École des Bro-ArtsSurprised the boy with a branding scene this weekend. Told him we were going out to dinner, then surprised him with his three favorite Sirs clomping down the stairs, grabbing him from behind, and working him over. We took turns paddling his ass, pissing down his throat, choking him out. One man holding and reassuring him, coaching him to breathe, while another took a bison mop to his back. Then we dragged him down to the basement. Candles everywhere, a ratty blanket on the floor.
The four of us held him down. Wrists and neck in heavy irons. Legs and knees cuffed and held apart by spreader bars. R & R sitting on his chest, ordering him to breathe; that it was time. "I'm ready", he said, not fully knowing what was to come. Then the fear in his eyes as I snapped the propane torch on. Flick / flick / flick / fccchhhhhhhhhh. Pleading silently with me as I heated the brand to red-hot in front of him. Passing it over the hairs on his forearm, letting him feel the heat.
T & I knelt over his spread thighs; held him firm. Sprayed him down with isopropyl. "Keep absolutely still, boy. You'll mess up the brand." Gave him a final count: three, two, one--then plunged the iron home. The hiss of searing flesh and the scent of burning hair; little flames dancing on his furry leg. Then it was all over, and I bandaged the wound in gauze and vet wrap. Boy ecstatic, sobbing, beaming. So happy. So relieved. We brought him to the couch and held him for an hour, blissed out.
I have never seen him that peaceful, that content before. It was the fulfillment of so many dreams for him; the men he wants to matter to, the ownership he needs. About forty-five minutes in he started to realize what had happened.
"It... It doesn't really hurt, Sir. Should it hurt?"
"Unwrap it and take a look, boy."
He gingerly peeled the bandage off, and found no mark, no burns. Just a few singed hairs.
"How did you do that, Sir? I FELT it!"
qdot@aphyr Brain chemistry bartending at its finest.
@qdot I've done two variants of this scene with two boys I have a deep connection with. The first realized it wasn't real during the "brand" itself--couldn't tell what was happening but knew it couldn't be an actual burn. At my mentor's suggestion we ran the more elaborate version this time, and oh my god it succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. Just grinning ear to ear.
@aphyr This is an absolutely beautiful story, and the amount of work you put into the preparation to pull that off is amazing. Bravo. :D
@aphyr
In my field, I constantly have people asking me if hardware "feels like the real thing". I have to give a vague, high level overview of "it's the state of mind, not the actuation, that really matters".
While I was never directly involved in formal leather/BDSM, I still had mentors from the Janus days, who taught me to think on intimacy timelines of weeks/months/years, versus the seconds/minutes that normally go with the context.
It's a surprisingly difficult idea to convey now.
@qdot oh wow, I wouldn't have drawn that connection, but I think I can see where you might be going here. The layers of meaning and emotion established over months sets the meaning for the mechanical act itself.
@aphyr Yup exactly.
The buildup helps immensely with the intensity of the mechanical act, and if done right, can stand in for the reality of it (esp when it may be life/body altering :) ).
It's one of the things I have to think about a lot when discussing interfaces for remote intimacy and relationships. What can people build up, and where, to possibly fill in for a complete lack of physical interaction/release.