do you ever think about the look on zeldas face in the yule episode when gryla says “a midwife is not a mother”? because i know it’s a small forgettable moment but fuck. so much angst to unpack in that one little line

yes i watch teen dramas but only for the milfs

theorderofhecate:

caos and trauma

TW: mentions and discussions of sexual assault, abuse, and ptsd

also this is kind of long i’m sorry

so i know since part three came out, everyone and their mother has had something to say about how caos dealt with (or rather did not deal with) any of the trauma inflicted on some of its female characters. more specifically zelda, lilith, and mary. this is something that really upsets me for many a reason. and some of this has been said before but i really needed to put in my two cents. (i’m not disregarding mary or lilith, but i am going to be specifically referring to zelda because this is a zelda fan blog and i’m going to be specifically referencing our queen and savior miranda otto).

so, the writers really thought they did something woke when they hammered out nick’s ptsd story line. so it is revealed that nick was symbolically raped by the dark lord and possibly literally raped by Lilith (don’t get me started on what a fucked up writing choice this was). i think it is a huge step forward for a show to depict the struggles of a male rape victim. and i think it could have been a good thing if they had handled it better. but not only did they handle his ptsd completely the wrong way (i know everyone processes trauma differently but it felt like they were using it as an excuse to propel teen drama rather than a way to explore trauma and nicks characterization in general) but they also completely ignored the traumatic experiences of the female characters. it’s as if they were telling us that female trauma is nothing of note because it’s to be expected and women should just deal with it. i don’t think that was their intention, but that’s how it read. now, i don’t want to get into lilith because her character arc was a backwards mess and i’m still fuming so i don’t want to touch that right now. but let’s talk about zelda.

i have seen traces of debate about whether or not she was technically abused/raped. the actors and writers don’t seem to realize the obvious implications of the caligari spell. i understand that zelda did not love faustus or even completely trust him. but with that kind of history and physical intimacy (no matter how fucked up or complicated the relationship is), there is SOME level of trust. and not only did faustus shatter that trust, he also took away her choice. their sexual escapades had been very kinky, and that implies a very specific degree of consent. they trusted each other with their bodies, even though they didn’t trust each other with their hearts. whether or not faustus literally raped her (which i believe he did, considering his lack of morals, sexual appetite, and the timing of the caligari spell), that is an utter and total breach of consent and trust. and it WAS abuse in the sense that he manipulated and subjugated her. that leaves mental scars and i don’t believe for one second that is something somebody can just get over (no matter how strong or powerful they are).

i know the cast and writers ignored these implications and even my queen miranda (judging from what she posts on instagram and her answers to fan questions) doesn’t seem to realize the weight of what they’ve portrayed. she’s said that zelda has “given and gotten worse” and “#allisforgiven”. i think that the writers need to take a very good look at this, and the fan reactions (because the majority of opinions i’ve read are similar to this) and address these ladies’ trauma in part four. zelda is such a dynamic character and i think it would be good to incorporate some healing into her development. bc i can NOT take another misguided season of pretending nothing happened.

hi sorry to be annoying but tumblr will not let me reply to anybody through just this blog so i’m reblogfong my own post i’m sorry. i just want to address a few comments (which, thank you everyone btw this was meant to open up a discussion)

i don’t think i spent enough time on this specific point, but i would like to reiterate. even if zelda was not literally raped (which i believe she plausibly was given the nature of the spell, faustus’s established misogyny, etc. it doesn’t matter if his intention was political and merely to neutralize a threat, there are gross implications to this creepy ass spell) it was still an utter violation of trust and body autonomy. also, the only reason i made a point about how the actors and writers responded, was because i think it’s an indicator of how the show will handle the situation from here on out. i’m not saying the actors have to be their characters or anything like that ??? furthermore, i’m not saying zelda has to address her trauma perfectly or in a specific way (i know first hand that people process these things differently). i just worry that the WRITERS will not adresss it at all

sorry for rambling on even longer. this is a serious topic, and i thought some more things needed to be said. i understand that this is a tv show and it’s sole purpose is entertainment but i think that the writers have a responsibility when handling serious topics that affect real people. this is just my humble opinion, i’m not claiming to be right or an expert of any kind. just my views on a tv show and it’s characters

caos and trauma

TW: mentions and discussions of sexual assault, abuse, and ptsd

also this is kind of long i’m sorry

so i know since part three came out, everyone and their mother has had something to say about how caos dealt with (or rather did not deal with) any of the trauma inflicted on some of its female characters. more specifically zelda, lilith, and mary. this is something that really upsets me for many a reason. and some of this has been said before but i really needed to put in my two cents. (i’m not disregarding mary or lilith, but i am going to be specifically referring to zelda because this is a zelda fan blog and i’m going to be specifically referencing our queen and savior miranda otto).

so, the writers really thought they did something woke when they hammered out nick’s ptsd story line. so it is revealed that nick was symbolically raped by the dark lord and possibly literally raped by Lilith (don’t get me started on what a fucked up writing choice this was). i think it is a huge step forward for a show to depict the struggles of a male rape victim. and i think it could have been a good thing if they had handled it better. but not only did they handle his ptsd completely the wrong way (i know everyone processes trauma differently but it felt like they were using it as an excuse to propel teen drama rather than a way to explore trauma and nicks characterization in general) but they also completely ignored the traumatic experiences of the female characters. it’s as if they were telling us that female trauma is nothing of note because it’s to be expected and women should just deal with it. i don’t think that was their intention, but that’s how it read. now, i don’t want to get into lilith because her character arc was a backwards mess and i’m still fuming so i don’t want to touch that right now. but let’s talk about zelda.

i have seen traces of debate about whether or not she was technically abused/raped. the actors and writers don’t seem to realize the obvious implications of the caligari spell. i understand that zelda did not love faustus or even completely trust him. but with that kind of history and physical intimacy (no matter how fucked up or complicated the relationship is), there is SOME level of trust. and not only did faustus shatter that trust, he also took away her choice. their sexual escapades had been very kinky, and that implies a very specific degree of consent. they trusted each other with their bodies, even though they didn’t trust each other with their hearts. whether or not faustus literally raped her (which i believe he did, considering his lack of morals, sexual appetite, and the timing of the caligari spell), that is an utter and total breach of consent and trust. and it WAS abuse in the sense that he manipulated and subjugated her. that leaves mental scars and i don’t believe for one second that is something somebody can just get over (no matter how strong or powerful they are).

i know the cast and writers ignored these implications and even my queen miranda (judging from what she posts on instagram and her answers to fan questions) doesn’t seem to realize the weight of what they’ve portrayed. she’s said that zelda has “given and gotten worse” and “#allisforgiven”. i think that the writers need to take a very good look at this, and the fan reactions (because the majority of opinions i’ve read are similar to this) and address these ladies’ trauma in part four. zelda is such a dynamic character and i think it would be good to incorporate some healing into her development. bc i can NOT take another misguided season of pretending nothing happened.