insidescoop | IC INBOX | VICTORY ROAD

[GURL it is too EARLY for this SHIT-]

Start from the beginning...

connie wanted to talk to me about something

it was about boys being with other boys and girls being with other girls

and how she likes girls that way (but not like a boy would)

and i kind of maybe implied all her friends are perverts and that she was except i didn't mean to with her because she TOLD ME she doesn't want to do perverted things

but i don't know how that stuff isn't perverted at least when it's boys

[Immediately, there's a lot to unpack here.]

Ahuh...

Ahh...well, first of all I have a question because I'm not really sure what you mean by 'not like a boy would'...or for that matter what 'perverted things' entails.

I almost want to say it sounds like you expect anyone who is a boy...Just inherently is? 'Perverted'? (Which by the way, what does that mean here? That word has different meanings depending on the context...)

But beyond that, I need you to breathe okay? Because honestly, I bet you anything Connie will understand by the end of it, and it'll all work out, alright?

okay

a boy would try to do perverted things to you like look at you naked or try to take your clothes off or hold you down

that's what perverted things are

also pretending you're a girl to trick people and stealing underwear

and pretty much all boys are perverts deep down but most of them stop when they grow up

but maybe not all

Uh

I don't know where you came from but

Most boys don't do that...

Because those are horrible things to do.

...

Akane I'm going to put a pin on this for now, but...do you want to talk about this in person?

This is just a guess but...those were really specific things.

Too specific, if that makes sense. And it feels like maybe that's something we shouldn't use text for.

i'm in azalea town still because connie ran away into the woods

we were supposed to go to prom together as friends but i ruined it

her other friend i am talking to says i should just calm down and apologize

i guess i can do that

if you're going to be at the prom too then if we get there we'll talk

Ooof, Azalea...

That might be a bit late, hang on...

[Video time-]

Here- it's not quite 'in' person, but it's as close as we can get- and it's still better than text, [Carly offers, adjusting her glasses.] But we should probably talk about this sooner instead of later.

I'm sure you didn't ruin anything, okay? Maybe there were misunderstandings, but those can be talked through!

[Akane looks like she's been crying a lot. She's also wearing her dress for prom for some reason, even though the dance isn't until tomorrow.]

I made her think I thought she was a pervert.

[She looks down, away from the screen.]

That stuff about holding people down and taking off clothes was just-- something I saw on TV.

[But also something she was pretty sure could have happened to her if anyone had beaten her in a fight. She's sure Kuno would have tried.]

And that's what can happen in miscommunications! The important thing is making it clear that that's not what you think.

But let's go back to ah...the boys, okay?

First of all, as someone in media, I can definitely confirm that unfortunately...a lot of what's on TV is going to only be the worst things. I feel like it's a big exception here, that you normally see nicer things... They like to do that a lot, most other places.

Because the drama sells, I guess. The point though is...boys, girls, everyone...

They're people. People with feelings, with thoughts, and most boys...

They use their heads. They don't do things like that, because they understand, those are other people. That the things you mentioned...the things that some boys, some men, even some women and girls would do, those are cruel things, and the others involved get hurt.

[She pauses. And...]

...Akane? I don't want to make assumptions but...were the boys around you not very...'nice'? [It's clear that by 'nice', there's more to it. The entire conversation lends to the point after all.]

They were all pretty awful. I guess the best was Ryouga, because he didn't usually do anything perverted.

Ranma only sometimes pretended to be a girl to trick people. To get things out of them, usually.

Mousse... wasn't so bad, but he put a lot of pressure on Shampoo, because he was in love with her and she didn't like him.

Konatsu isn't bad at all but he hardly even knows he's a boy. He thought he was a girl for most of his life.

Kuno is terrible. He told the entire school that they had to defeat me in combat to date with me and then they all started fighting me every morning and they only stopped when they found out about me and Ranma being engaged. And Kuno never did stop. He just started trying to defeat Ranma too and also decided he wanted the pigtailed girl, but she was really Ranma in disguise. He wanted to have us both.

And Grandfather Happosai is always stealing panties and groping people.

[She just sounds... tired, mostly, as she lists them all off.]

ohhhh my god you're surrounded by actual trash...

[Uh, right, hold on.]

So...first thing, I am so...so sorry? Because I really mean it when I say that isn't normal at all, but it sounds like...that's all you had around...

...And it's hard to believe there can be anything better, when that happens.

But Akane, believe me when I say most people are not like that! And frankly, [she adds with a growl] I would hope this 'Happosai' gets what's coming if he was doing this to anyone underaged on top of 'at all'...

[But.] Things like groping are definitely 'okay' if both sides want that, but for starters, you just said you're in school, [ahem] And for that matter it sounds like...

Okay this isn't just sounds. Akane you're telling me all of these people assaulted other girls! And boys, given this 'Ranma' person!

And honestly it's really upsetting that the only reason this 'Konatsu' guy passed muster is because he was brought up as a girl. If anything, it sounds like all of these boys just weren't raised AT ALL! Worse, that they were just told... 'Hey, do this, it's cool!'

[She might be ranting a little bit. Carly rubs her head.] Oof. I'm getting a little off topic. We need to focus on why Connie would think you called her 'perverted'. Or the others, for that matter! Though I guess if every boy you've met has been like this...

Because-- because I said something about boys liking boys being perverted. Because it is? Because-- because they can't get married or have kids or anything like that, so there's no reason for them to be like that unless it's to do perverted stuff.

And boys don't like it when other boys do perverted stuff to them anymore than girls do. Ranma always hated it when boys tried things on him when they thought he was a girl.

And I said that girls liking girls didn't make sense if they weren't doing perverted stuff either, because otherwise it's just-- being with your best friend. You're supposed to be really close with your friends when they're girls and then you grow out of it. Just like how boys mostly grow out of being perverts.

And then she slapped me and ran away. And I sent messages like yours to all her friends I could think of, but one of them didn't reply at all and the other sent pictures with mean things written on them and the last apologized for the one who sent the pictures and said I had to calm down and apologize and that I got him at a bad time but I had to think if it matters if people are perverts if they're not hurting anyone.

You're the only one who's talked to me at length about this stuff.

Edited 2020-04-19 01:39 (UTC)

.... [Carly, for quite a while, is quiet. Mostly because she's. Trying. So very hard to just take it in and- ooooh yes Japan does like that 'crushes on girls are just childish' thing huh...]

Hooh, boy, there's a lot to talk to you about here huh...

First!

I think we need to take the word 'perverted', and separate it from some of the things you're associating it with.

The boys you know were...definitely perverts. Also the men. That's not necessarily something people realize they're doing wrong, and...sometimes, people are just Bad People. And sometimes, they learn better! So you are right, a lot of boys like that will ultimately grow up, look back, and realize they were being horrible!

That's not because of 'nature' though. That's because of someone teaching them.

But the thing is, I'm getting the feeling that you're not just categorizing a teenage boy forcing himself on others- and that is Assault, we're going to just call that assault here because that's what it is- as 'perversion'. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, I'm definitely making a few guesses based on what I'm hearing!

[She adjusts her glasses.] ...But I definitely need to hear exactly what it is about 'perverted stuff' that is that way, 'unless' it's between two opposing genders and sexes here.

[...]

...I'm glad you did contact me though, at least. It...sounds like something you need a talk about, even just so that you can feel a little better and know a little better too. And phew! I don't know about you, but if your name is any indication, we're both from a country that really doesn't teach kids any better, WOW! And I'm saying that from beyond 2020...

I'm from Japan, yeah. It was 1988 when I left? You're really from the future.

[Carly, were you even born yet when Akane got scooped up by Arceus?]

And. I mean. Isn't it all perverted? Except I guess it's okay to do it if you're going to have a kid. Which means you should be married.

[Yeahhhhhhh. That's the thing. That's... the thing. Akane has SO MANY ISSUES ABOUT THIS.]

Edited (SHOULD NOT SHOULDN'T) 2020-04-19 02:06 (UTC)

Wowwwww~ Well, that definitely explains a lo-

Oh! Okay, we're going to start on this part first actually! [Carly wheezes.]

Akane.

It is not wrong, or perverted, to love someone when you are not going to have children. Likewise, for those who cannot have children. And more likewise, for those who do not get married.

I'm going to emphasize these points, with some key factors. For example! [Though she takes some care to avoid same-sex examples just for now. Baby steps on the issues here, babysteps...]

Did you know that for some people, they literally cannot afford to get married, or they will be put into so much debt, they cannot survive! But, they still want to spend their lives together the way a married couple would. They can't be married, but does that make them doing so without the paperwork 'perverted'?

As another example...

Some people just. Can't have kids, Akane. Medically! It's entirely impossible! Maybe they can adopt- and believe me adoption isn't nearly as terrible as it sounds- but the point here stands. And some people just don't want kids! But, they might still want to get married...

[She trails off a little, before continuing.] ...So...I need to ask again.

What specifically about a couple being together...are you considering 'perverted'? 'Wrong', for that matter?

[In a very quiet voice,]

... sex things?

[Small nodding...and.] I see... Alright, well-]

Wait. She blinks.] Actually, first off-

...Akane do you consider a kiss to be 'sexual'?

[She's going to have to explain romantic gestures and the difference between them and sex isn't she.

She should be paid for this. She really should.]

[After a moment, she nods.]

The first thing a boy tries to do when he's being a pervert is kiss you, [she explains.]

While I can't fault you for that logic, that's a case of an act being used for the wrong things.

A kiss isn't an inherently sexual thing. Most of the time it's a romantic gesture- something you do with someone you love, heart and soul! Someone who you would want to grow old with, someone you would die for! Come to think maybe I should get you some light romance books...

Uh-

Not to say that most people who give each other kisses do feel that hard, honestly when 'dying' comes up it's touch and go...

But the point is, it's a gesture of romance- it's a difference from what you're associating it with. People who love each other, they'll do things like hold hands, hug the other, share light kisses...these are things you associate with married couples right? Well...That's why. It's because they care about the other- enough to want to grow old together, and spend their lives together, in a lot of cases.

But! The important thing about these things as well is that both parties need to agree to it- if someone tries to kiss you, even just touch you and you say no, and they keep going? That's not necessarily being perverted, but it is them assaulting you in some way.

On the flipside, someone wanting to kiss you- and you wanting to maybe be kissed, that's not wrong at all! It's them saying 'I like you- and love you too, and want to be with you more'.

And...it feels like this is where the line keeps coming up. Beyond the fact that it sounds like instead of caring for another, your idea of marriage and togetherness is based more in the idea of whether you can have kids or not...a lot of what you're describing is just absolutely someone refusing to hear the word 'no'!

In any case, the reason these boys are doing that is because a kiss is one of the things most couples do, so if they got in their heads that they 'want' that, and no one told them that 'no means no', they figure 'well then I'll do this first'.

Unfortunately. Like I said...most people figure out really fast when the answer is 'no', but it sounds like the guys around you just...Didn't.

At all.

I mean, aren't having kids and doing those things to have them the difference between friendship and marriage? And marriage... it's really nice to think that it's going to be with someone you love, but it's not always going to be like that. Not if your parents arrange it.

I mean. There's a boy I know that-- that loves me. Or he said it once when he thought I was dead. And he kissed me once when he thought he was a cat. But otherwise... we're just friends. Sort of. He was my best friend back home, probably, even though I never told him he was. And I-- I was going to marry him. Because our parents wanted us to... but after I almost died, I kind of wanted to too.

Arranged marriages definitely don't always involve love, that is correct.

But!

[Ahem!] Those are definitely not the difference!

A marriage- when performed between two people who want to be married- is generally an agreement in itself. That's two people saying 'we care for the other so much, we want to spend our lives together, in harmony'~! Friendships are definitely equally important...and if anything, the strongest marriages are between those who are friends as well as lovers!

But you're not necessarily going to want to kiss your friends, right? Or, spend your whole life with them.

On that note it's okay to want to marry someone because you love them. That's...well, a marriage is something that lasts for a long time, you know? The hope is that you would love someone you're living with. Obviously it's a dying hope when omiai gets involved, but if it means anything, a lot of people who still set that kind of thing up pay more attention to if the bride and grooms to be actually like the other after coming to know each other. It's not ideal...but it makes a difference.

Anyway. People who trade hugs and kisses don't have to also follow up with, aha, the 'rest' of it all. If I'm honest, most couples don't do that all the time. Some do! But phew, I would not have the energy!

And as it is, if both people involved like it, and they both say 'let's do it', and know what they're getting into, then that's okay!

Honestly, I'm going to be real, a lot of why it gets associated with 'kids or it's bad' is...because there can be consequences if you don't know what you're doing! At the least, people can get hurt, but at the worst you can get really sick- or in the case of certain matches, end up with kids when you can't handle kids! These are things even adults have trouble with, let alone teenagers!

The problem is that people got a little overzealous in emphasizing the 'bad' to try and keep kids safe... ...and just...stopped teaching about the truth of it all.

Back on track...wanting to spend time with someone, to hold their hand, and be there for them, that can be friendship.

But sometimes, it can mean love too.

That's why marriage isn't always the best way to draw the line between friendship and 'more than'- the fact is...a lot of people, a lot of women who love women, men who love men, they would love to get married. Some of them would even love to raise kids of their own through adoption! A lot of these people want nothing more than to just...have a life together, [she adds with a sad smile.]

...It's just that a lot of people in power...don't always agree.

... oh.

[That... doesn't seem like the world as Akane understands it. Like the world as she's lived it. But in a weird way, it seems almost nice? That maybe these people she immediately assumed were perverted or got confused about their best friends... just want to be people in love together. And have families. Like her parents, before Mama died.]

Connie didn't say that. She just said something about how her sword-fighting teacher had a crush on someone named Rose for thousands of years and how the most powerful fighter in her world is made from the love from two women. But I mean, I wasn't really worried about the girls, once I made sure with her that they didn't feel the same way about girls as a boy would. Just, you know, frustrated about the boys and how she was trying to tell me it was okay when I knew from Ranma that other boys don't like that.

... though, I guess, maybe the boys that are interested in other boys would.

[She blinks. It's-- kind of obvious that this is a new thought for her.]

Wow, that's a heck of a fighter...

Aaah, but that's beside the point. Connie didn't have all the context on why you thought what you thought either- I mean, a few seconds ago it became pretty clear that even a 'kiss' wouldn't mean the same thing!

I think the important thing is...even most boys don't feel the way you figure 'all boys' feel. And more than that, there are definitely girls who do! It's kind of dangerous to assume they don't, actually, there's people who take advantage of that thinking out there...

More to the point, [Carly coughs] There are girls who love boys, but there are also girls who love girls, and boys who love boys. Women who love men or women, men who love women or men...and for that matter, people who love all of the options there! Though I'll admit I never encountered someone who made more than one on one work in the long run until coming here... [She mutters, humming thoughtfully. It's a rather nice thought honestly. Ah, but as it is-]

Like I said before- your only experience has been with some horrible examples of boys and men alike. So...I can't blame you for not believing Connie's words. But if she was talking about who I think... ...well. You can trust her. And I know it's going to be hard to trust a lot of people on that, especially the ones we're talking about, but...you can. It's alright.

Aren't-- aren't kisses significant in the West? In America? Back home, your first kiss in the biggest thing. Ranma got his stolen by this awful pervert boy named Mikado Sanzenin when we were ice skating, because he thought Ranma was a girl, and he was so-- He was furious.

[She glances down, remembering.] We. Almost might have kissed later that night. Except my family was spying on us and we noticed. That-- was the closest we came to it for a while.

He... did kiss me later. But he thought he was a cat, so I don't-- I don't know if that counts. I don't count when we did Romeo and Juliet at school, because I put tape on my mouth.

It's... really hard to believe that most boys aren't like all the ones at my school. [She considers the rest of it.] But not so hard to imagine some girls are. I mean, there's Shampoo. She's just-- she's so brazen. I thought that was because she was Chinese. [AKANE NO.] And then there's Kodachi-- Ugh! She's as big a pervert as her stupid brother. And as big of a creep too. I guess it runs in the family.

Oh yeah, they're a huge deal! But like...that doesn't change that they aren't sexual, [Carly explains, before frowning.] ...Personally I think it's a media thing- a lot of people take it far more seriously than it really deserves when it comes to the 'importance' of a first kiss.

Oh- That doesn't make it any less important that any kisses you get be ones you want though! Frankly if Ranma had that forced on him, he's right to have been mad- no one should have something forced on them like that.

...Uh. ...Tape huh. [Hm. Anyway] Wait Ranma, or this Mikado guy...also if they were a cat how did they kiss y-

[And hold on she's stuck on.] Akane, someone being from another country doesn't determine their personality, let's get that jotted down while we're on the topic okay? Though it does sound like there's some family issues here...

IC INBOX | VICTORY ROAD

no subject

no subject

CW for uh...idk i guess some weird sexuality talk time

Re: CW for uh...idk i guess some weird sexuality talk time

CW FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT TALK NOW WHY IS RANMA 1/2 LIKE THIS??

Re: CW FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT TALK NOW WHY IS RANMA 1/2 LIKE THIS??

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

various manga spoilers; cw: light racism (sorry)

[carly voice] 'akane you're such a mess'

those 'mr saotomes' should have been 'uncle saotome' the entire time

noted wheeze

I FORGOT SHE USED THAT AS A COURTESY TITLE JUST LIKE FUCKING "GRANDFATHER" HAPPOSAI

jkghfkjhdfg

Re: jkghfkjhdfg

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

AND WRAP