has it been long enough that i can talk about the “is manfred von karma abusive” discourse without getting mad. let’s see. well basically what it boils down to is that none of these people understand abuse at all. cause it is very true that when presenting mvk as abusive, many fans use that to make reductive + incorrect characterizations of edgeworth, franziska, and mvk himself. but to counter that by saying “so he’s not abusive” is like. of course he’s abusive it came for free with being a patriarch. it came for free with working for the state. it’s just that the nature of his abuse and its effects on edgeworth and franziska is more nuanced than most people are willing to admit or portray. there’s also the quibbles about whether or not mvk was actually edgeworth’s adoptive father which just like seriously does not matter to me. at the end of the day he’s the only canonical adult presence we know of in edgeworth’s childhood post-dl6, and is clearly portrayed as a mentor figure to him that has influenced him. he holds a position of authority over edgeworth at work. what’s not clicking. and then there’s the people who are like, “well if mvk is abusive, so is [x] character” and like well yes!!! you’re probably right about that!!! most of the characters in these games are facilitators of carcerality who are deeply invested in its continuation—personally, morally, and economically. there are countless wildly inappropriate workplace dynamics obfuscated through the lens of friendship/family. this is what makes the character relationships so fascinating and the games interesting to play. whatever.
