Art of Darkness – Capture Roleplay
by wendell on 03/10/07 at 3:07 pm
Absurdly detailed and nearly poetic descriptions of rape – a lot like writing a horror novel
by Wendell Holmer
“Now let me get this straight,” I said to my pretty friend. “Guys chase you around this maze, and you have to undress before they set you free?”
“That’s pretty much it,” she said.
“How do I not know about this?”
On the surface, Capture Roleplay (“CARP”) is a game of sex-tag. But in the hands of talented players, it can go very, very dark.
You pick up a label that describes you as predator or prey and then wander through a hedge maze looking for action. Let’s say you’re a predator. When an attractive victim walks by, you run after her. Some are very athletic and can do leaping somersaults over your head, but eventually you’ll bump into someone. That makes the prey freeze. A menu will appear, which can force the prey into submissive positions.
The usual thing is to request an article of clothing, release the prey, and chase her down again. When you’ve obtained sufficient laundry, roleplay begins. The predator may lead the victim to a private room. Or they’ll engage in a public dialog, drawing vivid word pictures everyone can read.
CARP is not just a virtual panty raid. Roleplay Mentor Cody Woodhen logs in fourteen hours a week and is bored by guys who are just looking to get her clothes off. “Good RP is imaginative and literary,” she says. “Bad RP is ‘top plz.’" (Translation: take off your shirt.)
If she’s stuck with a dull pred, Woodhen will simply unfreeze herself and find someone else. She avoids average looking guys, who are the least creative, in favor of furries, demons, and other unusual partners.
The typical dynamic involves a wicked predator and a terrified, helpless victim, who finds herself submitting to his depredations with increasing relish. Here’s how it usually goes (reprinted with permission):
Prey: p..pp … please Sir….
Predator grins. "Why hello there…. are you afraid of me?"
Prey glances over the spikes and thorns … “y.. yes.. Sir. pl..please don’t.. hurt me.. Sir….”
Predator smiles and strokes your cheek with the back of his fingers, the claws on his hand coming very close to your skin. "Now now… I have no intention of ‘hurting,’ you, my dear … unless of course…. you want to be.” *he grins*
Prey: n.. no Sir! pl.. please Sir! please.. let me go!
Predator: Why would I want to let such a beautiful catch go…. without anything in return?
Prey: i…. but.. but i …. i don’t… have anything.. Sir…..
Predator grins and trails one of his fingers along your cheek, down you neck and in between your breasts slowly. "Oh you have much to give, my dear."
Prey gulps and looks down.
Predator smiles as his hand goes further down before it stops at your crotch, pressing on the fabric lightly against you. "How are you feeling right now my dear?"
Prey closes her eyes tight but doesn’t shy away… “i’m… a little excited Sir.. and.. and… curious.”
The villainy is good natured, almost cartoonish. You can see where it’s going: a happy ending every time.
Experienced players like Woodhen sometimes go very dark. While anyone can stop a roleplay instantly merely by saying, “safeword,” there are times when players intentionally drive each other deeper into the vortex. Woodhen once allowed herself to be savagely raped by an animal, his claws rending her clothes and skin as she wept and pleaded. The ordeal lasted four hours. “We typed absurdly detailed and nearly poetic descriptions of the rape at each other,” she said. “It was my first time going that dark, going that hard, so trying to keep up the level of detail with someone with years of experience is a huge blast. It was a lot like writing a horror novel.”
On another occasion, she taunted a man until he attacked her with a club. “We kept the give and take going as long as we could, every sentence becoming harsher.” Finally, she received an IM: "You sure you want me to hit you with this?" Violence, without express consent, could have gotten him banned. Whitehen kept needling him.
“He swung the bat, and knocked out one of my knees. I slumped against the wall. I hinted that I felt tremendous pain, trying to hide it under thick layers of smartass. This kept the RP going, because now it wasn’t just about exacting revenge for my insults. It was about trying to crack me, to see me suffer. He kicked me hard in the chest. I coughed a little blood. He smiled, another job well done, and left me crying and broken, in the corner of a maze, waiting for an opportunistic predator, who’s tired of words like, ‘No.’"
Whitehen got no sexual pleasure from that episode. But creating collaborative fiction with a stranger was tremendously exciting. That’s the thing about CARP. You never know who you’ll run into.
Missdrr Alderson
Oct 3rd, 2007
SECOND LIFE HERALD
BRINGING YOU THE BEST IN SECOND LIFE RIGHT TO YOUR COMPUTER MACHINE MONITOR BOX.
Second Lulz Vigilante
Oct 3rd, 2007
Simulated rape roleplay. They should just call it what is actually is instead of using a sanitized name like Capture Roleplay.
What a bunch of sick fucks. Seek couseling.
anon1
Oct 3rd, 2007
Rape fantasies. Oh lawd. And these are the people that shit bri/x/ at first site of a screamin’ turtle cube.
Ownage Emmons
Oct 3rd, 2007
Sounds like fun, I think it’s time to get some lulz.
DaveOner
Oct 3rd, 2007
I really don’t know why SL gets so much bad press and people think it’s a corrupt den of whores and vagrants. Keep up the good work SLH!
bitha botha
Oct 3rd, 2007
hot!
MachineCode
Oct 3rd, 2007
SEXUAL ROLEPLAY IS THE PURSUIT OF A DISEASED MIND.
IN B4 WIMMIN RAPIN MEN.
Artemis Fate
Oct 4th, 2007
Unfortunately, I bet this is going to get linked too a bunch from mainstream blogs directed to non-SLers under the title “See how sick and depraved all SLers are?”
This is why the terrorists hate us.
Prokofy Neva
Oct 4th, 2007
I think it’s important to point out the author of this diseased and horrific Internet passtime — Angel Fluffy.
I think it’s more than fine to condemn rape as a passtime. It’s immoral, and fosters a deadening of the sensitivity of rape in general. It’s not moral equivalence to say that rape on the Internet is serious and awful, too. It doesn’t minimize real-life rape; it respects the seriousness of real-life rape by saying that efforts to trivialize rape on the Internet, efforts to minimize its “roleplay” version, help create people who are inured to the idea. That erodes the boundaries of what is acceptable and not acceptable in civilization.
Angel Fluffy is also the person who hijacked the Feature Voting Tool. What he did to the Feature Voting Tool was a lot like this game, removing articles he didn’t like by telling the Lindens they were redundant, off-topic, or just not a good idea. Busy Lindens without much time to parse this just used his list to cull the feature voter; in the end, they completely removed this device. Completely.
Today, we have a horridly rigidly process called “The JIRA bug tracker,” overseen by awful BDSM types like Fluffy (and Fluffy himself is a regular), essentially governing the features of our world, with no normal democratic voting of even the type represented by that old Feature Voting Tool, which was fundamentally flawed by having no “no” vote.
Of course, few people notice how their freedoms and democracy are being taken away by evil characters like Angel Fluffy because they just think it’s important to be tolerant and open-minded to every licentiousness in the name of freedom.
Every people deserves the form of governance they get.
Marc Woebegone
Oct 4th, 2007
How ignorant of you PN. “Every people deserves the form of governance they get.” You would include the histoy of African Americans in this country and others, the people of Darfur, and even the Iraquis? What’s the matter with you anyway?
M
BigJack
Oct 4th, 2007
Aren’t you folks all missing the point. It’s ROLEPLAY .. and completely consensual. Rape is NONconsensual. This is no different than a couple in RL roleplaying a little fantasy in the privacy of their home .. be it airline stewardess/passenger, doctor/patient, etc.
If both parties agree, it AIN’T RAPE. Come on, people, rape is impossible in SL ..all the girl has to do is log off or TP elsewhere at any point. Give the poor roleplayers a break! Roleplaying isn’t my thing, but hey, I can see how it can be fun with the right person, in the right situation.
shockwave yareach
Oct 4th, 2007
Prok: The people involved are there voluntarily. The “victims” also have to put on an AO device to participate – anyone wandering and unawares will neither freeze nor display their stats, making them impossible to “grab”. They also can unfreeze themselves, tport out, and log out if they “don’t wanna”. So no, there is no rape here. While such aggressiveness in a sex-fantasy is not my cup of tea (I prefer seduction and bringing lovers to my bedroom), a couple of my friends enjoy it from time to time either as predator or prey both. Surprise, they have suffered no short or long term harm from it. So honestly, what business is it of yours what others do so long as you don’t have to see it or partake of it?
The only one who seems to want to take away the people’s freedoms here, is you.
Tenshi Vielle
Oct 4th, 2007
Prok, are you going senile? Amazing attempt to hijack the comment thread, though, I applaud your efforts.
This article had me laughing.
Marcy Kramer
Oct 4th, 2007
Women do not like to be raped. Women do not like to play “getting raped.” Women do sometimes like to play French Maid, Flight Attendant or, heaven forbid, the Boss & in-charge. Who do you all really think is behind the avatars playing these roles anyway?! Duh. Have fun raping each other guys!
Missdrr Alderson
Oct 4th, 2007
Today, we have a horridly rigidly process called “The JIRA bug tracker,” overseen by awful BDSM types like Fluffy (and Fluffy himself is a regular), essentially governing the features of our world, with no normal democratic voting of even the type represented by that old Feature Voting Tool, which was fundamentally flawed by having no “no” vote.
Oh lawdy.
Prokky’s butthurt about people telling her to stop writing her longwinded debate essays in a developer discussion area.
Seriously make some little bullet points at the end of your literary barfs. People don’t want to read your bullshit for more than 10 seconds.
DaveOner
Oct 4th, 2007
I love how Prock ALMOST has a point then realizes it and throws a bunch of off-topic rambling in there to give the people what they expect from her…thus giving her something to get attention from and making anyone that even remotely agrees with her look crazy, too.
But yeah, this is stupid shit. I don’t think it’s ban-worthy but rather a commentary on the (lack of) quality of the charater of the people that participate in this shit.
I guess I’m old school but I’d rather have sex be a pleasant and fun thing without pretense of violence and malice with the girl I’m with in that context. Something about respect and wanting to show affection as opposed to pretending to assault someone I care about or are at least attracted to?
I just wonder why something like this is OK to people yet it wouldn’t be acceptable to do “Holocaust Roleplay” where the chick pretends to be in a concentration camp and the guy is a Nazi Officer.
Personally I don’t see much difference between the two.
Angel
Oct 4th, 2007
Roleplay, and fun for a little diversion.
In a way I’m sort of glad Prok doesn’t got there. 5 minute 4 liners can be fun (and is what I tend to run at), but waiting 45 minutes for your prey to write an epistle would soon get tiresome.
/me waits for the SLH to do a tentacle rape story now, badly needed to go with Bukkake, Gor, CARP and Vore.
Alyx Stoklitsky
Oct 4th, 2007
That’s a hilariously tame excerpt of RP you chose to publish. Where’s the tri-dicked inflation naga vore?
shockwave yareach
Oct 5th, 2007
Marcy: Oh, speak for all women, do you? Know ye every mind and every heart of every female upon the planet?
There are quite a few women who fantasize about being “taken” by some macho, brusque hulk. There are also quite a few women who enjoy bondage in some degree. What I have learned about these women is that they keep it to themselves because they are afraid of what their husbands or society might think if they admitted such a desire. (And might your reaction explain why women feel this way, even with their spouses?)
Being voluntarily taken when she can choose the partner and stop things anytime she chooses in SL gives the woman power over the event. It’s her fantasy and she’s in control of it. I can’t imagine anything firing more braincells in a woman’s head than giving her the power over rape itself in a safe harmless environment like SL. So if you think every “prey” in the capture thing is a guy, you are most mistaken. I can assure you that some of the women in the mazes are female in RL and are either having a grand time before going to bed, or are working through some RL issues in the safety of SL.
A woman who has 'em
Oct 5th, 2007
“Women do not like to be raped. Women do not like to play “getting raped.” ”
This post shows an amazing lack of understanding about human sexuality. Rape fantasies are as common as dirt, for men and women. Reasons for it can be anything from a desire for lack of control to a desire to be desired. There is no reason to feel shame for it.
Maria Leveaux
Oct 6th, 2007
One of my Girls got involved with this a while back, She gave it up after a couple of weeks because it was Dull.
I Guess i spoil her too much. Lol.
First of All, Rape fantasies are NOT Rape, and do not lead to rape. (Obviously not as more people Fantasize about being Victem, than those who fantasize about being the aggressor).
Rape Fantasies are shown by research to be the Most Common Sexual fantasy among Adult Americans (Check Kinsey, and the Others in the field of Sex research) The Rates are quite High, depending upon who you Read, anywhere from 75 to 90% of the Population have at one time or another indulged in such fantasies.
Now, If we take the term “Normal” to be defined as “Common to the majority” Then i think the Rape Fantasies definattely qualify. Lets face it, If you insist on adhering to the Concept of “Normal” (My own Opinion Classes the concept along side “perfect” as an UnAttainable ideal) the Numbers just don’t back up the Contention that rape fantasies are an Abnormal practice.
SL is a place where fantasies can safely be Given some substance, and can ALSO be safely Shared. It’s a Place where people are discovering that, Far from being Abnormal, or “Sick F*cks” as some of our more Eloquant Contributers would describe it, Theier particular “Kink” is Far more common than popularly believed. As I’ve said in other threads, These people are Not Freaks, they are your Friends, and Neighbors, They are your Co-workers, and Public Officials. People, They are your FAMILY.
I related once A Woman i Knew passed away, Her daughter entered her On line Life (Not Second life, but she does play here now) In Order to Inform her Mothers friends and aquaintances of her passing. She was Stunned to discover her Mother, (A Woman in her late Sixties) Was a beautiful Little Submissive on line. She was Stunned NOT because of her mothers Chosen fantasy, but because She herself Shared those fantasies, and she deeply regretted Not Knowing her Mother Well enough to have Ever Discussed her feelings In Real life.
My Point is, you Cannot Judge by looking at people what is going on Behind their Eyes, But if you are Assuming that Fantasies like these would never cross their minds, Just because they Don’t Cross yours (At least not that you would publicly admit), You will be Dead Wrong.
Maria.
growup
Oct 7th, 2007
rape sucks. Evensimulated rape. If you findyourself engaging In rape “fantasies” thenget help immediately. This is what mental health professionals are for. Please do not trivialize rape. It is a horrible horrible thing. It is not funny. It is not a role playing game or harmless fun. It is sick. Sick. Sick. Stop it.
crimes
Oct 7th, 2007
Seriously …some people will defend anything. NEWSFLASH rape is not a game! What next? An incest maze? How about a little genocde roleplay? It ‘s not too late to reclaim your humanity.
Maria Leveaux
Oct 7th, 2007
Then again, Why Read Kinsey, and research the Subject before Speaking, when prejudice is such a Time/labour saver?
“When ones words are as Good as silence, Silence is preferable.”
“It is better to Remain Silent, and be thought a Fool, than to Speak, and remove all Doubt”
~Chinese proverbs~
Maria.
DaveOner
Oct 8th, 2007
HEY! Those aren’t chinese proverbs! My grandpa said those!!
Michael Timeless
Oct 8th, 2007
It amazes me how sex, religion or politics can take normally sane people and make them into children bickering back and forth.
People come here to play – period. While I may not agree with every game played in the metaverse I do not chose to dump my morality on others.
For those people who wish to inject the moral rights and wrongs into every discussion perhaps they should look in the mirror. Is that avitar dressed like you? Does it look like you? If it doesn’t then aren’t you lying? Where’s the morality in that?
Reminds me of the old joke. A man asks a woman if she’d sleep with him for a million dollars and she thinks about it. When he then offers her less she exclaims, “What do you think I am?” His reply, “We’ve already decided that, now were dickering on the price.”
Fantasy is fantasy. There is not a person here who hasn’t thought about doing something that might stun the neighbors or Mrs. Grundy’s of the world. The difference is in carrying them out. This article was about someone’s idea of fun. If the article was about someone rubbing furry bunnies at the petting zoo someone might take offense and call it bestiality.
It’s all a matter of your perspective isn’t it?
Mike
Minx
Oct 8th, 2007
I think it’s important to note here too that not *all* CARP scenarios end in a rape fantasy. Of course the sim is geared toward the BDSM crowd, a good deal of the RP that I’ve personally experienced never goes beyond heavy flirtation.
Some RPer’s have on their tag “strip only” which usually leads to scenarios that are certainly sexual in nature, but no more dangerous than say a game of virtual strip poker.
That being said, a sim like this will certainly attract its fair share of darker individuals; but as in anything in SL, they can only go as far as you let them. I’ve bee propositioned by some pretty shady characters just shopping.
Sir Defiant
Oct 9th, 2007
Yet another example of pure ignorance, a pointless argument in the entirety because nobody stops and listens, they are too busy trying to be heard.
Basically if it isn’t for you, don’t do it, it is that simple. Yes a percentage of the female avatars on SL are in fact male, and vice versa. It is a fantasy world, each and every one of us can be who we want to be.
Obviously rape fantasies are going to be a sensitive subject for many people, and I respect their views. I guarantee I would never go onto a sim that is not specifically geared for rape play in order to promote or defend it. However it seems the respect is never a two way street, and the respectable people who are offended by such things may be respectable, but are in no wise respectFUL.
In an environment where a mouseclick can remove you from any situation there is no such thing as non-consentual play,anyone who engages in such activity is there because they choose to be there, whether they are on the giving or the receiving end, and if the previous complainant is right and “women do not like rape fantasies” then such environments would not exist for all the outrage to originate from.
Mary Meek
Oct 15th, 2007
When I read this article I was actually slightly relieved. I’m an avid CARP goer (when I can which is unfortunately not too often) but have been beginning to doubt my style of RP. I read with relief the section in the article talking about how one girl taunted her captor. Finally, someone else does too! Obviously I am not the only one who enjoys thinking up a variety of smart ass remarks and being punished for them.
The number of times a predator has captured me only to quickly set me free after the weakest of insults has been quickly adding up recently so it’s nice to be reassured once in a while that I’m not the only one out there.
In short this comment hails all the good CARP role players, smart ass remark making & sarcastic ones especially, and the author of this article for reminding me how I’m not the only one is CARP who likes it really dark sometimes…
Mary Meek
P.S. I don’t mean to be horribly critical but doesn’t anyone else think that the girl with that Predator, in the example given, definitely should have emoted more?
P.P.S Thanks again Wendell Holmer for writing the article! Very well written. And the more positive publicity CARP gets the better I say. So thank you!
Lorelei
Feb 26th, 2008
I’m betting most people who posted here that rape roleplay is wrong, are people who have used weapons in SL to pretend to kill other (consenting) players. If roleplaying murder is no big deal, then lesser crimes should not be forbidden from roleplay either.
Karicus
Jul 7th, 2008
ummmm *ponders and scratches his chin* I have a question for all of those questioning the activities of the people who Rp such things.. What gives you the right to judge these people who enjoy roleplaying with, id like to point out, pixelated characters and text, who up until now, i hadnt realised got any rights at all and who are, in essecnce computer binary code floating around a wire somewhere. When its between two consenting adults be they male, female, both the same sex whatever. How can a pixelated character be ‘raped’? What? do you think the big bad man on the other side of the world is gonna pop out the screen and molest the female typist? *rolls his eyes* Ignorance is bliss sometimes isnt it?
Lets point out, its a fantasy for both parties. Ever fantasied about doing something but kown it wouldnt be right? imagined something that wasnt real? No? well you are quite quite dull because all secondlife is, is fantasy nothing more, nothing less. Be you driving a ferari you could never own in real life, swinging a sword in medieval roleplay or consenting CARP. Besides, just cus it isnt your idea of a fantasty dont make it wrong do it? Answers please, id really like to know. *laughs*
Drcode Dreamscape
Nov 28th, 2008
If rape and roleplayed Non-consensual violence aren’t popular, please explain the popularity of RestrainedLife Viewer and all the accessories designed for it?
RLV and its accessories are implemented by the victim to limit their ability to escape or get out of bondage, Obviously us “sick fucks” needed something closer to real life…
My 2 cents
Solar Legion
Nov 29th, 2008
You know, the unfortunate thing here is that this so called Roleplay Mentor bases what a person is capable of by their appearance.
In my time Roleplaying in purely text based environments,I have come to find that often it is the ‘average’ and ‘normal’ looking characters you need to be especially careful of: I use them myself as well, nothing quite like having Mr. Joe Normal suddenly becoming a Demon Wolf or simply a mental illusion by some Elemental Beast.
For me, I used to use such characters in a manner that combined seduction, mental control (to a point), a physical addiction (sometimes), bondage/capture (nine tails: use your imagination), force and even rape (to an extent).
Hell, I had (I have yet to bring this one over to SL, I cannot find all the visual parts I need) what I dubbed a Shadow Beast: A Darkness/Shadow Elemental Demon whose primary talent is the manipulation of the Shadows/Darkness near it: Bondage, rape and the like was not difficult for this type of character, in fact many of the scenes that my partners liked the most often involved the shadows within their own puss being formed into a dick and taking them … while several tendrils of shadow held them down, with another tendril fucking their mouth, all of this to wear them down before the Shadow Beast finally took a physical form to finish the job!
While I do not Roleplay often anymore (I currently only RP with one person) I am available to coach others and perhaps give a small taste of the sort of RP I used to engage in.
Message me in world sometime: Be warned, I am moving soon and will be out of communication for a bit so be patient.