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I’m a newbie and I haven’t experienced the sort of trauma and abuse that a lot of you have been subjected to/are still carrying, so maybe what I’m saying is a little out of line.
I’m a blunt person so I’m gonna come out and say it.
The system/ the game seems to rely a lot on the cycle of abuse…
This scares me.
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@genghistwan: I’m trying to figure this out… I personally didn’t experience anything that I’d consider to have been a cycle of abuse from the Creators. If you are referring to things that occurred within the story, I can see this, but I’d remind that the genre we’re dealing in is likely categorized as Psychological Horror, so some violence, fear, manipulation, etc. is to be expected, in my opinion. If you mean the community was a toxic thing, I do realize there are some very strong opinions on this front. My take is that every relationship in life has potential positives and negatives that must be navigated from time to time. Some of us had a really positive experience throughout, some not so much. I suppose some of that can be chalked up to perspective or individual personalities or probably a variety of other complex variables.
It’s a really delicate topic and I’m trying to be as diplomatic as I can while still being true to my own beliefs. I’d like to understand how you’ve come to have these concerns. Please help me understand your perspective.
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I don’t believe that this community is toxic. There is some discontent sometimes, but there’s bound to be some of that. I just thought that the narrative seemed to use the cycle of abuse as a guideline to how to psychologically keep players coming back for more and it scares me if I’m being totally honest.
Storywise and even IRL we look forward to the next unfortunate event…. which we already know will probably be something more terrible. I mean they’re promising, “It only gets worse from here.”
Makes me wonder about how much of this is thrill seeking and how much of this is just simple psychological manipulation. Again pretty damn scary.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_of_abuse
Also the first stage of the cycle of abuse is Tension
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I think what separates it from abuse and entertainment is this: at any time, you can walk away and not a soul will stop you. You can straight ‘nope‘ out of a situation, room, interaction or phone call, and know you’ll be okay.
I more-so agree with that there is manipulation, because until the paid event, we are motivated by promises, a peppering of events, also by the community (just like reddit). I’m okay with that. It’s like reading the book until the movie comes out, it’s all back story and ‘how far down the rabbit hole do you want to go?’Certainly though, it’s impossible to explain and out of context, sounds appalling! I got Iced meat rubbed on me, and that’s not how my Saturdays tend to go. But, I digress, I like it , this thing, these experiences, because they are journeys, not just a destination. It’s less of a roller coaster and more of a labyrinth.
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Both very good points @ah-lay & @theladyj. I feel very confident in saying that no one in front of or behind the curtain wants a participant to be truly damaged by this piece of theater. Lust/Tension is for a certain type of audiences (horror/mystery…) but certainly not for everyone. I’d never judge someone who safety’d out of a show. To the contrary, I’d applaud them for realizing their boundaries and backing away gracefully.
@genghistwan If you ever have anxieties please feel free to contact me privately or publicly. I’m happy to talk it through with you. -
Yep. What Kim & Ale and @theladyj said.
The Tension website had a disclaimer on it that specifically said it did not “cater to the weak” or “exist to amuse you.”
The questionnaire at two points that I recall asked you for specific triggers.
I talk a lot about this elsewhere because that’s what I do but for me it comes down to an issue of consent, and in this case “blanket consent,” and our willingness to give it in order to have the experience we want. It *is* a psychological horror experience, or at least Tension was, Lust seems to be shaping up to be as well. We were told repeatedly that this was going to destroy our hearts. We were told *repeatedly* during Tension that it was going to get DARKDARKDARK. But through all of that we stayed, we willingly gave up our info, handed over & unlocked our cell phones and in many ways allowed ourselves to be subjected to an experiment of sorts for 9 months. All in the hopes of an experience.
Almost all immersive theater has issues with consent to some extent. It’s rampant. What was unique about Tension – and hopefully Lust – was that we were a group of individuals who were choosing to be there and knew what that meant. My students are so caught up today on trigger warnings and safe spaces, and I actually talk to them about Tension/Lust and immersive theater because I believe strongly that there is art that is NOT safe that can be truly life changing if you’re willing to risk it. Tension might be too extreme an example, but I think that Sleep No More is in many ways outside their comfort zones. A lot of people think I’m crazy for doing this but I don’t want to spend my life in a safe space.
I’m also willing to talk about my experience last year, which does include a couple of things that might be considered “triggering” to a person who has survived abuse. Honestly, though, I didn’t find anything in it that was out of line or inappropriate. And I *expected* to, because when I signed up I assumed that everything was on the table.
I know where my edges are and if things go there and I need to stop, I will stop.
I really and truly hope that the survivors of abuse who are among us are also willing and able to recognize the same boundaries within themselves.
They are trusting that you know yourself and your limits, and that you will take care of yourself.
The rest of the community is here to answer questions and support if needed.
This is what I meant by “you must be THIS TALL to ride the ride.” -
@electrichippo @ah-lay @theladyj
Thanks for taking the time to write and respond. I had a good talk with @electrichippo and I feel much better. I’m paranoid by nature so when I saw this pattern that was a lil bit too close to home I freaked out a bit…er A LOT.
I still like the idea that whatever nefarious force that is controlling the pieces on the chessboard is using the cycle of abuse to indoctrinate/experiment on their followers.
TENSION BUILDING —> ACUTE VIOLENCE —> RECONCILIATION —> CALM (POSSIBLE DEATH)
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I would argue, for me, that the abuse/psychological trauma/whatever you call it is a feature. In the same way roller coasters and scary movies allow you to feel fear in a safe space, this allows one to experience something they would never want to in real life, without having to suffer the consequences of it. And, with any luck, maybe we learn something about ourselves, humanity, or life.
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I love this point @bruinbown. Although I’m not a survivor of abuse, I do use immersive experiences as a way of experiencing things I could or would never do in the real world. In this way, it’s a personal growth mechanism. I can explore boundaries and reactions that otherwise would not be safe to explore.
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I can totally see that. But imagine you walk into this and hear about the experiences during ascension and wonder if you are simply doing this for the experience or doing it or because psychologically you feel compelled participate in the simulation of abuse because you’ve been abused or have abused others. It kinda fucks with your head right?
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I was actually having a discussion about intense events in immersive theater with someone the other day. They noted (paraphrasing), “I’ve been through trauma in my life, why do I need to put myself through more?” I think that speaks to the idea that how people deal with abuse and trauma from their own lives is such a personal issue. The person I spoke with is fine with emotionally intense entertainment in other areas of their life, but immersives, with people so close to them bothers them in a certain way. I’m sure others may use it as a way to deal with past events and others can compartmentalize it differently, and probably a hundred other reactions.
I’m not sure there’s an answer to your whether someone could be compelled to participate because of past abuse because its such an individual experience. If someone wasn’t sure why they were participating and thought it was tied to abuse, therapy would probably be a helpful way to talk through those feelings.
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This might be the real cycle of abuse:
Tension > Lust > Adrenaline > Nefarious
Dumb Theory – OSDM Cycle:
Tension tempts you into the rabbit hole, Lust shatters your/the community’s heart, Adrenaline mends the broken pieces through intense shared experience, and Nefarious ties up all of the loose ends by putting all of the witnesses through a meat grinder. OSDM has all of the data that they need, so they move on to the next town.
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