Hmmm.

[vr_trakowski]

If 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. 

Comments

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

Ah! *snerk* Usually I'm good with acronyms, but that was defeating me. :P

I'm glad you did speak up! I asked for it, after all.

BTW, cincoflex and I agree that "thinky thoughts" is a great phrase. :D

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

Alas, "thinky thoughts" is not original with me. I stole it blatantly from...somewhere.

And yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think I'm going to need to have multiple people go through my thing with a flea comb and pick apart the consent and gender issues in it. I'm not sure I'm pulling this off with any amount of skill or subtlety.

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

I beg leave to doubt your last sentence! But yes, a good beta is worth more than rubies. :D

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

*blushes* Well, I'd be more confident if I wasn't staring at this thing as a whole and going "what the hell was I thinking?" and wondering where my End Game is. But that's writing--I'm at the universal "can I throw it off a bridge and follow it over the side" stage of writing it. :o)

The poor fellow in the icon would probably just as soon I did just that...

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

Ah well, if you can get through that one, you'll have a stunner! And now I'm all curious...

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

Well, my LJ seems to have devolved into "All novelthing, all the time" status, and I hardly ever lock anything, so if you want to toddle over and read it, feel free. Or there's a tag (http://agilebrit.livejournal.com/tag/new%21ben%26jannistory).

Or you can just read snippets (http://agilebrit.livejournal.com/tag/snippets), if you like. However, without larger context, I'm not sure they make much sense, especially since it's an original work not based in any fandom. :o)

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I will! :D