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vr_trakowskiIf you read Löyli, would you be willing to give me an opinion on a possibly touchy issue?
It has been brought to my attention that the scenario I created in Löyli could be considered sexual assault.
I am not in possession of details, so I'm not sure to which part the objection refers--Tony hugging Pepper during their argument, or the encounter afterwards. It could be both, I suppose, though I thought I was making it clear that Pepper was entirely willing for at least the latter part.
In my head, Tony's hug, while unwelcome, isn't sexual in nature; it's a product of his epiphany, and he doesn't let her go at first because he's too caught up in that to pay attention to her anger. But I may not have made that clear enough. It could also be that some definitions of sexual assault are more stringent than mine.
Opinions? I'd really like to know what you think; you are, after all, the people for whom these stories are written. Did I go too far? Did I break character? Am I doing the characters, or the fandom, a disservice?
Thank you.
ETA: Wow. I wasn't anticipating quite this response, but I'm glad to see it! Thank you all for your honesty, and for your courtesy. And if you came from somewhere outside the fandom, welcome, feel free to join in.
I fully intend to respond to the new replies, but if I don't get some sleep I'm going to start hallucinating, so I'll be back tomorrow. Please, carry on meanwhile if you are so moved; just stay courteous.
It has been brought to my attention that the scenario I created in Löyli could be considered sexual assault.
I am not in possession of details, so I'm not sure to which part the objection refers--Tony hugging Pepper during their argument, or the encounter afterwards. It could be both, I suppose, though I thought I was making it clear that Pepper was entirely willing for at least the latter part.
In my head, Tony's hug, while unwelcome, isn't sexual in nature; it's a product of his epiphany, and he doesn't let her go at first because he's too caught up in that to pay attention to her anger. But I may not have made that clear enough. It could also be that some definitions of sexual assault are more stringent than mine.
Opinions? I'd really like to know what you think; you are, after all, the people for whom these stories are written. Did I go too far? Did I break character? Am I doing the characters, or the fandom, a disservice?
Thank you.
ETA: Wow. I wasn't anticipating quite this response, but I'm glad to see it! Thank you all for your honesty, and for your courtesy. And if you came from somewhere outside the fandom, welcome, feel free to join in.
I fully intend to respond to the new replies, but if I don't get some sleep I'm going to start hallucinating, so I'll be back tomorrow. Please, carry on meanwhile if you are so moved; just stay courteous.
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Date: 2009-08-16 02:37 am (UTC)Okay, I see what you're saying about Tony grabbing Pepper. What I don't agree with is that he's ignoring her. I may not have expressed it properly, but in my head (as I said elsewhere to
Heh, obviously I didn't feel there were consent issues originally! Now I'm taking another look.
Thanks for your replies--I appreciate you diving in!
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Date: 2009-08-16 02:57 am (UTC)But in terms of him ignoring her vs being distracted... yeah, you're probably right that it wasn't expressed properly. That part is written from Pepper's POV. She doesn't know he's distracted. We don't know he's distracted. Maybe he doesn't hear her at first, but she shoves him and she bites him and then he absolutely hears her, because he responds to what she says. With "not on your life." And he still doesn't let her go. (He doesn't, for example, let her go and say, "shit, sorry, I was distracted.")
Anyway! Seriously, I think you've been very gracious about this whole thing. Mad props, regardless of whether we agree about this. :)