#some torturers can in fact do it and be fine. just blank remorseless

[coldresolve]

Hey, I wanted to come and let you know your post was incredibly well-written. You got me to consider something I never usually consider when writing, and I really do appreciate the message of “hey, just remember this is a real thing that happens and maybe be a little more careful when writing it.”

I hope you don’t mind me asking a question or two, I’ve noticed that you’ve answered a question before mine and I don’t want to bombard you but I’m curious. How does a bad character doing a bad thing (torture) become apologia in your opinion? I understand that by giving torture usefulness, as you explained in the last post, it can come across as a bad thing. But wouldn’t a bad character trying to justify them torturing someone just further prove that people like that will do anything to avoid admitting guilt? That they justify their actions because they know they are in the wrong?

I really don’t want to be aggressive at all; I respect you and your opinion, and I appreciate you bringing light to the subject that torture can and does happen in the real world, and that it does affect real people. I guess I’m trying to play devil’s advocate almost and pick your brain a little. Your stances on the subject are genuinely well thought-out, and I am 100% typing this from a place of respect and genuine curiosity. If this makes you uncomfortable to answer, please just disregard.

i answered an ask abt this exact thing just now but ig ill mention it here too: it's not about the motives of your perpetrator, it's about what torture itself is shown to be able to achieve. idk i might have phrased something wonky since ppl are asking about that

bad guy doing torture for x reason isn't torture apologia. zero problems here, smooth sailing

torture works at x is torture apologia. landmine zone, its hard to go here without something fucken blowing up

unless x = sadistic gratification, which, as far as i can tell, is the only thing you can ostensibly reliably "achieve" from torturing someone. but perpetrator trauma is common, and it doesn't steer clear of sadists, so it's like. yeah you're hard but now you also have ptsd