Devoid of context, "the R-word is what happens to chicks" is easily one of the most horrible sentences I've ever written.

I think Trent's mindset is realistic and understandable, though. There's a male ego thing involved - as Dave Chappelle once said, there's an impulse to walk it off.

And Trent's kinda got a point, doesn't he? I mean, Simon's actions may have fit the description of a sexual assault by the technical definition, but if Trent were to try to press charges, I highly doubt he'd find a police officer and a lawyer and a judge and a jury that he could convince to take it seriously as such.

Shia LaBeouf was raped recently. Did you hear about that? I'm betting you didn't. The situation was improbable and bizarre enough that, for a lot of people, it registered as... blurry. I don't pretend to understand LaBeouf or his mind or the situation, but I think it'd be easy enough to find people who would categorize the incident as "not really rape".

It should be noted that, as with all storylines in Leftover Soup, I'm not trying to make this a normative narrative. Certainly, I would never ever say that rape survivors - traditional rape or otherwise - should forgive their abusers or maintain relationships with them. Leftover Soup has never been about the "moral of the story", it's about prompting thought and prompting discussion.

And, y'know, occasionally board games.