PREPOST EDIT - okay not feeling good about what I've written here but it is my natural anxiety about the way what I say will be recieved. I should trust you guys more but I panic. I'm gonna post it because it's important, but also worry about it for the next 6 hours at least. Here we go.


We've still not heard Cadaver's take on the situation, and we haven't done anything to invite Cadaver into the conversation. With that in mind, the term rape jokes, whether accurate or not, may be antagonistic or hurtful.

I'm a bit ashamed that I have stayed removed from the event and the conversation about it as I have. I was upset by the things Cadaver wrote, and I wasn't sure how to address them in a way that would be productive. I used the fact that there was a game going which nessecitated a degree of impartiality from me as an excuse to remain distant.

So, I think it may be helpful to try and break down what was upsetting about the jokes Cadaver made, making an attempt to talk about it with Cadaver, rather than talking about Cadaver.


The description was of a(n implicitly young) woman being theatened with having her clothers forcibly removed in an explicitly sexual way, and after the threat had been responded to, being slapped hard on the bare behind.

I'm gonna link to the relevant posts for the purposes of clarity.
initial threat
Pooka's response
description of violence

Reading them it is clear that the intention is playful, and Pooka is not meant to feel threatened. The issue is that this was a description of an unprovoked sexual threat and violence.

- pooka's response is playing along; there is an implicit consent, does this make it okay?
No: Implicit consent is dangerous waters, there should be mutual trust and agreement that is not seen between these two characters, but that's getting onto a different discussion: Pooka doesn't have the right to decide what is acceptable behaviour in general.


-so why is this about women and men in general, and not the characters Pookie Mustard and Cadaver Slim?

1 - the only apparent justification for this approach was Pooka's female identity. Pooka's not recieved threats of violence, sexual or otherwise, playful or otherwise, in any game where he has had a male role.

2 - violence against women and sexual violence is a common injustice across the globe, and one that is often ignored, or seen as normal. As an isolated incident, this behaviour between two equal adults isn't necessarily problematic, but in the context of an ongoing trend of violence and disrespect for women and alongside the common perception that a woman doesn't have ownership of her own body, then it becomes an image that should not go unchallenged.

^ This is my personal response. I'm not speaking on behalf anyone else. I've struggled a lot to put this into words and I'm not very satisfied with what I've got, but I think it goes some way to identifying an issue. Sorry for the sort of rambling approach.


Cadaver, I've pinged you here because there's a discussion going on and I want you to feel that you have a place in this discussion. Most of all I want you to feel that you aren't being treated unfairly, and that you are being given the opportunity to be heard.