My Thesis about the Zeal and Ren situation

[ayin]

Reposted from BDNS.

---

as everyone probably knows, Ren/NoLongerNull, former composer of Pressure, accused Zeal, the project lead of Pressure, of sexual assault and manipulation recently. I wanted to make a sequence of events regarding this. I would like to make it clear that I do not support Zeal and you should go side with Ren, but if new updates arise, I will make a response to it.

Zeal’s response just came out today so I’ll be looking to it.

Of course, TW for mentions of Sexual Assault and Self-death. Comfort censor due to text flood.

Spoiler

As a reminder, Zeal:

• “Pretended to be his mother”
• Made the infamous response video (talking about Work at a Pizza Place + “sorry I wasn’t good at sex”) which we’ll look further into
• Apparently attempted to end his life
  Keep in mind that Ren specifically said this: “Zeal. I beg of you, please, do not harm yourself or others around you because of this document. Don’t self-harm. Don’t kill yourself. It will not make things better for you, or for those who love you, if you even care. And do not yell at, or harm, anyone else around you (from the team, or your friends/family).”
• Played Roblox while in the hospital; it is common that if you’re in the hospital because of this psych, the internet may be taken away from you or you just get restrictive access. Social Media is usually a leading cause to attempts.
• Is diagnosed with Autism, which is important for what I’m about to go over due to his lack of social cues
• Sent cute animals cuddling to other women so no special treatment was given.

Ren:

• Is diagnosed with BPD, and so explains this section:
  
• Apparently enjoyed the interactions she had with Zeal (with DM proof of it) though she retracted consent after
  Keep in mind that you CAN retract consent if you felt that someone may have been pushy the entire time, or that they manipulated you and you found out. You’re valid.

Timeline:

1. Ren used to work with Zeal before she ultimately stepped down. Zeal and Ren did have minor arguments like leaking unofficial/confidential music Ren made before RDC.
2. Ren and Zeal got along privately. Zeal was prideful of his figure, and Ren was “happy” about it. Zeal wanted to carry Ren around from his pride because Ren is shorter than him.
   Virtual and physical consent is different. Zeal probably thought both.
3. To RDC, Zeal shared what hotel he was in (Mariott) to Ren, which was somehow a plan even though Ren originally asked where Zeal was. When they both met, Zeal carried her around. Ren did not like it but preferred not to show it because she was depending on Zeal; this could be that Zeal was Ren’s “favorite person.”
4. Zeal and Ren had intercourse, except Zeal apparently made sure Ren was taken care of. Ren explicitly stated that she liked the interaction several times on their DMs, however Zeal did not pick up the fact Ren genuinely depended on him. This might mean Ren had hypersexual tendencies.
5. Ren got concealer from a friend after Zeal gave her hickeys unintentionally, however Ren was rubbing it off and showing off the hickeys she got from Zeal, which led to multiple people knowing, what Zeal didn’t want. Zeal confronted Ren about it when Ren was at the theater and Zeal was heading back to his dorm, explaining that Ren broke his trust. Ren would then try to find the person who told others, exclaiming a threat to harm them.
6. Ren attempted soon after Zeal turned off his phone, and when Zeal learned about it once he was home, he was horrified. He still had feelings for her and he wanted to help her out still. This can be ignorance, however a breach of privacy is still a bad thing to do. I do not blame Zeal for Ren’s attempt.
   Note that this screenshot in particular is still weird.
   
7. Due to the RDC delaying the Operation: Heartburn update, Zeal was more busier, not responding to Ren frequently and trying to meet up the short deadline. Zeal forgot her real name, usually referring her as Ren. This is not meant to be a bad thing.
8. Zeal wanted to reject Ren because of everything that happened, because he felt entrapped. Zeal apparently never saw Ren as “a body to use” but as someone to be taken care of, but Zeal didn’t want long-distance relationships. Ren was pushing it, but Zeal kept his ground as FWB only.
9. During “The Block,” an event Ren attended, Zeal learned that Ren harassed people through DMs and in-person and gloated about tearing apart a sticker. Ren also leaked music early. This led Zeal to lose further interest in Ren, as initially, Zeal didn’t want to date due to their locations. Zeal was content with Ren removing her private account from his, and since she cut his Twitter off, Zeal didn’t know about the suspension.
10. Zeal began to act cold to Ren as a plan of her leaving Zeal for good. Zeal apparently never claimed that Ren assaulted him at all. Ren was banned from RDC due to the self-death scare, and was excommunicated from her team due to her actions. Zeal did look after her financially, and Zeal does not know why Ren retracted her consent.
    also small note but you can’t be saying “Consent given cannot be retracted 6 months later.” in a response to you apparently sexually assaulting somebody; it’s insensitive and really dumb

Summary: Zeal and Ren worked until Ren quit, they were still friends moving into FWB, Ren was romantically pursuing Zeal and Zeal denied it, Ren attempted and Zeal felt bad, but then Ren did fucked up shit which made Zeal want to distance himself from her.

Of course, support Ren and boycott the game plus its merch. Do not say anything about the game or call it “drama” as this is a serious situation that has harmed several people. Aside from this, we can only hope Zeal is doing okay. Nobody should die from this, but it should be a time to learn and change.
PS. Ren prefers to be called a survivor, not a victim.