Probably not directly tagging any of this shit because I donât wanna be dragged into the fire but I keep seeing posts about this and I like yapping and felt like commenting anyway (ik the hypocrisy).
Before I say anything: I donât play the JP versions. Iâm EN only. And I was very much on hiatus when Darius, Nica, and Ring were introduced to the EN version. Aside from jokes and taking some interest in Ring, I do not know these characters! Take my words with a grain of salt!
//discussion of SA and rape:
Anyway. I think the drama is stupid. Thatâs the short and sweet version. And I donât mean itâs stupid as in âoh people shouldnât be upset about it because theyâre villains!â No I mean itâs stupid to act like this is new. CYBIRD has always used rape as a plot point in their games, itâs always been uncomfortable, Dariusâs route is just the worst example by far. Which I only know about because I read this lovely personâs translation.
For examples of what I mean, based on the routes Iâve played:
In Ikemen Sengoku, Mitsuhideâs route: Mitsuhide threatens to essentially SA Mai as a form of torture to get her to tell him what he wants. The only reason he doesnât go through with it is because Mai can tell he doesnât actually want to and she agrees to spill the truth about her being a time traveler. This does not excuse the fact that Mitsuhide likely would have gone through with it had Mai not spoken up.
In Ikemen Sengoku again, Kenshinâs route: I may be remembering wrong bc I did not play this one three times unlike a certain white-haired kitsune-wannabe, but when Shingen makes Kenshin jealous, Kenshin â BEFORE becoming lovers with Mai â implies that unless she pushes him away, he wonât stop. And the only reason it wasnât SA is because Mai wanted it. That tiptoes a line, doesnât it.
And just to further beat on Ikemen Sengoku: every instance of Mai being told to warm someoneâs bed just because sheâs a pretty woman should be considered as gross and unnecessary. You can show a time periodâs attitude towards women without reducing it to trying to coerce them into sex.
In Ikemen Vampire, Faustâs route: Faust REPEATEDLY bites Mitsuki and sucks her blood under the guise of an experiment. To see how much pleasure a human can handle, since vampire bites inflict pleasure on them. He does not ask for consent. And he never apologizes for doing this.
In Ikemen Prince, Chevalierâs dramatic end: Iâm pretty sure itâs outright stated that the Obsidianite soldiers rape female hostages. And early in Chevâs route, Noktoâs sexual coercion of âIâll tell you what you want to know if you have sex with meâ felt INCREDIBLY unnecessary to me. You can easily show Nokto as a womanizer without having him trying to coerce Emma into sex in exchange for something she wants.
In Ikemen Prince, Clavisâs route: Pretty sure Clavisâs mother was raped by the king. And he was born as a result of that.
In Ikemen Villains, barring the obvious examples of what people have said about Darius, Alfons, and Roger â there was one event, maybe over a year ago now? I donât remember the name of it but I have the epilogue from it. The storyline was something the full moon made their curses.. stronger? Like affect them more? And I have Ellisâs epilogue in which when Ellis touches Kate and begins to initiate sex with her, Kate tells him sheâs not happy and Ellis says he understands but heâs sorry because he canât stop and he keeps going.
There are probably also hundreds more examples I donât remember or am not aware of â point is: rape is not new to CYBIRD games. Itâs just not. Darius is just by far one of the worst because he ACTUALLY goes through with it to humiliate Kate, because itâs a superiority thing to him â a punishment for her upsetting him. And itâs in your face. You canât ignore it. The events are cases you can miss and with the other games, itâs brushed off. But with Darius, it isnât.
And itâs not defendable. Villain or not, I do agree that you can show Dariusâs disregard for human life in a multitude of other ways aside from a.. kinda misogynistic-feeling route of âyou made me mad so Iâm gonna assault you.â Or the second time when itâs coercion âprove youâre not lying to me.â But itâs not new and itâs always been disgusting.
That isnât to say you canât like or dislike Darius. Like idgaf?? You like him? Cool. You donât? Also cool!! You donât have to argue about it. You also donât have to try to defend him because there is actually no defending him. Rape is rape and Dariusâs actions are inexcusable, villain or not. But arguing about it is actually ridiculous because CYBIRD is no stranger to putting rape into their games and theyâve certainly loved making the cast of Ikemen Villains as morally questionable or outright horrible as possible. You canât condemn Darius and ignore every other horrible thing in these games, thereâs no cherry-picking whoâs right and whoâs wrong. The point of Ikemen Villains is that theyâre all horrible people. At times the writing feels uncomfortable or unnecessary, and you have to acknowledge it but you canât condone horrible behavior or cherry-pick who gets condemned. Youâre allowed to like villainous characters. But that doesnât mean you have to defend them.
Also no, I am in no way, shape, or form okay with the amount of times CYBIRD has used rape and SA as plot points in their stories đ like yes it is a very real thing women experience. But they rarely handle it well (case in point: DARIUS) and I donât think Iâve ever seen it called or treated like it is? They also just did not need to make Darius rape Kate to show how much he disregards humans. But they did. And there is no reason to defend that. Especially when he purposefully did it to humiliate her, to HURT her.
One person expressing their disappointment in Dariusâs writing is not an attack on you. Yes, they shouldâve credited the translator they took screenshots from. But them disliking your favorite character is not an issue. They are not getting in your face and mocking you. You can scroll past and ignore them or block them if they do try mocking you for a character you like. The argument isnât worth the stress itâs going to inevitably cause you.
Please note: Fan translation only. Not 100% accurate.
Zane Regulus
The Savage Beast Of Blind Love
Cursed by: The Beast from Beauty & The Beast
CV: Itou Kento Ito
Tag Line: "Stop starinâ, ya piece of trash. Wanna die?"
A foul-mouthed, savage beast who belongs to the Libra. Though he makes his living as an assassin and is consumed by a desire for revenge, deep down he harbors a blind love.
Birthday: June 19
Height: 182.5 cm
Affiliation: Libra
CV: Maeno Tomoaki
Tag Line: To lead corrupted souls to Hell. That is my curse, and the mission I must fulfill.
The leader of Libra, a cursed organization who has arrived to England from their headquarters in France. Possessing power, wealth, and the authority to command others, he operates from the shadows of history to execute a fathomless scheme. Noble and cold-blooded, heâs cursed for a certain mission, that draws him to you.
Birthday: November 2
Height: 188 cm
Affiliation: Libra
Euren
The Usurping, Shady Intelligence Broker
Cursed by: The Sea Witch from The Little Mermaid
A show-off who's somehow hard to dislike. Seemingly dim-witted, he's a shady information broker. He has connections ranging from the aristocracy to the common folk in Britain, and even provides intelligence to Crown. He claims to have fallen for you at first sight and tries to woo you every time you meet. But what is his true motive...?
CV: Kawanishi Kengo
Tag Line: "Iâll tell you anything you wish to know. All I ask in return is a kiss! Well, have we gotta deal?"
Birthday: January 7
Height: 177.7 cm
Affiliation: Libra
For Euren, I translated it as "show-off", but I believe they mean he has a theatrical personality. Quite fitting, for the sea witch.
finally getting around to elberts route and this is exactly why when i play ikevil kate is kate and not me in my head because me personally i would've opened a whole fucking box of beat that ass on these old rich white people i swear to god pick up a chair and just start swinging mission be damned cover blown idgaf
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