re:peppergrinder

Combining June Egbert Discourse and Vriscourse seems like a terrible idea so let's not even go there.

Anyways, w/ regards to the Tavros kiss, I never really understood why people took such issue with that scene? It's pretty cut and dry to me.

Just to recap for those unfamiliar, Vriska sets up a fun little roleplaying scenario for Tavros, her [possibly Flushed, possibly Caliginous?] love interest at the time, dresses up as a sexy fairy, traps him in a literal spider web [that I assume she spun herself? Can she spin webs? It's never really explained where tf that came from] engages in some bitchy tinkerbell roleplay, and then kisses him.

She then shoves him to the ground, briefly considers manipul8ing him into kissing her himself, before quickly deciding that that would be a step too far, and slumping over in disappointment.

alright. *cracks knuckles* here we go.

In this moment it is key to remember that Vriska is a psychic. Not only can she perform mind-control, but she can also read the thoughts and emotions of others [See: Aranea Serket]. She knows that Tavros wants her romantically [something which is hinted at through his subtle blush on pg. 2380, and outright confirmed in the author's note for the same page], and she's pissed at him because he's too much of a coward to make a move.

What she's doing in this whole sequence is essentially giving Tavros the biggest piece of bait she possibly can. She dresses up as his waifu, [poorly] re-enacts a scene from his favorite movie, all in hopes to get him to fess up, and he just. Won't. Do it.

So she gets even more upset. She throws him to the ground. Then, out of frustration, she uses her psychic powers to try and make force him to kiss her, before deciding against it. This, I think, is the key moment here.

This sequence is an obvious parallel to the story of The Marquise seen on pg. 3507, where Mindfang uses her psychic abilities to essentially rape one of her slaves. In this moment Vriska clearly separates her actions from those of her ancestor. While Mindfang may have been willing to cross that line, Vriska is clearly not. She's a bitch, sure, but she's not a rapist.

And hey, if you won't take it from me, take it from The Author.

"The saddest thing about Tavros is he has no game whatsoever. Look at this pitiful display. Vriska is working SO hard to get this romance off the ground. Buttering him up with a number of insults and belittling remarks, after going to all the trouble of setting this clever trap and dressing as his favorite fake thing in the world, a sexy fairy. This seems to be what pisses her off the most about him. She can read his feelings well enough, since she's psychic, so it's not like she's imagining things. She gives him these "opportunities" to prove himself, which, yes, may be a bit aggressive. But this is just her way, and he knows it. Yet, each chance she gives him, he beefs it every time. Completely exhausting." -Andrew Hussie, pg. 2380 Author's Note

"Out of frustration, she briefly considers taking this route, but bails on the idea quickly. She's a lot of things, but this is one thing she apparently isn't. (Hint: it's a thing that begins with "rape" and ends with "-ist.") But her ancestor was. Spending centuries being a swaggering asshole pirate emboldens one toward certain unseemly behaviors, I guess. Vriska idolizes her ancestor of course, and models much of her personality and bravado after her, or at least her impression of who she was. Basically, she's a bad influence. As if having one bad mom wasn't enough, in a way Vriska actually has two. The Mindfang diaries... Oof, there's some shit to unpack. We'll get to that next book. Learning about Mindfang's life as told through her journal, and knowing that Vriska read every page while very young, tells us a lot about why Vriska is who she is. Perhaps more importantly, seeing differences in the ways she wants to be like Mindfang, but can't quite bring herself to be, might actually tell us more about Vriska than how she strives to be similar." -Andrew Hussie, pg. 2384 Author's Note