want to be most careful with, especially because there are many coded characters - of all types, but I’m going to go with characters coded to be gay/ace/lesbian/etc. in this example. I don’t want to accept say, queerbaiting, as representation. I generally reserve this for shows/books/movies/etc. that had to censor their representation due to the network they were on (ie. Leverage, Legend of Korra) or had to be careful due to the time period (ex. queer-coded characters in Old Hollywood movies). 

We prefer canon examples that explicitly show or state the representation in the piece itself; however, we understand that certain types of representation can be hard to find, and will accept a writer’s words to be canon. 

Can I submit a character with [x] representation? 

In most cases, absolutely. Historically on this blog, submissions tend to fall under these umbrellas: religious, disorders, disabilities, sexuality, race, and abuse survivors. However, there can definitely be other characters submitted who don’t “fit” into any of those umbrellas, and if you’re unsure, shoot me an ask!

Are there other blogs I can submit to?

We accept all characters, but we would love to suggest other blogs that also take in character sheets/submissions - and who will take both canon and non canon sources.

@c-ptsdcharacteroftheday

@bi-characters

@transcharacters

@jewishcharacteroftheweek

@acecharacters

How do I submit? 

You can either use the submit button (while following this template) or this submission via google forms. 

 I want my submission to be anonymous

If you submit via submission box, please specify that you want to be anonymous! If you submit via Google forms, there’s an option right there on the form. 

Can I request [x] character? 

Absolutely! Just double-check that they’re not already on our requests list

Can I submit a character with [x] representation? 

In most cases, absolutely. Historically on this blog, submissions tend to fall under these umbrellas: religious, disorders, disabilities, sexuality, race, and abuse survivors. However, there can definitely be other characters submitted who don’t “fit” into any of those umbrellas, and if you’re unsure, shoot me an ask! 

What’s the posting schedule? 

As of right now, the submissions have been on Mondays & Fridays at 1 PM, and should the schedule change; I’ll update it.

I submitted a character, but they aren’t in the queue. Should I resubmit? 

Please give me a 1-2 week waiting time. I’m currently in school, studying for two boards, and will be starting rotations in the summer, so I’m not always on Tumblr, and when I am, it’s to relax on a break. If I haven’t updated anything within 2 weeks, please shoot me an ask or chat!

I don’t think [x] counts as representation/Why did you allow [x] to be submitted/Other clear discourse asks: 

Discourse will not be tolerated on this blog, and if you send it you’re literally just wasting your time. I’m not going to argue with people on what representation is the “most” important or valid, and this is about celebrating the different and varied types of rep out there.

There was a mistake/update on [x] submission: 

Please message or PM me for this instead of commenting on the post, as I might miss that notification. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible (again, please give me a grace period for responses) and update/correct a submission if needed.  

[eichy815]

Yes, I *Do* Get to Comment About Sexism...

The #MeToo movement has been going strong for four months-and-counting...but some people are still finding ways to make it about their anger toward society rather than giving a voice to everybody who doesn’t have one.

First, for any of you who haven’t read them yet, allow me to reference two of my more recent editorial pieces:  “#MeToo: Oh, But Not You” (from November 2017) and “I Don’t ‘Consent’ To This Narrative” (from December 2017).

In the latter op-ed, I had cited actress Minnie Driver – who’d lashed out at actor Matt Damon back in December for characterizing the sexual misconduct of powerful male authority figures as being part of “a spectrum of behavior.”  In his ABC News interview, Damon had elaborated that there’s “a difference between patting someone on the butt and rape or child molestation.  Both of those behaviors need to be confronted and eradicated without question, but they shouldn’t be conflated.  I think it’s wonderful that women are feeling empowered to tell their stories and it’s totally necessary.”

Rebutting Damon’s viewpoint, Driver (who had dated Damon, for awhile) berated Damon during a lengthy tirade in which she’d railed against the male species for failing to be sensitive toward women (as a whole) amid the rise of #MeToo.

On Feb. 20, Driver gave another interview where she once again lit into Matt Damon (seemingly unprompted).  In a conversation with People’s Mike Miller, Driver name-dropped Damon by alleging that he “represented every intelligent, nice white male who feels it is their job to comment on the way that women metabolize stuff.”

She followed it up by ranting:

That somehow we should have a hierarchical system whereby touch on the arse is this, tits is this, you know, front bottom, back bottom, over the shirt, rape!  That there would be some criteria...Women get to be heard.  You get to be seen and heard and the accusers get to hear that and get to metabolize that and then there is due process and then there is healing.

Yet, she had also amended *those* quotations by insisting “there’s no way to move forward unless we do this together.”

So, as a self-described “nasty male” who also happens to be white, myself...allow me to discuss why Driver and her ilk are full of shit.

First, let’s look at where the #MeToo movement could be headed.  Most everyone would agree that the initial step should be to disempower the male authority figures who have faced allegations – Donald Trump, Harvey Weinstein, Larry Nassar, Matt Lauer, Kevin Spacey, James Toback, Bill Cosby, Mario Testino, Brett Ratner, Mark Halperin – from multiple victims whose claims are too numerous and too ubiquitous to be merely circumstantial.

Upon weeding out and overthrowing these offenders from their power positions, there will remain a whole different set of allegations under which the circumstances are murkier or grayer areas.  Whether it’s Aziz Ansari engaging in predatory behavior or Justin Timberlake supposedly being tone-deaf to white male privilege – many of these scenarios are going to require a lot more intensive listening, debating, and introspection.  

These “gray area” circumstances are what I believe that Matt Damon was trying to address, within his initial comments back in December.  Do I agree with him?  Partially.  Rape and non-consensual groping are both serious offenses, but rape arguably warrants a much harsher punishment.  I also agree with Minnie Driver when she says that the targets of either such act have the common right to be heard and see justice for the sins committed against them.

But acknowledging that there’s a “spectrum” of types of abuse is totally reasonable.  After all, The View’s Sara Haines has expressed this viewpoint on multiple occasions during her daytime talk show’s daily panel discussions.  Yet, Driver hasn’t raked Haines over the coals for having made those statements on The View.

What’s clear to me is that Driver is using whatever personal hostility she still wields toward Damon (in the aftermath of their breakup) – as well as the sentiments she harbors of misandry against males, in general – to make toxic blanket statements that reduce the discussion down to a male/female binary.

Damon didn’t express himself clearly.  He probably would have been better off just keeping his mouth shut, since he’s evidently unable to articulate the nuances of his viewpoint.  But if Driver thinks she’s some “crusading queen bee” by using sexist and racist language as an excuse to give Damon a public “dressing-down”...she is sadly mistaken.

Virtue-signaling much, Minnie?

Other “feminist” voices out there have joined Minnie Driver in trying to perpetuate gender wars.  Some of their motives (including Driver’s) might be well-meaning.  They don’t want survivors of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and rape to be silenced by society (or by its misogynistic power players).  They wish for survivors to overcome trauma and humiliation that they suffer in the aftermath of being victimized.  They desire the cultivation of a society where our children aren’t conditioned to follow such rigid gender roles in the first place.

But the shrill segment of these voices who continue to frame the problem as strictly a “male-versus-female” conflict are, quite frankly, doing a disservice to the movement itself.  In fact, they are creating the environment for a new binary culture (based on misandry, rather than misogyny) that will only exacerbate current tensions.

In early-January, Lindy West of The New York Times wrote a piece entitled “Why is Fixing Sexism Women’s Work?”  The purpose of West’s op-ed was to examine the question of why it should be incumbent upon targets of sexual crimes (in the case of her own argument, women) to argue for their own safety and equality.  She makes the case that high-profile men should join in the boycotts, surrender their wealth or power, and participate in self-deprecating acts in order to stand in solidarity with women.

It’s interesting that West makes these rather idyllic suggestions while praising the #TimesUp initiative.  Since “Time’s Up” is an example of a constructive effort to empower survivors (and discourage the aggressive acts, themselves, from the onset), it’s unnecessary for West to take it upon herself to dictate the terms under which men (or boys) should participate in the #MeToo movement.  She concludes her piece by saying it’s a male responsibility to abolish misogyny.  What she conveniently omits, on the flip side, is a statement proclaiming how females also have a responsibility not to normalize “female exceptionalism” or a hypothetical societal matriarchy – probably because both West and Driver are guilty of this sentiment themselves, and would in fact desire to see it come to pass.

Misogyny is EVERYONE’S responsibility to eradicate.  Powerful men have more influence when enacting institutional changes.  But socially and culturally, gender-based power struggles are only going to be inflamed and misconstrued if we try to replace one rigid binary (misogyny) with another (misandry).  The answer should be power-sharing and gender-neutral parity within our institutions; not gender-specific proclamations of exceptionalism or superiority.

A doctor wouldn’t treat/heal someone’s broken arm by proceeding to break someone else’s leg, right?

Now comes the point in the discussion where my critics will accuse me of harboring an #AllLivesMatter perspective.  Such insistence, folks, would be a pathetic example of deflection on their part.

On the her VictimFocus blog, psychology researcher Jessica Eaton expresses frustration with how people try to derail the conversation (about violence or discrimination toward women) as what she refers to as “whataboutery” or “whataboutism.”  Eaton recounts how she often gets personally attacked for empowering women and girls, even though she and her husband jointly run an organization called The Eaton Foundation to focus on male mental health issues.  Just because Eaton wants emphasis to be placed on female needs, that doesn’t mean she hopes to see male needs neglected by default.

Here, Eaton accurately diagnoses the problem:  patriarchy breeds male entitlement.  She is rightfully angered by the double standard where she receives praise when she focuses on men’s issues but experiences a toxic backlash whenever she focuses on women’s issues.

Yet, there’s a crucial ingredient in the recipe that Eaton overlooks, even if only implicitly.  Toxic masculinity, as most feminists would agree, has created and enabled androcentrism.  But, frequently (although not 100% of the time), the ire that Eaton describes coming from many males is also due to society’s overall failure to combat “toxic masculinity” with “healthy masculinity.”  Additionally, there’s a problem when we look at the dubious ways in which media commentators go about doing that (or, “fail to do that,” as the case may be).

This isn’t Eaton’s fault, at all.  Nor is it the fault of female empowerment activists per se.  Instead, it’s the fault of a one-sided media message that seeks to combat misogyny by placing “neofeminism” on some pedestal in the name of “evening things up.”

Eaton herself may not actually (or directly) be doing this.  But Minnie Driver certainly is.  Lindy West is veering extremely close to this zone.  And many women (and some virtue-signaling men) do this within our society on a daily basis.  This hateful defense mechanism isn’t any more justified than the misogynistic oppression that’s prevailed for centuries.

In a column for USA Today, Alia E. Dastagir criticizes the insinuation from many observers that an excess of false claims could threaten to derail the entire #MeToo movement.  Dastagir calls out this false objection as an excuse for misogynists to discredit female survivors as gold-diggers or fame-seekers.  She points out, in the words of UCLA gender studies professor Juliet Williams, that there’s a difference between “believe all women” and “believe women.”  

Dastagir’s overriding point is that the stigma of “slut-shaming” generates a culture of self-consciousness and humiliation that can often deter victims from reporting the horrible acts committed against them.  She’s right about this, unequivocally.  But that stigma also extends to boys and men who are survivors of sexually-charged abuse, harassment, and rape.  It extends to members of the LGBT community who also encounter such misogyny because we don’t fall into society’s neat little heteronormative boxes.

At this juncture in the discussion, Jessica Eaton would probably accuse me of “whataboutism.”  

But to deny this reality is heterosexist and cissexist.  It fails to acknowledge how white heterosexual cisgender females aren’t the only ones victimized by the misogynistic patriarchy that we all seemingly wish to transcend.  And, no, Minnie Driver – throwing in some catty little reference to how Matt Damon happens to be a “white male” is NOT doing anything meaningful to rectify actual systemic inequities.

With any type of discrimination against any group, there can be copious factors involved.  For example, gender-fluidity advocate and speaker Benjamin Di’Costa points out how religious fundamentalism so frequently exacerbates sexual trauma for LGBT survivors.  It’s a tough process, he concedes, to reclaim confidence or one’s own sexuality in the aftermath of a sex crime.  But unlike the various women whom I’ve previously cited, Di’Costa lifts up readers by reinforcing a message that finding the right lover is paramount for one’s happiness and sexual fulfillment.  It’s essential, he argues, that any intimate relationship be based on making love with someone who will be sensitive to each of our own individual needs.

Dorothy Espalage, a Professor of Psychology at the University of Florida, conducted a five-year empirical study on how misogyny and toxicity snowball from childhood into adulthood.  Bullies in middle school and high school, she generalizes, tend to be popular and powerful amongst their peers.  There is also a correlation between sexual harassment and bullying in adolescent perpetrators...starting in their K-12 years, and continuing into their adult-based careers and sex lives.

Espalage’s research identifies homophobic invective (such as “gay” or “fag”) inflicted upon students in a negative context when bullying occurs in elementary, middle, and high schools.  The common denominator is that “such homophobic language is used to assert power over other students” and “set the stage for the development of sexual harassment.”  Such mistreatment is exerted, according to Espalage, when female students fail to act “feminine” enough or when male students fail to act “masculine” enough.

She does acknowledge that boys (in schools) are more often the aggressors, especially when it comes to physical assault.  But, nonetheless, both girls and boys report being targeted by such aggression.  Espalage recommends Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) programs that “use activities and the teaching of skills like empathy, anger management, problem-solving, communication skills, impulse control, etc.”

And just last week, Cathy Young (reporting for the Los Angeles Times) found that reporters of sexual assault – even amongst adults – have been as high as 40% male (with attackers being females) within studied populations.  As documented by Young:

Scholars studying the subject have been attacked as apologists for misogyny.  Battered women’s advocates tend to explain away female violence as almost entirely defensive, despite evidence to the contrary.   One reason for this attitude is solidarity with women as victims; another is the dogmatic view that battering is an expression of patriarchal power...Abused men have faced widespread biases from police, judges and social workers, who tend to assume that the man in a violent relationship is the aggressor and to trivialize assaults by women.  Much of this prejudice stems from traditional sexism: battered men violate stereotypical expectations about manliness.  Yet, feminists perpetuate such sexism when they deny the reality of male victims and female abusers.  Equality should include recognizing women’s potential for abusive behavior.

Female-on-male violence is often assumed to be harmless, given sex differences in size and strength.  Yet women may use weapons – including knives, glass, boiling water and various household objects – while men may be held back from defending themselves by cultural taboos against harming woman.  Overall, studies find that female-on-male assaults account for 12% to 40% of injuries from domestic violence...Men also make up about 30% of intimate homicide victims, not counting confirmed cases of female self-defense.

Solving this problem – including all of the scenarios and epidemics that are being called out by the #MeToo movement – is complex...and requires all hands on deck.  I say this as a male survivor of various sex crimes, myself.  This is why you will never be able to convince me that the #MeToo movement should only include female voices.  That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t combat misogyny and the patriarchy – of course we should!  Misogyny and patriarchal “ideals” are what have gotten us to this undesirable point, in the first place.

But the initial step is much more nuanced and multifaceted than Minnie Driver would have us believe...

Again, as I stated in my November op-ed:  this isn’t an #AllLivesMatter argument.  If you try to accuse me of making an #AllLivesMatter argument, *YOU* are part of the problem.  

I fully anticipate getting peppered with heaps of statistics and case studies emphasizing frequency and quantity over individual crimes.  It’s funny that a lot of those same people are the ones who decry “slut-shaming” – even while they simultaneously try to “sissy-shame” or “male-shame” my voice into submission.  They will invoke “white male privilege” without giving one iota of consideration to what I’ve been through in my life.

But, until the day I die, I’ll continue demanding a voice for anyone who is silenced.  

Penis or vagina.  

Pale or tan.  

Old or young.  

Straight, gay, or bi.

Cis or trans.  

Wealthy or poor.  

Big or small.  

Tall or short.  

Monotheist, atheist, polytheist, or agnostic.  

Able-bodied or otherwise.

That isn’t an #AllLivesMatter approach – it’s called compassion.  It’s called embracing equality at its core.  It’s called being a human being.

The party line (or company line) from The Minnie Driver Brigade is that males shouldn’t get to have a voice in this conversation by virtue of the fact that we are males.  They insist that it is our turn to be silenced and our turn to listen.  Yet, despite their proclamations of desiring social justice, they don’t seem to have any problem with letting white, heterosexual, cisgender females take it upon themselves to try to begin controlling the narrative.

I will never stop calling out that type of stance (expressed by such an archetype) as being heterosexist, cissexist, ageist, racist, and ableist.  

If that makes me a “nasty gentleman”...I plead guilty.  And damn proud of it, too!

[thelillykane]

uggggh i cbf looking @ the questions so! 1-10 for veronica mars and 10-20 for btvs!

Veronica Mars: 

What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?

People who ship Veronica with Piz like….what gives!!! Sure Piz is “nice” – a total throwaway word/phrase, mind you – and he has decent taste in music (he skipped a Yo La Tenga concert to see Veronica for like six seconds that’s dedication I always gotta give him props for that I would never miss a Yo La Tenga concert for anyone) and he knows what he wants to be when he gets older and has like The Plan or whatever and all of those are objectively admirable qualities. Veronica before Lilly died & the whole town of Neptune + the world + her two remaining best friends + her mom proceeded to fuck her over would’ve really enjoyed that I think and they would’ve been compatible. He would’ve been a “nice” run-of-the-mill, generic college boyfriend. 

Fact is, they don’t meet under those circumstances. That version of Veronica – softer, less jaded – doesn’t exist anymore, especially not for somebody who didn’t even know her then. Fundamentally, Veronica needs to be with somebody who will let her tape people to telephone poles and black mail them and break the law when necessary because that’s what Veronica needs right now. She’s angry and she wants to make people pay and she doesn’t need to be with the guy who listens to her get cat called in the Cafeteria and tells her to “let it go” and that “karma will get him eventually.” This is Neptune, California and Veronica’s lived there her whole life and she’s seen practically every shitty thing the place has to offer and eventualities and letting shit go doesn’t work for her. She needs to be with someone who gets her ruthlessness and her grudges and that permanent taste of copper in her mouth. Piz isn’t that person. 

Also, Veronica and Piz have two conversations that stick in my mind the first is during 3x01 and they’re watching Logan fight some guy in the cafeteria (re: taser him) and Piz doesn’t know that’s Veronica’s boyfriend so he comments, “I’m a lover, not a fighter” and Veronica gives him this sort of indulgent, I-have-no-idea-what-you’re-talking-about smile because they’re watching Logan fight and that is Veronica’s boyfriend and Veronica’s the one who gave Logan the taser to use in the first place and because Veronica knows that if the roles were reversed and she was stepping in to stop a friend of hers from getting their ass kicked she’d be doing the exact same thing as Logan. Then, Logan walks over and gives Veronica her taser back and they kiss and Piz gets this look like “Oh” because Veronica’s dating the ~fighter~ in this scenario (even though Logan Echolls is both, but) and exchanging chaste, tender kisses with him afterwards and that means that Piz, right away, is not in her equation anywhere. Because Piz would never do that. The series goes on to show us that Piz would never do that. 

The second is their infamous conversation in 3x10: 

PIZ: I figure, you know, I mean, I know what I like. Why waste my time?

VERONICA: Like, why bother with something not good just because it’s something?

PIZ: Especially when you know the difference, which not many people do. I mean, do you?

VERONICA: I…I think I do.

PIZ: You see, I think that’s like ninety percent of life, just knowing the difference.

And Veronica knows the difference and she’s thinking of Logan and immediately following this conversation with Piz she drives to Logan’s and kisses him with that lovesick, yearning look on her face and they get back together and Piz see’s them together the next morning in cafeteria and he’s hurt because during that conversation he thought he and Veronica were maybe talking about one another or whatever and then he realizes that Veronica was talking about Logan because Veronica loves Logan and she wants to be with Logan and Logan is her “knowing the difference” and I just don’t get how people can watch these scenes and think that who Piz is as a person aligns with who Veronica is as a person 

anyway that gotta hella long but i feel strongly about this! 

Have you received anon hate? What about?

I haven’t! I’ve sort-of received anon hate by proxy, which means that I wrote this and my best friend reblogged it and then received this ask, even though she herself hadn’t actually said anything on the topic and had merely reblogged my heated I-can’t-believe-we’ve-been-having-this-fight-for-years post. 

Most disliked arc? Why? 

I have a lot ranging from “this makes no sense plot wise” (everything that happened in My Mother, The Fiend for example) and “I will stab whichever writer did this” (the feminists-fake-a-rape storyline comes to mind for that category). 

Ultimately, or at least for right now, it’s gotta be them making Meg Manning get pregnant with Duncan Kane’s child ffs, putting her in a coma, revealing that surprise! she’d been abused her whole life, killing her off, and then having the only thing left for Duncan to do to get custody of this kid be kidnapping the child and relocating to Australia. First off, Meg Manning didn’t deserve to die and Second off, Duncan Kane is from a wealthy, prominent family, had documentation that Meg’s parents were abusive, and had written documentation from Meg expressing intent to have the child raised by a distant relative. All of that means that Duncan could have easily obtained custody of the child. I get writing his character off, I don’t mind that, but seriously? They couldn’t think of fucking….any other way to accomplish it. Almost anything else would’ve been better. Killing Meg off was cheap and the storyline was cheap and it just…I’m not a fan. 

There’s tons of other storylines I despise as well. For a show I love it sure did a lot of shit I could do without in my life, but this one always sticks with me because it made no sense and cost a great female character her life. Ugh. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 

Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

I’m a sucker for season six. And by “a sucker for” I mean that I’m pretty sure season six is my favorite season (i’ve only watched the show all the way through once, which amazes me, but I’m fairly certain folks).  I live for episodes like “Once More With Feeling”, “Tabula Rasa”, “Older and Faraway” and I think I’ve watched season six episodes more than any other season. 

I know a lot of people don’t like the season – including SMG – and there are a lot of valid reasons not to, but I think the show ending up in this place was inevitable, especially for Buffy’s character. She’d been visibly suffering from depression and PTSD in season one and in every season on, but she’d always managed to bounce back or to hide her from her friends or to keep going and not get sort of broken down by it, and in season six she loses her ability to do those things, which I find to be very human and relatable and raw. And for other characters as well, like Willow, her magic abuse and her control issues and such were shown again as early as season one, so I think her really manipulating people and using her magic in such a negative way was also an eventuality. The season made a lot of decisions that I think were unnecessary, but I think it also really cemented that the characters were human and that all the trauma they faced and dealt with built up until it was it’s own kind of monster. 

What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

Getting called a rape apologist for shipping Sp*ke x Buffy is not my favorite. This has died down thankfully, and I haven’t been called this (or alluded to this) in a long while, but for a solid year I think this was inescapable and highly unpleasant. As a sexual assault survivor like…yikes. Hard pass. 

Additionally, while Sp*ke x Buffy is no picnic in this arena, Sp*ke isn’t the only love interest** of Buffy’s to violate and disrespect her consent and her agency, which nobody ever wants to talk about. Faith rapes Buffy in season four when she has sex with someone in Buffy’s body, someone iirc Buffy had previously sexually rejected and then Angel is kind of super yikes in that regard as well – for starters he’s 26 and she’s a minor and then there’s that whole Angel plot line where they sleep together a lot when Angel’s human and then Angel erases her memories and shit of the day (erases the day altogether), which is the same type of rape shit Willow pulls on Tara in season six. 

Now, admittedly I ship all three, but I don’t like it when people won’t acknowledge that these things happened or that these are issues? Like, none of the above behavior is “okay” or “excusable” and it makes me tired. And a lot of fans act like the shows’ issues with consent and rape culture are limited solely to Seeing Red when in actuality they’re infused in almost every arena of the show from season one on (this doesn’t make Seeing Red okay at all. I’m not saying that and I don’t believe I have ever said that nor will I fucking ever. What I am saying is that it needs to be a broader conversation but) 

** listen like almost every character I think violates and disrespects Buffy’s agency/consent in some manner. But I gotta limit it to just this category