Board Thread:News and Announcements/@comment-26267037-20150811062949

Hello peeps, so Mistfire333 brought up an extremely good point with tributes, and he wanted it spread somehow to this wiki, since this is where all of the tributes are made and stored.

Here's the link to the original post to view it.

Message from Mistfire333:

Hello everyone! I am here to give a talk about something I feel needs to be said on this wiki and the RP wiki. And that is; The use of rape as a plot device needs to stop.

It doesn't matter if it's used seriously or not. All it does is give "shock value" to the reader and force sympathy onto them, hopefully aiming to motivate the writer of a games to "think twice" before killing off your tribute. There's nothing wrong with tragic stories, but it's a mistake that such a serious topic is used to up your advantage in a fictional story. It's offensive to readers who could potentially be victims of rape, it's offensive to people who try to steer away from the topic in general because it disturbs them. It can get really graphic in some backstories, which is personally something I can't deal with well, and other times it's used blatantly in such a manner:

Backstory: She was raped at age 13 and she went crazy. She killed her family and wants to find her rapist to kill him too.

Which brings me to my next point, it's insulting when rape is the reason for "snapping"

Yes, some people wish their rapists the worst fate possible, but the important thing is, not all of them do. It's not anger towards the person, it's anger towards other things as well. And using it as a reason for why your tribute is "dangerous" is not good at all and I shake my head at it. I know I may have been an offender before, but today I see it differently.

Now, if you're going to use rape as a plot device, use it realistically. Use it in a human way with careful writing and try to make it a source of say, empowerment to the character's "motivation". Maybe the victim was left in charge of a child who they not only have trouble connecting with, but feeding nontheless in a tough district. Maybe the victim decided that they should stop feeling sorry for themselves since their rapist was never found, and volunteers for the games hoping to show everyone that rape victims can be strong even after the worst times have fell upon them. Make the reader and story writer feel like they can root for the character like a hero, and not have to feel awkward killing them off or feel like they need to give your victim tribute a win "just because" they'd look bad killing a rape victim.

You're abusing the stories and lives of rape victims every time you irresponsibly use rape in a tribute's story.

I'm sorry for my "SJW" rant but it's something that I just needed to get off my chest. I hope that this can be taken to the RP wiki (credited to me of course) by someone who has more of a voice there as well, because I think that if all find a healthy way to write our tributes, not only will the community become easier to indulge in, but it'll create better quality tributes at the same time.

For a vocal explanation of what I mean, click here Yes, I know it's about creepypasta, but it's no different in creepypasta than it is a fan tribute. 