#possible rape mention

[firedragon1321]

So Something I Noticed With Character Questionnaires/Interviews

This is for new characters only. 

I don’t know if you’ve seen character interviews or questions floating around, but basically, they’re questions you ask your characters. It’s like you’re interviewing a real live person in front of you. I used them in high school to get the ball rolling, but not really recently. The protagonist of my newer series is being stubborn, so I turned to them again. And I learned something.

(There’s a long section of examples from my own writing, which contains all the triggering content in the tags. If you don’t want to read that or you just want the advice, skip to the bolded sentence that starts with “So this is a long way of saying...”.)

Characters you’ve worked with for a million years can answer most questions blindfolded. Even if they’re reluctant to answer or the question is irrelevant, you can pretty much figure out how they’ll respond. 

I can’t ask Soren some of the questions categorized under sex/intimacy, because he’s twelve and a virgin (i.e.- “When was your first time?”). But I could still picture his response- “Never. Why do you wanna know, anyway?”, followed by becoming defensive (folding arms across chest, looking away, possibly reaching towards his pocket for a weapon, etc.). He struggles against antagonists who care way too much about whether or not he’s a virgin. For context- he’s a cartoon character dropped into reality who has to fight an organization with too much horny and money, which exclusively targets toons. His interactions with this group shape the deflection of this answer.

The difference between Soren- a character I’ve worked with for years- and a new character is asking a difficult or irrelevant question results in nothing. There’s a generic “I dunno” at best, writer’s block/empty brain at worst. To deflect a question, a character has to already have a personality. Otherwise you- the author- encounters a heavy void of resistance. It just feels like nothing. After a while, it makes you frustrated or upset, ending the “interview”. You can only ask a rock about its dreams so many times before you realize it’s a rock.

I noticed- with my new protag- that there was empty brain with almost every question on a 253 question list. There was only one that I made progress with. It was “Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like?”. He has a brother who was sent to an institution when they were both young, for a phony mental illness (this work is a dystopia, so this kind of dark, mean shit is everywhere). Just before his brother was cleared to go home for appearing “normal”, he died due to poor conditions at the hospital. There were preparations for him to return home- a bed shoved into the protag’s room, and a lot of talk about what the reunited family would do together. So the protag was at least semi-aware of every step in the “returning home” process.

This is all stuff I wrote in my notes. This is all stuff I know already. But when I proposed the question to my character- instead of running into a brick wall- I could see him in my mind’s eye, and I could hear his voice. I got a generic response- “I don’t want to talk about it.”. But it was a response. It’s something worth pursuing another day.

So this is a long way of saying- if you get one of those monster questionnaires, here’s how to handle it for a brand new character-

Always, always, ALWAYS have a blank questionnaire saved to your computer as a backup, or to use with multiple characters.

Make sure the questions in your list- whether homemade or online- are sorted in general categories, instead of all over the place. I used this questionnaire, which may be too long for you, but is a good example on how to sort questions. http://thelabotomyofawriter.blogspot.com/2010/04/epic-character-questionairre-part-one.html

Ignore the most basic questions (what is your name, what color are your eyes, etc.). You don’t need your character’s input for those. The only exception is if those questions includes “how do you feel about your name/eyes/etc.”, because that prompts a meaningful answer (namely- how does your character feel about their appearance?).

If you hit a wall, skip the question. It is either unimportant to your character, or they aren’t developed enough to answer it yet.

If you can mentally see your character and hear their voice when they refuse to answer a question (even if all you get is a generic “I don’t want to talk about it”), remember which question it was. Copy-paste the question into a new, blank document.

After trimming the fat, you should have only the questions that are most important to your character. If you feel you need more, copy-paste some questions from your original document related to those questions. For example- if your character has some response to a question about siblings- add questions related to family. In less focused categories, you can add from the same category, as long as it makes sense. “Do you have a criminal record?” and “What is your best memory?” might be together, but they’re different concepts.

As you answer the questions tailored to your character, they may grow enough to answer/deflect the other questions. If you want, you can trickle those in to see what happens. 

Remember that a well-characterized deflection is just as useful as an answered question. “I don’t want to talk about that” or another generic “no” response is a prompt to put the question aside and explore it later. “Talking about killing makes me uncomfortable. I can’t. Not after I killed him. Can we please skip this?” is a useful deflection. Even if you didn’t learn something about your character, it’s a sign that they’re “alive” enough to avoid the question in their own way.

Don’t try to answer all the questions for a new character. It’s not a “test” to see if your character can answer them all. Figure out what’s most important to them, then drip-feed other, related questions until their voice is more solid. You do not need to answer all the questions (except for fun- i.e- “How would you behave at black-tie events?” “I wouldn’t. They suck.”).

If you get frustrated or upset at any point- WALK AWAY. You won’t be able to hear your character’s voice if you’re slamming your head into a wall.

While the monster lists can be helpful or fun for characters you know, they’re frustrating for new imaginary children. Get the core of your character worked out first, then work your way from there. You can’t ask questions to a rock, but your character isn’t a rock. They just need sculpting.

UPDATE: I’ve made my own character questionnaire, if you wanna check it out- https://at.tumblr.com/firedragon1321/made-my-own-character-questionnaire/ly63olvpuczb

[givemearmstopraywith]

rape ment / not a huge fan of debates from reactionary atheists who joke about mary lying about cheating or being some sort of first century slut, and then making up a story about god appearing to her to hide the truth because like. that's a girl. that's a child. that's a peasant girl under the age of sixteen. if you take that story at historical face value and agree that the mythological aspect is simply not real, then suddenly this is a story about a girl who was almost certainly raped, cannot remember what happened to her, and tells a story that an angel appeared to her and impregnated her. and that is the basis of christianity. christians also do not like to talk about this and i have also sat in the camp of mary's consent was predetermined, but i've also grown enough as a christian and a theologian to recognize how fucking depressing this story is. maybe the story of christ is one that begins and ends with a miracle, or maybe it's one that begins and ends with being brutalized by men.

[oscillating-fan-whore3]

I'm not 100% certain though I think Silas might be a supporter of maps since he made that post of him eating cats and crap.

Hey anon I understand you're probably trying to be helpful and I can't tell you whether you are or are not right (and from my perspective you are most likely wrong in your assumption) because I am not Silas and I have no exact idea what Silas does or does not support

Getting that out of the way, the post you are referring to doesn't mention MAPs at all if I'm not mistaken. It mentions paraphillic intrusive thoughts, which are just that; intrusive thoughts. Intrusive thoughts are unwanted and, oftentimes, resemble someone's fears. Coming from someone who experiences intrusive thoughts about sexually assaulting people it's actually fucking horrible and oftentimes these thoughts lead me to believe things about myself that aren't true (ex. I'll call myself a rapist even though for a fact I know I've never raped anyone, I'll believe I'm a horrible person for it and I'll hate myself and it causes a spiral). Paraphillic intrusive thoughts don't make you a bad person even if it can seem like it at times.

Tldr; Silas' post didn't even mention MAPs, I don't think he supports them, and paraphillic thoughts don't equal pedophilia and don't make you a bad person

(And for the record please fact check and maybe ask Silas first before coming to me. Again, I understand you want to be helpful but I don't want to be involved in any drama and I'd prefer not to make accusations with no evidence)

[timdrake-yumm]

So pretty much everyone agrees that Dick is the most physically affectionate of all the batfam, right? So how much more tragic would it be if after Tarantula, someone tried to hug him (whether they knew about his new trauma or not), and he flinched.

[meggannn]

in justice, breq says seivarden never abused any of justice of toren’s ancillaries. in sword, breq knows seivarden has had sex with ancillaries before, despite knowing little of her post-justice service, and brings it up unprompted. she explains ancillaries do have a range of bodily needs, some of which are sexual, and each body is different and will take care of needs on their own or with others. though seivarden was a jerk, treated ancillaries like tools at the time, and didn’t consider their needs a priority, breq doesn’t consider anything seivarden did to her ancillaries abusive or cruel, so seivarden apparently received consent from those ancillaries she did sleep with.

so this. i believe means breq and seivarden have already had consensual sex with presumably justice of toren kneeling to its lieutenant two thousand years ago. now over breakfast in sword, and then again in mercy’s first scene, seivarden offering to kneel to breq means she wants to flip the script and fill the position breq once filled for her, in more ways than one. hmm

[cycle-hit]

hey guys who do we think hurt kotoko yuzuriha. ill go first.

none of this is coherent. but i hope you get it. jacques roulet and the father being the first to find the child. kotoko saturn planet symbolism and saturn eating his children. kotoko office worker outfits when her father's an office worker. kaneshiro's dogshit behaviour. her leaving lucky when many of the other prisoner's fathers left them or were otherwise not great. kotoko why do all of the other prisoners have bad families in some capacity. kotoko what does that mean about you. kotoko what did your father do. why do you parallel all the other prisoner's descriptions of their fathers. kotoko are you repeating the sins of your father. kotoko what are your opinions on shidou kirisaki. WHY DO YOU CALL HIM A "PEDDLING FLOWER THIEF".

I DONT THINK THATS TRUE. I DONT THINK HE DID THAT. ARE YOU PROJECTING ANOTHER FATHER ONTO THE ONE CONFIRMED FATHER IN MILGRAM? IS IT YOUR OW- [GUNSHOT]

[yellowis4happy]

> find a blog called "butch positivity" that claims to condemn transphobia

> feel intrigued because I have felt increasingly masc in recent years and am considering calling myself butch

> (also I'm just a big dyke and I love seeing photos of butches and butch art)

> begin to scroll the blog to vet for signs of transmisogyny before I follow

> 3rd or 4th post from the top is a reblog from known rapist Eli Erl*ck

😑😑😑

[dennisboobs]

one day i will properly compare dee made a smut film and ptsdee and the differences in the way they handle their very similar subject material but i have shit to do early tomorrow morning so. for now.

do you ever think about how RCG-written episodes, no matter how bad (both character morality-wise and writing-wise) they get, will always have a degree of humanity to them. like. 11x04 has dee doing something that is So incredibly wrong and horrible to dennis. but the reactions to it don't match its intensity. 12x07 again has dee doing something absolutely fucking deranged, and the gang tells her how fucked up it was. there's actually an acknowledgement both from her and from the others that what she did was awful, but her motivation, charlie, dennis, frank and mac's motivations throughout the episode make sense. dee's insecurity is the root of it, she can't handle being someone's "rock bottom", and she needs to prove that it can get worse. 11x04 dee just decides she's going to be a bastard and tell everyone that dennis was raped at 14. we don't know why she does this, and she really has no reason to, other than to be an asshole.

[asherisawkward]

Please note that this is very much a rant about their school system that deals with/mentions topics like grooming, sexual assault/abuse, pedophilia, and the sex education system as a whole.

If any of these topics are triggering or upsetting for you, do not read this post.

Considering a post I just reblogged on banned books and sex education, I figured I’m going to make a post explaining my stance on this, so I can point people here if I ever get asks about this kind of stuff.

I went to a middle of the country school when I was in middle school and my first year of high school, but it definitely was smaller and had a southern vibe. If that makes no sense, look up “Tornado Alley,” and that’s about where I was.

My school system did two years of middle school and four years of high school, and I had some sex education. Rather, I had one class period per year in middle school. I went through this class twice.

It did not teach anything substantial about sex. It did not explain what reproductive organs were or how they worked; it did not explain what sex was; it did not teach me about how to use a condom or even what one was. It did not teach me about consent or what rape and sexual abuse or assault. I didn’t even know what that was.

Do you want to know what I learned?

I learned about some STIs/STDs. The guy showed pictures of them in class and explained the symptoms entirely through sickening food comparisons that have left me having trouble eating/looking at any of those foods today (example: he compared syphilis to pepperoni) He did made no actual attempt to explain how they were contracted (beyond “I told [name] not to lick the pepperoni; he licked the pepperoni”) or where they originated from.

You know what else he taught me?

Apparently, sex felt good.

I had no understanding of what any sort of sexual assault/abuse was, and my basic reaction to the vague concept I was aware of was, “just run away.” (An incredibly toxic and victim-blaming mindset that I am ashamed of to this day.) If I had been in a situation where I was being raped or groomed or in a situation akin to that, I would not have known what was happening to me was wrong and needed to be reported. Fortunately, I wasn’t.

And, for the record, my boyfriend had to explain to me how sex works when I was sixteen, because I still didn’t know. And that supposedly helpful sex ed did nothing to help me.

About the same time my boyfriend explained to me how things actually worked in the bedroom, when I was still sixteen, I met a man who visited the neighborhood occasionally because he had a job in lawn maintenance. He was always friendly to me whenever we met. I didn’t know his name, but I saw him when I went on walks around the neighborhood, and we exchanged pleasantries. I thought he was nice.

He had the habit, whenever we saw each other from afar, of blowing kisses to me. I thought he was trying to be grandfatherly. I didn’t knew what it was, and I still don’t really know what to classify it as.

One day, he approached me in his truck and started speaking to me. He asked me my name and if I had a boyfriend. I gave my name and said yes. He told me I was pretty and he liked me. Then he asked me if I wanted to have sex. This man was in his fifties or sixties, and I’ve been mistaken by people for being a couple years younger than I am. There was no way he could have thought I was an adult. I had mentioned going to high school sometimes when we had taker before.

I walked back home, terrified that he would drive by me, throw me in the back of the car, and I’d end up assaulted and eventually dead in a ditch. He didn’t, but I was terrified the entire time.

I wish I had known this stuff sooner, and I didn’t even experience anything that bad. Knowing about It wouldn’t have stopped that from happening, but maybe I could have seen that a man in his fifties or sixties blowing kisses at a sixteen year old kid was not normal.

Imagine how it could have helped for people who go due experience trauma and weren’t lucky the way at I was. People could have figured out the signs of abusive partners or figured out that behaviors indicators of grooming or predatory behavior. It would allow people to know what to report to authorities.

To sum up the product of my ranting/venting; sex education is just as important aspect of of growing up as secular education, and it is vital for the prevention, report, and punishment of abuse and assault.

[lordgoopy]

i started reading the no longer human adaptation by junji ito and then decided to watch a vid analysis and the comments are Bad. not sure what i expected.

[pet-shop-of-horror-fan]

I know we don't know how Olrox and Mizrak's relationship is going to go yet but it is not at all comparable to Hector and Lenore.

Olrox claimed not to care if Mizark died and then went on to save his life. Lenore manipulated and raped Hector.

These are not at all alike. I am genuinely concerned that people say they are.

[loudmound]

i would really like to read a james/pyramid head story that isn't a rape fantasy, but the majority of them are and the ones that aren't are few and far between and not long enough so. again. i must do everything myself around here.

[moss-feratu]

What happened to hi? What happened to hello?

[surpriserose]

Also sorry while im being pissy can youtube not give me fucking melanie martinez ads?????? Can you fucking explode???????????????

[isabellehemlock]

I started this post so many times, kept erasing, praying, contemplating, discerning, trying to rise above it but the fact that it still is impacting me this much leads me to believe that maybe it's important to speak up on at least once - maybe there's someone out there who this post is meant to find, someone to feel less alone.

I'm not going to trauma dump, or out my own history on a public blog, and I'll use my "I" statements here but here it goes:

TW: fandom discourse, processing feelings around a non con fic, one mention of the word rape, but non descriptive of the contents of the fic

I am so disheartened to see holy places within my faith used as settings for rape - not even under the premise of maybe some cases being processing some kind of personal trauma through writing - but for insidious purposes, to encourage mocking and cheering as both a sacred space and a person is being desecrated against their will.

I would hope this wouldn't be found acceptable in any faith, in any sacred spaces.

I also realize that in comparison, the bigger and most important issue to address are the patterns of racism and bias that a handful of people have latched onto and felt emboldened to continue for years now - but I am also aware that I should never speak over/for someone with personal experience of racism and wanted to keep the focus of this post on what I can speak on.

[defsiarte]

shoutout to tumblr's algorithm for putting some freak's rape fantasy post on my recommended. :(