Too Much Rape?

Azzie here, (creators of Jenevieve, Lino, and Tahir in case you don't know)

Okay so this is something I've been wanting to write about for awhile now, I've just been really scared to do so.

I really love CdS. I love the people, the characters, and the theme. But lately I haven't been as active as normal. Part of that is due to the fact that I'm really busy, and another aspect to that is sometimes I feel uncomfortable here.

As a lot of you all ready know, I'm a huge fan of S&M, bondage, smut, etc. But there gets to a point where there is a line to cross, and I fear that line has been crossed many many times.

I'm not even saying I'm innocent. Lino's whole back story is that he was raped, abused, kidnapped, etc. And I wanted to rp that because I wanted to really get inside of his head. I wanted to rp a character who had Stockholm syndrome, something that interested me in the sense that I didn't understand it! Bee was wonderful enough to help me make an OC to do this to him.

Eventually it got the the point though where the rape was considered sexy. And it wasn't just with Lino. It's happened with sooo many other characters, including (and this may be a bad move on my part to list them out but I'm not holding anything back right now):

> Evengi
> Tyrael
> Brandusa
> Tuzik
> Zakhar
> Coleian
> Damien

(sorry if I spelt the name wrong. OTL)

And that's just what I can list off of the top of my head.

I'm just curious... is rape really considered sexy with this group? I see that your characters suffer, but the rapists don't appear to be blamed or looked down on for their horrible actions.

And why is rape in some cases taken seriously while in others not so much? Why was it so horrible when Aodh raped Aeker, or when Moe was raped? But it was sexy when Zakhar took Tyrael by force, or when Lino forced himself onto Damien?

It's something I've been concerned and confused with for awhile now, but have been too shy/scared to say anything. However it's become such a strong theme in CdS that I feel I can't just not say anything anymore.

And again, I know this may come across as a little hypocritical. I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I have acted like I thought it was sexy because that's what everyone else seemed to be thinking. On the inside though I felt sick. I shouldn't have been fake like that.

And again I want to point out, I'm a huge fan of S&M and role play. But things should be consensual. And if it isn't, (Lord knows I'm not just about all fluffy and happiness) then it shouldn't be portrayed as no big deal, hot, or a turn on.

I'm curious to hear people's thoughts. I hope you all don't hate me for saying this. I just really had to vocalize my thoughts.

Oh, and the reason I put this into suggestions is because I'm personally suggesting that we, the writers of this awesome group, do something about the trope Hunters of Blood has fallen into. (The rape is sexy trope)

I just really want some discussion on this to ease my mind. I've become such good friends with so many of you. And I would be lying to say that it doesn't get to me some of the topics my friends here seem to find as being sexy or okay.

Because rape isn't okay. It's horrible. I don't want to get too personal, but I've been raped/molested twice in my life. (well way to go Azzie, that wasn't personal at all orz) I can speak from experience just how awful it is, how it isn't a subject to be taken lightly. And yeah, it hurts sometimes that my friends here seem to think that (even if it's just in fiction) there isn't anything wrong with it.

Again, I hope I haven't upset anyone, or offended. And again I hope that you will share your thoughts with me. (Anyone is welcome to join the discussion, but I really want to hear from Arty, Bee, and Pops the most as it's the three of you I rp the most with/ am the closet to)

Firstly, I'd like to say I'm so sorry if it came across that way! Most of the time, I didn't intend it, and I was trying to keep it away from rape, though apparently it didn't work very well OTL

Umm... with my characters, i try to keep it as far away from rape as possible, but sometimes it's difficult and it depends how you see it.

With Evgeni, I kind of tried to make it so that he consented in return for the room and a place to stay, though that might not have come across in my writing very well. That, and he's generally uncomfortable with being dominated, because it makes him feel vulnerable, but he would have no issue with fucking Zakhar, as can be seen in the thread in the stables which I've forgotten the name of.

Also, with Damien, I actually felt quite uncomfortable with writing that bit, but initially, Damien did consent. That last part I didn't find attractive at all, because it is rape and I do agree with you on that front.

The only one of my characters that I would say WAS raped was Camille, and I haven't written that. I find that horrible, personally, and Camille is my absolute baby, and I really feel gut-wrenchingly bad for him.

So personally I would say I don't write rape as a rule, but it might not have come across that way, and I am very sorry if it didn't. I will definitely be more careful in future not to be so ambiguous and maybe put some less fighty characters in. Ev's definitely starting to submit more naturally now anyway, so hopefully that will end that.

I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable <3

bravo! i applaude you for standing up and pointing it out. i for one had these very same thoughts and was one of the reasons i left. its why you never see Alexander RP sex, just for the fact of the likely hood of what it may turn into.

i really missed this group but i whole heartedly agree with this post.

@ Pops, what you said really means a lot to me. I was so scared after I posted this, but everyone's reactions have been so positive and mature. With S&M it's hard to know what the boundaries are between consent and rape when writing fiction. I think that so long as we make it clear that both parties are pleasured and agreeing to the situation it should be fine, even if they put up a chase at first, so to speak. The key factor is to write with care, which you've made clear that you will do. (And I will do so as well!)
As far as what happened with Damien, I can say that Lino feels absolutely horrible about that. He never smoked before, but after he did that he decided to punish himself by becoming a heavy smoker, like Damien is. Every time he smokes a cigarette he thinks of Damien. :'(
At any rate, I'm glad to know that we feel the same way and that we're on the same page! *huggles*

@Paul, thank you for the encouragement! That really means a lot to me! Something that writing this really proved is that the people in this group are extremely mature and considerate to the way each member feels. Both Bee and Arty have talked to me in the chats about it, and they both agree'd to the thread as well. Everyone has decided that they're going to be more careful, myself included. (I really don't want to make it seem like I was totally innocent, cause I wasn't.)

As far as Alexander's sex life, don't worry about that! Both Jenevieve and Tahir have had great sexual experiences here that aren't even remotely close to S&M, let alone something unconsentual.

@ both of you, sorry for any typos or any of this response not making sense. It's 8 am here and I pulled an all-nighter. idk why I do this to myself. OTL

anytime if it is confidence that people lack then i will gladly give them mine
yes tahir grrr sexy sexy lycan... lol and jene was an interesting one

as for the typos's i dont mind, what is grammar anyway?