[quote=@CyclicCynicism]
Maybe the amount of detail you put into the act of killing and its impact shows the maturity of the player and of the game.
[/quote]

Not necessarily. Sometimes I think the most effective method for showing how detached a character is from the world or the people they kill is by not making it particularly gruesome. I remember someone called me a twisted bastard OOC just because one of my characters derived pleasure out of eating sweets and watching two friends fight. Of course, it needs to be a mindfully made decision. if all of your characters behave the same way when someone dies, you (by you I mean anyone) may have to rethink how you do things.

I also feel that the act of killing, like the bearing of sins, becomes easier as it is repeated. You could become tormented for weeks after taking your first life, but taking your thousandth won't feel like anything.

I don't think I've ever seen rape done well in RPs. It never feels like it suits the character, and is just kind of there for shock value. Rapists tend to feel like they've lost control of their lives, so they use rape as a tool to get some of that control back. The only exception is if you're some kind of serial rapist, at which point you probably aren't even a fully functioning human being anyway. Torture is also very trait specific, but not as much as rape. There has to be a lot of hate or a complete lack of empathy. Of course if anyone can think of other reasons for people to commit these acts, I'm all ears. And no, "She's hot" doesn't count.