Victim Falls For Rapist: Difference between revisions

It is a staple of published [[Yaoi]] and [[Slash Fic]], in which a disproportionate amount used a rape scene to bring the two male characters together, but can also extend to heterosexual couples and [[Psycho Lesbian|women]]. Also popular in "bodice ripper" [[Romance Novel|romances]], in which resistant women are overwhelmed with passion as men force themselves upon them, though it should be noted that these types of stories were mostly popular in the 70s and 80s and are now, for the most part, considered a [[Dead Horse Genre]] in the romance novel community. The receiving end may rant, protest, push away, cry [[Sparkling Stream of Tears|glistening tears]]... but before the first half of the scene is over, they'll have started cooperating and acknowledging their enjoyment, probably while [[Luminescent Blush|blushing furiously]] . As a famous [[Memetic Mutation|meme goes:]] "It wasn't rape, it was just surprise sex you didn't know you wanted."

 

 

Whichever genre, a [[Victim Falls For Rapist]] scene is used as a convenient plot device to give the victim an arousing experience without actually [[My Girl Is Not a Slut|soiling their innocence]], because it wasn't their choice to have sex in the first place. There's something kinky in forcing a person to realize his/her love. And if the victim falls in love with the rapist, that ups the angst meter.

A subtrope of [[Stockholm Syndrome]] and [[Hollywood Sex]]. See also [[Prison Rape]], [[Naughty Tentacles]]. Compare [[Stalking Is Love]], [[Black Comedy Rape]], [[Rape As Drama]]. Contrast [[Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil]], ~It's Not Rape If You Enjoyed It~. For the G-rated but no less creepy (and no less [[Don't Try This At Home|illegal]]) version of this trope, see [[Abduction Is Love]]. Contrast [[Marital Rape License]], where the rape is generally portrayed as heinous although the rapist may [[From a Certain Point of View|consider]] the rape to be an act of love and also his husbandly right -- which in some cultural contexts it actually is. Often results in an [[Esoteric Happy Ending]].

 

{{examples}}

 

* In ''[[Okane ga Nai]]'', Kanou rapes Ayase in an attempt to convey his feelings, but Ayase eventually falls in love with him anyways. Then it's played for [[Black Comedy Rape|comedy]] in an extra by having Kanou travel back in time back to the moment of the rape and proceed to attack his past-self for what he is about to do to Ayase. Ayase also gets hit with this trope at nearly every corner, where ''every single straight male'' in this manga either falls in love with and wants to or attempts to rape Ayase. And Ayase, being the living embodiment of [[Too Dumb to Live]] and [[The Ingenue]], only narrowly avoids said rape--when it's not [[Karma Houdini|Kanou]]--by virtue of the people around him who ''don't'' want him to get raped noticing the danger signs. Ironically, the only men who aren't interested in Ayase at all are the gay guys. Who are interested in Kanou.

* It is up to debate whether Shizuru raped Natsuki in her sleep in ''[[Mai-HiME]]'', as the details are sketchy and the plot never goes back and addresses it and exactly how far she went. However, the [[Victim Falls For Rapist]] plot is used straight in the same series between Yukariko the nun and the art teacher Ishigami. Many fans [[Hand Wave]] actions done in the series as the "dark influence" of various plot devices, as most everyone is [[Easily Forgiven|miraculously forgiven in the end]].

* In ''[[Kannazuki no Miko]]'', Chikane rapes the love of her life, Himeko, as part of a [[Plan]] to destroy the [[Big Bad]] without killing Himeko [[Because Destiny Says So]].

* A different take on this trope occurs in ''[[Gravitation]]'': {{spoiler|Shuichi allows himself to be gang-raped to protect his lover from defamation. It's implied that the fact that he did it out of love allowed him to recover from it pretty quickly. No emotional damage, no second thoughts, Shuichi is okay because he got raped out of love for Yuki.}} The more traditional version is subverted in a flashback: {{spoiler|Eiri Uesugi kills his mentor for raping him, although his name--Yuki--does become Eiri's pen name}}.

* In Saki Hiwatari's Shoujo classic ''[[Please Save My Earth]]'' The ''concept'' is used for Big Drama, as well as propelling much of the plot. The two characters end up in love and together. However what actually happened is moot as everyone is an [[Unreliable Narrator]] due to unclear memories heavily influenced by emotions. This causes the characters and readers to be uncertain about how much blame to impart and who to feel sorry for. See [[Please Save My Earth (Manga)/YMMV|Please Save My Earth]] YMMV section for possible interpretations.

* ''[[Hot Gimmick]]'' romanticizes an abusive relationship: readers are expected to support the heroine's [[Love Martyr|decision to remain]] with her [[Troubled but Cute]] love interest at the end -- his blackmail, physical force, and coerced sexual encounters with her are supposed to be how he expresses his love for her. {{spoiler|And then it's subverted in the novels, where Hatsumi is paired up... with Shinogu.}}

** In the anime version, anyway, Andre's actions are also supposed to be evidence of his ''immaturity'', and one of the reasons Oscar doesn't (yet) return his feelings. (The title of the episode wherein it occurs is "Andre, a Green Lemon")

** It's also an indication of the extreme stress he's been under ever since he {{spoiler|lost his eye, and potentially going completely blind}}. The anime makes it very clear [[Not Himself|that he snapped and that what he did was wrong]], hence why their relationship is (for a while) ruined by it.

* Appears a bit too commonly in fanfiction in general.

* Poison Apple by [[Robbin Rocks]] and Narroach; first Light rapes L, then L rapes Light for revenge, Light drugs L and they have drugged "making love". . . somehow.

* Sasuke rapes ''[[Naruto]]'' in almost 80% of the yaoi fics in which they appear.

* Sierra from [[Total Drama Island|Total Drama World Tour]] will do this to Cody in a lot of fanfics (and probably to a lesser extent, she'll do this to the rest of the characters)

* In [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s novel ''[[Friday (Literature)|Friday]]'', the titular heroine eventually ends up with one of the men who raped her in the beginning of the book as part of an interrogation. This is partially justified, as (a) said rapist <s>was only following orders,</s> and is willing to fall on his sword to beg forgiveness when they meet again, (b) the rape scene was meant to show that Friday herself was [[The Stoic]], even in that situation (she's mostly annoyed while she plans to exploit [[Rape Is Love]] to her advantage), (c) as a covert agent, rape was considered a routine part of capture and interrogation so he was doing what his role demanded, (d) this specific rapist also allowed her to go to the bathroom, a kindness Friday doesn't forget and counts in the guy's favor; and (e) the real reason for the rape scene is to show how Friday (an [[Artificial Human]]) has been indoctrinated to think of herself as ''not'' human after her dehumanizing childhood. In any case, readers may still find the pairing fairly cringe-worthy.** It is made explicit throughout the novel that Friday, and indeed all Artificial Persons (genetically engineered human beings) are raised to be "indentured" (read "slaves"), with "doxy" (read "sex slave") training being part of basic schooling, and had extremely permissive and casual attitudes about all sex. As a result, since {{spoiler|1=both she and her rapist were Artificial Persons (APs)}}, not only does Friday consider being forced into sex to be pretty much a non-issue, but {{spoiler|both undoubtedly had been in the position of being ordered to have sex in their training with other [[A Ps]], and "willingness" was never an issue, while they were growing up}}. This makes even more sense when you realize how stupid it would be to make a sex slave who was superhumanly strong, fast, ''and'' objected to rape.

** She actually did threaten to castrate Pete with her bare hands when she first met him again... until she found {{spoiler|he was also an Artificial Person, at which point she immediately empathized with him. Apparently their common origin and sex-slave training had Friday realizing that she couldn't really hate him without also in a way hating ''herself''... when her [[Character Development]] over most of the book is that she's slowly been learning ''not'' to do that.}}

* [[Stationery Voyagers|Neone Delft]] and Carl Worniti's short-lived affair is a subversion of both this and [[Platonic Prostitution]]. She really didn't want to give herself to ''anyone'' before her wedding day, but settled for Carl's advances both because he paid and because [[Resigned to The Call|the alternative was just not gonna happen]]. When Pentacko decides to reward Carl and Neone's loyalty to each other with [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|pumping him with lead]], this [[It's Personal|embitters]] Neone to the point of being slow to Marlack's advances. But, when she realizes that Marlack [[Replacement Love Interest|only wanted to be the same kind of gentleman to her that Carl was]] (and was about to be killed by the same band of thugs!,) she [[Must Make Amends|immediately leaps into danger to attempt a rescue]].

** After Marsty [[Heel Face Turn|renounces Astrabolo]], and he is found severely wounded and betrayed, Verdegal refuses to let anyone keep him in jail for having raped her a long time ago. More of a roundabout; as the rape didn't lead to love. It was the fact that he was browbeaten into service to Astrabolo that led to [[Not So Different|Verdegal pitying him]], [[Red String of Fate|which lead to love]].

* Used realistically in [[John Ringo]]'s ''[[Council Wars]]'' series when the Big Bad kidnaps one of the heroines (along with a bunch of other women) for his harem. All are raped repeatedly until [[Stockholm Syndrome]] sets in, at which point the heroine is horrified to realize that she actually loves him, though that doesn't stop her from killing him in a [[Karmic Death|particularly nasty and gruesome fashion]]. Unusual in that the victim is fully aware of what has happened to her and recognizes that she's undergone a form of brainwashing. A later book shows that all of her harem-mates also suffered severe psychological trauma from the experience.

* Played fairly straight in Frank Herberts [[Dune]] series. The novels include various characters who are manipulated or forced into sexual situations and then end up in love with their partner. Of particular note are clones (called gholas) who lack the memories of their clone-parent until they are awakened through extreme trauma or awesome Jedi ninja sex. Since it is easier to awaken a clone through sex than trauma, "surprise sex" becomes the method of choice.

* Subverted in the French science fiction juggernaut (11.500+ pages without counting the sequel and spinoffs) ''La Compagnie des Glaces'' (''The Ice Company''): The "Rail Pirate" Kurts and his crew rape the powerful [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|Corrupt Corporate]] [[European Union|European]] [[Femme Fatale]] Floa Sadon, who acts as if she was enjoying it. The subversion comes from the fact that Kurts then falls in love with Floa, but she starts to love him only once their relationship becomes consensual and she has him wrapped around her little finger. Well, since they both are [[Magnificent Bastard|Magnificent Bastards]], maybe they were meant to be together...

** Another example comes from the fact that the protagonist, Lien Rag, is captured by a repulsive female mob leader who wants to have a child by him (she enjoys being pregnant, and Lien is supposed to have some specific genetic material that the mob leader would like to "implement" into her offspring). The mob leader then uses her younger and much better-looking daughter to make Lien "ready" and switch with her at the last minute. Lien Rag does not fall in love with the mob leader, but when it comes to her daughter, the fact that she was the accomplice in his rape does not bother him... or her, for that matter.

** It's also worth noting that Nora and Patch officially hook up after [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|he ignores her protests, tricks her into staying in a single-bed motel room with him, throws her on the bed and against the wall, and kisses her.]]

* The narrator of Chris Lynch's ''Inexcusable'' fully believes in this trope, but he has a habit of unintentionally undermining his own arguments. This is ''entirely'' deliberate on Lynch's part.

* The [[Gor]] novels by John Norman. There are examples in all the books of the series, usually many examples apiece.

 

** Another ''[[Days of Our Lives]]'' example, much much earlier. Bill Horton raped Laura Horton, his brother Mickey's wife. She confided in their father, and they agreed it was best to keep it a secret. She became pregnant from the rape and passed the child off as her husband's, but eventually the true paternity was revealed. She ended up divorced from Mickey and married to Bill.

*** Deconstructed in the late eighties when Jack forced himself on his wife Kayla, who married him only because he was dying and her actual boyfriend (Jack's long lost brother) pushed her to marry him so that he could be happy in his final days. Of course, Jack survived his illness and his crazy-ass father was secretly trying to kill Kayla (forcing her to spend more time with Jack's brother in order to protect her). For a long time, Jack justified his rape as saying that as Kayla's legal husband, that he had a right to force himself upon her. A defense he used to successfully avoid jail time when Kayla filed charges against him. Cut to a few years later and Jack (now a good guy after falling in love with the spunky [[Purity Sue]] Jennifer Horton), finds out that Jennifer ended up marrying a crazy rich guy named Lawrence, while pretending to be his intended arranged marriage bride to be. Oh and that Lawrence, upon finding out that Jennifer is not the woman his parents intended him to marry right before the ceremony, went through with the wedding simply so that he could confront Jennifer after the wedding with the truth and violently rape her and then tells her that no judge in the world would convict him of rape since they were legally married when he assaulted him. Jennifer ultimately goes through a slow boil breakdown which culminated in her calling Jack a rapist to his face right before she confessed to him about what happened between her and Lawrence. For added humiliation and evil lulz, Jack is called as a witness by Lawrence's lawyer and forced to read from his previous spousal rape trial transcript in order to make Lawrence's case that he had every right to rape Jack's beloved. This leads to Jack's [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]], where he yells at Lawrence that his claim is bullshit and FINALLY owns up to what he did to Kayla and admits that he raped her.

*** At present, Marty is again being played by the original actress. The character has amnesia and Todd is manipulating her into falling in love with him. Todd remains one of the show's most popular characters, possibly because those offended by his continued presence and supposed "redemption" have stopped watching.

** On [[Another World]], Jake raped Marley when she tried to end their relationship. Fast-forward a few years and not only is Jake engaged to Marley's sister Vicky, Marley is [[Clingy Jealous Girl|insanely jealous]] and gushing and fawning over Jake to the point where HE seems genuinely disturbed by this.

* ''[[The Tribe (TV)|The Tribe]]'': Lex tries to rape Zandra. She responds, on the advice of the advice of the group's new [[Granola Girl]], by proposing to him. And in case this wasn't weird and uncomfortable enough, they're both 14.

* ''[[Rescue Me]]''. Take your pick, people. We have drugged, drunk, physical, mental, verbal...the list just keeps going. And nobody seems to care.

* ''[[The Mighty Boosh]]'' somehow managed to play this trope for laughs when Bob Fossil's plot to get two pandas to mate goes haywire. Vince dresses up like a panda and has a romantic dinner with the female to make the male jealous, but proves too sexy for even a panda to resist, and gets raped by the female. But after the rape, Vince continues the ruse, seeming to have developed a meaningful romantic/sexual relationship with the panda.

** Which is interesting because [[Guiding Light]] did a deconstruction of this in 1979, with Roger and Holly. Holly had been cheating on Roger with Ed. When Roger found out, he raped her, in his mind, to prevent her from leaving him. Holly, needless to say, did not see it that way, and filed charges against him. Look it up on Google or Yahoo.

* Inverted in ''[[Penn and Teller Bullshit]]'' in their war on porn episode. One of their guests suggested that porn will dehumanize women and thus make men think rape won't hurt them. This was met with an angry rebuttal by Penn saying (yelling) "Rapists fucking know they're hurting their victims! Hurting is the fucking idea, fucking isn't the fucking idea! You're trying to take away our porn by telling us that rapists are sensitive lovers who are simply misled by fiction?! No! No! No! No! Rapists are violent criminals who must be stopped."

* Can occur in the Bastard of Kosigan series, but only with Diane using a high-Charisma character. Every other rape scene is played more realistically (i.e. she uses the opportunity to pull a [[Groin Attack]], she calls the city guards on you, she pulls a [[Groin Attack]] forcing you to drop your weapon then [[Shapeshifting Lover|turning back into her natural form and attacks you]]...)

* If the player romances Vico in ''[[A Dance With Rogues]]'', it is as a result of this trope. Especially given how the initial scene of the romance plays out.

** Also subverted, in that it's 1. Literally all a fantasy, 2. A very bad idea by Aruceid, and 3. Is coming a good portion from Shiki's own head. Also overlaps with '[[Black Comedy Rape]]', and 'Be careful what you wish for'.

** There is also a later seen where Shiki catches a glimpse in Arcueid's Gold Eyes as she kills some undead. The Line "I just...want her..." Results in his Nanaya persona forcing himself upon her. Afterwards, she is apologetic, as A) She's starting to fall for Shiki by that point and B) her Gold Eyes have hypnotic properties. That is to say, she thinks she accidentally hypnotized him into having sex with her, which would make her the rapist. They both feel horribly guilty for a good deal after the event.

** Rance, while he doesn't comprehend that rape is wrong, believes that regardless of the situation, both parties should be at least physically satisfied at the end of it. Hence why when he found out a character was raped in order to traumatize them, he was enraged beyond imagination.

* Subverted in ''Rapelay'', by ILLUSION, a game which is about stalking and raping women. The entire game is actually an affirmation of the this trope, where the player trains the victims into loving his attacks.

* In ''[[Alice Madness Returns]]'', {{spoiler|Angus Bumby was infatuated with Alice's sister Lizzie. Lizzie however hated Bumby since she could see that he was [[Obviously Evil]]. Believing that she was playing hard to get, he then sneaks into her room, rapes her and then burns down the Liddel household in order to cover his tracks.}}

 

== Western Animation ==

* In the second ''[[Futurama]]'' movie: {{spoiler|Yivo, the titular ''Beast With A Billion Backs'' does this with the entire universe}}.

* ''[[Moral Orel]]'' got cancelled because of an episode centering on a woman who lured a rapist to lose her virginity, fell in love with him, and recently learned he committed suicide in prison. This is followed by a masturbation session that gets [http://i53.tinypic.com/2isee81.png pretty goddamn surreal].

* [[South Park|Mr. Garrison]] believes that his father does not love him because he never molested him as a child. For some reason his mother thinks the same way and is shocked to find out that it never happened.

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Victim Falls For Rapist]]