The Sneer Scale

I'm going to speak about the "sneer scale" in this blog; otherwise known as the kink hierarchy, the BDSM league tables or the incoherent and pathetic ways of attempting to "rank" kink and sexual practices.

Essentially, it goes a bit like this. Edgeplayers is at the top, because they are uber and really pushing the boundaries of kink and fetishism with all their fluid involving, dangerous play, right? Then BDSM, specifically DS, then SM, because the DS is "like, soooo much more powerful, right, cos it's *psychological*. For SM all you really need is a stick. Then the kinksters, who occupy the place in between BDSM and fetishism. Then Fetish people, with their curious obsessions and utter devotion to the sexualisation of objects.

And then, right down at the bottom on most of these scales is roleplay and CP.*

I'll be honest for a second. Even though I, myself, indulge in rp & cp a fair bit, I still occasionally see it all through the veil of the sneer scale. It's just so unfashionable. And I'm not entirely sure why, because to my knowledge, the majority of kinkster first fantasies originate in roleplay and CP. Possibly it's generational; not that many of the U35's do it because it's seen as something the O35's crowd have possession of? Or it's not extreme or exciting enough? Funnily enough though, a lot of the ultraviolence crowd I know despise canes for being too painful, too ritualised; ironic, given that this essentially means that the cp submissives can take a fair bit more than purported ultraviolent people at times. Maybe it's to do with the younger doms not having had masses of time to aquaint themselves with using a cane properly (I think this is a rubbish theory, but I'm putting it out there anyway)? Anyway, for whatever reason, CP is most certainly not "in" with the younger crowd.

Roleplay is also apparently the acceptable exception to the concept of YKIOK (Your Kink Is OK). I mean, I have genuinely lost count of the amount of times people have said to me "Roleplay? No, I don't do that, because essentially you're just pretending to be submissive, right? Not really being it." or "Hahahahahaha! You've got to be kidding right?" or "Nah, it's a bit weird, right? I mean, all that dressing up and old men wanting you in white knickers and the fact that sex doesn't even seem to come into it? Seriously, what's up with that?"

So, social stigma = 1, roleplay = 0

But, I'll admit, some cp'ers can lend themselves to such mockery. Some of the cp'ers I have known in the past have been *so serious* about the whole thing. And lets face it, when you are essentially whacking someone on the bottom for sexy time kicks, being uber can occasionally seem like the only way to gain credibility instead of being laughable.

What it actually gains is mockery, and rightly so. But, dear BDSM'ers; you've got your own twats. I mean, seriously. You really have. They are fucking unbearable and nauseatingly arrogant. So why are the roleplaying ones so much worse?

In bluntness, I'm occasionally uncomfortable with all of my friends, on both sides of the divide. The tutting about the recklessness and uncouthness of blood play etc, versus the mockery of the "hanky spanky" and general seriousness. But the thing is, they're all wrong. Blood play people are probably *the* most meticulous kinksters I have ever met on the scene. When I do a scene involving blood, the preparation and specific hygiene concerns are phenomenal. No recklessness there; just an immensely profound moment between two people. And that goes for most edgeplay. Equally, cp'ers can be fabulously silly, the gentlemen making happy fools of themselves, the ladies getting tipsy and giggly. And, holy crap, they play *hard* and punishments are real punishments. No pulled punches there, so to speak. Believe me; they aren't anywhere near as fluffy as you think. The stereotypes don't hold true, they have been proven not to hold true time and time again, and yet we all still persist in retaining the prejudices.

Why? I don't know. I really don't and it's starting to frustrate me. Play is getting more fluid, prejudice and MKIBTYK(My Kink Is Better Than Your Kink) is being stamped out; why does this divide persist?

Answers on a postcard please! I'm curious to hear people's opinions on this one.

*Ok, maybe not *right* at the bottom... That's obviously the vanillas. Which is a blogpost for some other time.

Bruise me.

Of all the marks, I think I like bruises the best. Frankly, I damn near fetishise them. I adore the colour cycle, the red, the mottled blues, ugly greens and ochres. The transient nature.

I never used to bruise. If I happened to be caned, there would be livid welts at the time, but no marks the following morning. It used to be a terrible disappointment. But in the past few months, they've been appearing more and more. Lewd, furiously coloured imprints of fingers on my arms, inner thighs, clean cut outlines of implements that lashed down upon my body, faint purple blushes along my jaw. I love it. I could quite happily while an entire day away just prodding at my marks, relishing the ache, the memory of how I gained them... Be it though rough and frenzied rope; or slammed into a wall, the ground, hands battering at me; or a delicate trace of needle or staple bruises, from where the sharp metal was pulled from my body; or bent over, caned or strapped, counting them off, thankful for the pain. All of it. I love it; but I'm starting to think that sometimes I love the bruises just a little bit more.

Mmmmm. Bruises. The ones from the weekend have faded completely and now I'm just craving more.

...

Thud.

The boot connects with my cheekbone, sickeningly. How. How has it come to this. Again. I scream, scrabble across the floor. I wanted a beating, a caning, a spanking. Not this abuse. The sheer violence, in the actions, in the eyes, astounds me.

Grabbed by the hair, dragged to my feet. A sneer. A fist to the stomach, the sternum, the hipbone, the cunt.

I love you. Stop. Please. Please.

The floor, again, relearning how to breathe. God. Please god. Please, god, save me.

Back to my feet. My face connecting with the pristine white wall. Once, twice. Thrice. Fuck, fuck, only me turning my face at the last moment preventing a broken nose. Fuck. Hands in my hair, slamming my whole body into the wall. Fuck.

The floor. Again. Face pressed into the carpet, boot to the neck. Boot to the face. Again, again, again.

Stop. Please. I love you.

Laughter. Screaming as the whip lashes against my back, arms. I'm bleeding as I drag myself across the carpet.

Dirty girl. Cruelty in the voice this time; not that it wasn't there before, but explicit now. Angry now.

A glance at the watch, a twist of the lips. We're running late already. A business dinner, and me being oh so inconvenient, insisting I meet friends beforehand. I'm paying dearly for it. A sigh.

Clean yourself up. I don't want you embarrassing me.

A boot. Connecting with my cheekbone, one last time.

A room left empty, except for my sobbing body.

Update once a week?

Yeah, as if.

Hello blog. I'm back again!

A sensible update

The last 24 hours was spent bursting into tears when Himself came home early from his business trip in order to be here for Valentines day, being exhausted and ill from the past week (or month), applauding the woman who "just couldn't take it anymore" in the restaurant in Wimbledon Village and gave some of the diners a short, sharp lecture on how to eat asparagus "with the fingers, darling, the fingers; treat it like fellatio if you must", feeling rather unappreciated when someone jumped the gun, bathing a very muddy Freyja, drinking gratuitous amount of lemsip and deciding to go to Cuba by standing Himself in front of the travel section in the bookstore and telling him to choose one.

That is probably an ok snapshot of life at the moment. It misses out the huge amounts of work I'm doing for uni, the charity work, Crimson, spiritual work, photo shoots, tutoring and the way my body consistently fails me; I've been to too many doctors recently. Doing all of this is also wearing me down quite a lot and leaving me with very little time for things like sleep. Or blogging.

It's all ok though. 2010 is proving to be busy, challenging and somewhat confusing in places. People keep failing in odd little ways, which frustrates me. I'm losing faith in a couple of people in a big way. It is very much a time of spring cleaning things, from relationships to my own ideals, to shoes and kinky toys. It is very much needed. But I could really use some more time to do it right now; I'm worried that because I'm so busy I'm just going to gloss over some things that could cause a lot of hurt later.

But equally, 2010 is awesome. Friends, love, spiritual life, some beautiful scenes, reconnecting with people and occasional bursts of utter indulgence keep me sane and mightily happy.

Plus, Caprica! Spas! Flowers! New dresses, bags, hats, boots, shoes, books, shiny things! Glee! Concerts! Royal Albert Hall! Dissertation concepts approved! Consistent 80%+ grades in my favourite module! Charity work! Photography stuff being amazing!

Some things suck, but whilst I have love in my life, I'm not really going to complain.

Better & more interesting blogposts coming soon :)

A little hyperventilation before bedtime

I had a lovely and terrifying scene late last week. I had finished packing for our trip to Eastern Europe for a few days and was feeling quite content, a little drowsy and presumed that, being as it was midnight and we had a early (very early) flight, we would probably head up to sleep rather soon. Ergo, I was a touch vulnerable to, say, a syringe to my throat.

I find that some of best scenes I have ever had contain me truly believing at some point that I am genuinely going to die. Friends often question this, reminding me that *of course* I'm not going to be killed by one of the people I love most in this world; they point out his devotion to me, the care he takes with every blow to my defenceless body. It doesn't matter. A deep, primal part of me honestly believes in these moments that he could do it, that I have fucked up so epically in some way that, frankly, a blade to the chest or pillow over the head is his only option for expressing his displeasure. It's part of his charm.

The interesting thing is, it's pretty much only him I believe it of. Other people have tried playing around with fear with me and, to be honest, it's never really worked that well. I just don't believe that they could break bone or such. I find them too afraid of themselves; afraid of hurting me too badly, of legal issues, of what other people might think of them. But somehow, he is exempt. Maybe I can just suspend belief better with him... Or maybe he's just an utter bastard. Both work.

So anyway, I walked into the playroom to tell him I was heading to bed and there he was. Butchers apron, latex gloves, syringe of fluid in his hand and a sneer of contempt on his face. And it hit that base fear just right, the whole visual, the knives laid out, the hammers, the bench covered in plastic sheeting. I remember running up the stairs, to get away, just get away from him. A calm voice echoed around the house; I must come down, else I might be harmed in ways he hadn't intended. I shouldn't force him to come and get me. That would be – a pause; I could hear myself crying – regrettable. Unfortunate, even. Certainly unadvisable.

I couldn't move, even when I heard the footsteps on the carpeted floor. I had left the door open, huddled just inside the doorframe. Made no move to defend myself as he strolled into the room. I think he laughed; I can't quite remember. I remember the fist grabbing my hair though, hauling me to my feet, breathless and weeping, huge ugly sobs of fear, then freezing as I felt the syringe make contact with my neck. Sobbing again as it was removed, hyperventilating breaths, being kicked to the floor, dragged down the stairs, tripping near the bottom and being flung, awkwardly, limbs akimbo, into the wall at the bottom. Brutal hands gripping my arms, pinning me to the cold stone, curses snarled about my weakness, mocking my utter vulnerability.

I was dragged beneath a spotlight, forced to strip. At this point, the swimmingly nauseating disorientation started to set in, exhaustion, fear and the damn syringe making me collapse, numb and wide eyed, before being pulled onto the medical bed. I can't remember when the rough blackout sack was forced over my head; maybe before he commenced binding me to the bed with smooth, tight pallet wrap. Maybe after. No matter; I was gone by this point. Gasping inside the hood, inhaling the fabric into my mouth, I knew not to fight back. Disobedience means pain. At some point I would displease him. What would go first, I though hazily, as images began to form in my drugged mind. A finger, broken, useless? My hair, hacked off like he promised not long ago? Skin, cut, peeled, carefully and gently like he had shown me once on a dead rabbit in Scotland? What. What. What.

The wrapping kept going, bound tight, tighter across my chest, repressing my still panicked breathing. At some point I heard the sound of metal on stone, knives being sharpened. Then I was blind, sack ripped from my head and the searing light from the interrogation lamp was pointed towards my face. I lay there for a while, head craned backwards, trying to get away from the light, the harsh pain of it, stars scattered across my vision. He was there, behind the lamp somewhere, sparks occasionally appearing as a blade made contact with the whetstones. Then he began talking; a slow, chilling lecture on the flaws of the human body, how simple it is to bend, twist, break skin and bone beyond anything recognisable. I faded in and out of it, catching vague strains of dialogue... words like snap, ribcage, sinew, puncture, whore. The light was moved, tools adjusted, the time taken to make everything just so, fresh latex gloves snapped on. I think I started begging at some point, because one moment he was calm and still and I was unhurt and the next moment my head exploded in pain with him snarling, forcing rags into my mouth, “Good girls are quiet girls”. Welts slashed across my cheek, friction burns where the latex had dragged and ripped pale skin in the split second of the blow. There was a black machete in the other hand; I was to be thankful he hadn't lost that much control. Yet.

The knife traveled my body and he was silent again. Shaking, my vision became dusty, colours losing their saturation. A casual blow to the ribs, a ragged breath, a curt order to stop hyperventilating. The first cut through the pallet wrap. I froze, the sudden exposure to the cold air causing sensory overload and began weeping once more, convinced I was cut, bleeding, too damaged already to work out just how much. Another cut, and again, quick careless slices, over and over. Pain, sharp and tearing across my skin as the pallet wrap shifted. The rough hand over my mouth, the silent warning to dispense with my muffled wailing. I remember thinking that I couldn't, I couldn't be quiet, couldn't be good for him, it was too hard, too much, too much fear and I couldn't. I couldn't do it.

Then the machete was dropped, tumbling past the bed to the floor and a hand was raising up, the steel flicking from it's sheath almost gently, pointing directly towards my heart and I was quiet. I was quiet, silent, not a single muffled moan of fear. Good girl.

And then he smiled, looked at me and smiled and I knew it didn't matter, he wanted blood and fear and pain and the sudden look of anguish in my eyes when I realised he could do it, would bring the knife down, no hesitation and would actually rather do it than anything else. Wanted to. Really, truly wanted too.

I closed my eyes and didn't make a sound as the knife fell towards my body.

Flowers

A few brief memories, as I have to write an essay... Curse university for impinging on my precious blog writing time.

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Often, he buys me flowers before he hurts me. It started from the very first time. Sometimes I play at trying to avoid him after getting them (it is, after all, always a game), but it never seems to work. I want it and I love the cool rush of fear and anticipation when the delivery man turns up, asking me to sign for them, or I arrive home to an empty house with a fresh bouquet on the dining table. It is never the same. Actually, it's a little odd that he has kept that particular tradition going; he was never really one for such simple rituals. Not one for mediocrity. But this... it has style.

It's never the same though. Never loses the rush, no matter how many times it happens. The first time it was lilies. Poetic brute that he is, they were white, right up until the moment he painted them with my blood, straight from the knife. We had only kissed before that moment.

I can't remember all of them. All the flowers. Isn't that dreadful? You would think I could at least do that. But four years of carefully pressed petals have a tendency to fade in both scent and memory.

The roses were for our anniversary. Bloody and red, they lay crushed on the bed within moments of having received them. Thorns clutching at my throat as he raped me. The irises; that time I bruised. Lazy lilac hazes across my breasts, ink pools on my thighs, blue fingerprints around my throat and fine pale lines across my cheek. Then - odd - a cabbage flower. I laughed at that, with friends in the kitchen and he was vicious in his retribution. Later, I lay alone and numb in the cage, bandages wrapped around my arm and I had never been more in love.

Trepidation. And some cheese.

Gosh. Didn't think I would be back here again, starting *another* journal on yet another subject. Well it just goes to show. What? Show what? Uh... I don't really know. It's just a colloquial term, dammit.

Anyhow, welcome to this one. Call me Echo; I prefer it. I also always really, really hate the first entry to any blog; it's awkward, unsettled, filled with either pretensions or panic. So, in it's place... a list of Stuff About Me:

• I like champagne, lipstick, steampunkery and elegance.
• Occasionally found referring to self in the third person.
• I like really filthy sex, hitting (or being hit) with big sticks and needle play piercings. This blog will mainly be about that side of me. If it makes you squeamish, please move along... (or if you are from some other part of my life, message me for alternative bloggage).
• I am a literature student full time, semi pro photographer part time and one of the management for Club Crimson, a London based play club.
• "Beloved" is my all time favourite word, closely followed by "dregs", "smut" and "decadence".
• I was almost called Appolonia. My Mother thought that was too silly. Instead she and Father originally gave me 12 names. 12. I have no idea how that could possibly be considered any better.
• Interested in holy things. Obsessed with words.
• Published poet, writer, artist and photographer, meditation leader, English folklore and medieval herbalism teacher, general bohemian.
• Half lives in one of the best independent bookshops in central London. It is like genuinely stepping onto the set of Blackbooks, but with more academia and tea and less smoking indoors.
• Born & bred in London town, yet my parents have managed to retain a veneer of their "rah" country upbringings (blended with a healthy dash of hippy bohemia as a result of art MA's). I thus spent much of my childhood camping, riding, playing on a farm or dabbling in my herb plot at our city allotment. This has resulted in me being able to: tie some rather good knots; set fire to pretty much everything; poison pretty much anyone. Useful things.
• I like cheese and wine. I am eating some now. You probably should too; it makes everything happy and shiny.

So, why the new blog? Well, as a friend pointed out to me the other day, I do lead a rather awesome life. I am very, very lucky, privileged, hedonistic and in love. With lots of fantastic scenes and long philosophical pondering conversations on the nature of sexuality. And it would really be rather nice to keep a record of such things.

I'm planning on this being mainly focused on real life experiences, my thoughts on gender and sexuality and other pertinent things. I will be updating at least once a week (please, deity/chaos theory/spaghetti monster, let my life stay interesting enough, with just the right amount of free time to let me be able to do this. Thank you).

And so... On to 2010. It will be an excellent year, I'm sure.