<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=268315.msg13235533#msg13235533">Quote from: clonkertink on 30-05-2017, 03:53:24</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">I can say that for me, what pushes me into discomfort territory (not necessarily extreme, X-card levels of discomfort, mind you) is in fact the stark seriousness with which you treat Kell's trauma.<br/><br/>And <em>that</em> is really what pushes it into uncomfortable territory for me. Because it's very evocative, and very real. My own tendency to empathize with characters starts to feed back on me and it takes me to a deeply unpleasant place. Now I don't think I'd ever ask you to revise a post because I was uncomfortable, but I could potentially see a scenario where things are getting a little beyond my comfort zone and asking, "Hey, this is getting to be a little more than I can handle. Can we dial this back, or fade to black, or work it through in another thread, etc."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>To be fair, it doesnt really work otherwise. Tis a terrible thing and if i tip-toe around it without making it clear that it is a terrible thing then it loses all impact. 'she was raped, the end' inspires far less recognition than making it clear that it was a very,<em>very</em>unpleasant situation, in contrast with the often vaguely consensual hentai rape scenario. I'm basically down to going 'she was raped with X Y and Z adjectives' to make the situation clear. There is literally no lower level of detail that could be given to accomplish the goal. There is nothing to fade to black over, nothing to carry to another thread, and dialling it back any more than i already have defeats the point.<br/><br/>If i was actually planning to describe the rape in any detail, or play it out, you would have a very soild point, and every right to insist that it be taken far away where you dont have to see it.<br/><br/>But at the level ive been doing, i really dont see the protest as valid.<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">It's like if I were to run a Bluebeard's Bride. That game is designed to explore themes of violence, especially sexual violence, against women, in very shocking, very graphic detail. So, naturally it's going to explore some heavy feelings. That can be a good thing. But not if someone gets pushed past their limit. If someone feels the need to pull the rip cord, I have a responsibility to respect their feelings, put the game on pause, and take steps to make the game safe again, even if I'm really digging the direction the game is going.</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div>The key difference here is that 'you' are running a game with strong themes of abuse, and so a player is presumably on-board with that, but later on things take a turn and/or they simply become uncomfortable with the situation or content. Obviously in such a situation it makes sense to scale things back abit and respect the player.<br/><br/>In this case its one player going 'i want x to have happened to my character before the story started' and other players screaming that X is their trigger even though its not happening during the story and only being explored as a character building exercise.<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">All that is to say, I love Kell's background, your writing is very powerful and I find that super exciting... but with great power comes great responsibility. Responsibility to honour the RPG safeword known as the X-card.</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div>And like a safeword the point is to protect you. Not to suppress other players.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Honestly, and i realize this may sound petulant, but im seriously starting to question my ability to even play this character in this group. The idea was to have her dealing with her trauma and pushing forward to accomplish great things (as adventurers do) and eventually put it behind her as she moves on. But how am i supposed to have her deal with her trauma if its only<em>barely</em>acceptable to mention that she was even raped at some point, not okay to so much as say she was<em>repetitively and violently</em>raped, and absolutely not okay under any circumstances to reference any particular thing that might have happened to her during aforementioned rape?<br/><br/>I mean, i know not everyone is as blase as i am about brutality in fiction, but i had assumed the maturity level would be<em>alittle</em>higher than this. And thats not a matter of opinion; being able to mentally and emotionally handle mature subjects is one of, if not<em>the</em>defining trait of 'maturity'. Im not asking that you allow your characters to be raped, im not asking you to read about my character being raped, all i want is to beable to engage with the subject like bloody adults instead of entitled pricklets who run screaming for their safe space the minute they dont like what they are hearing.<br/><br/>But apparently that is<em>literally</em>too much to ask. :-\<br/><br/>(And if i sound mad, its because im coming to terms with the fact that i cant play the character i made and then was lucky enough to have accepted, because some people are too bloody sensitive to act their age and i am (i think) understandably miffed about it.)