The lights were out. It was pitch dark in the large conference room and the attendees sat in comfortable chairs surrounding the center dais, which, because of its special features, was more of a mechanical stage than just a platform. From the center of the circular floor, a round pedestal slowly rose, illuminated by a single pin spot focused precisely on the occupant of a heavy oak armchair bolted to the pedestal. Sitting in the chair was a human figure, obviously female, well secured to the chair by a great deal of rope. As the pedestal rose to floor level, it slowly began to rotate, providing a closer view of the bound figure and more details of the rope bondage.
"This is Lorrie S," the woman narrator's voice said with a neutral tone over the audio system. "You will note on your programs that she has been in practice for eight years. She tells us she is now twenty-seven years old, single, well employed as an attorney, and has never before shown anyone her self-bondage abilities.
"She is, as you can see, well bound to the chair. She has a rather unique inflatable gag in her mouth and wears a specialty punishment hood made for her by Noble Enterprises. She cannot hear what is said here unless I activate the hood's internal ear buds. Before beginning her session, Lorrie told me that for her own pleasure, she decided to place and activate two internal probes in her ass and vagina and that they will continue to operate until she shuts them off with a remote control which is located somewhere on or in her body."
The surrounding group of attendee women was silent, perhaps placing themselves mentally in the same chair, tightly and helplessly bound with many meters of hemp rope. They could not help but note that the woman's breasts were completely flattened and all but invisible except for the taunt, light brown nipples that peeked out through the confining layers of rope. Each nipple bore a large, bright, silver ring and the rings were joined by a short silver chain. Two other chains led upward from the nipples and disappeared into small circular openings in the front of the heavy leather hood.
The multiple layers of rope wrapped around her upper torso also incorporated her upper arms, pulling her elbows close together. Her wrists were secured by a single, wide metal clamp that held her hands together, palm to palm at the base of her spine.
Her legs were tied in a traditional posture with her ankles pulled back on either side and bound to the upper crossbars of the chair, forcing her knees and thighs well apart and exposing her hairless sex with its imbedded probe held in place with a chain that bisected her crotch. This chain was padlocked to another similar chain around her narrow waist. Additional ropes held her thighs to the seat and side arms of the chain.
From the crown of the hood, a long braid of dark brown hair exited upwards and came harshly back and down to where it joined the wrist clamp. This forced her leather-encased head unnaturally back and, if she could see, she would have stared at the ceiling.
Aside from an occasional shudder and low moans from inside the hood, the woman made no indication of even being alive.
"Please mark your ballots accordingly, my friends. As I said before, this is Lorrie S, number four. There will be one additional demo later today at dinner and then we'll review the poll tomorrow before we end the conference. If you have questions about Lorrie's work, make your notes now and she'll be with us in a more communicative posture tonight."
The pedestal made one final rotation while its occupant shivered and shook with some apparent internal stimulation and then the chair and pedestal descended back down into the stage and the lights went out. An audible sigh came from the audience as the house lights came back up and the guests rose to attend to other meetings, seminars and attractions.
Below the stage, two women in jeans and sweaters sat in folding chairs and watched as Lorrie S, now out of the spotlight and still firmly seated in the heavy chair, began to free herself. The attendants were there to assure that no one assisted in the release and that Lorrie was safe and well after her ordeal.
Her first move was to slip one hand free of the single metal clamp that held her wrists. Following the movement of her braided hair, the cuff then rose as she lowered her head to a more comfortable position and her braid pulled the cuff higher on her back. Lorrie wiggled her arms and upper torso, slowly slipping her arms upwards and out of the many loops of rope that held them to her sides and to the chair. As soon as her arms were free, her hands went to the heavy leather hood covering her head and face. She unbuckled the double roller buckles on the wide attached collar, did the same with several other roller buckles that held the blindfold and gag in place, then opened the Velcro closure that concealed the center zipper on the hood, pulling the zipper up until it reached the hole where her braid escaped. At that point, she opened the clamshell structure of the hood and slipped it forward and off her head, but left it dangling in front while she deflated the rubber cock in her mouth and pulled the entire thing away easily, the penis gag making a slurping sound as it finally left her mouth.
"Whew," Lorrie said, mostly to herself, as she rubbed her eyes and then her lips. "How was that?"
"Excellent. Beautiful, Lorrie. I don't think I've ever seen anything so complete. All of us would have sworn that there was no way you were getting out of that," babbled blond Mavis, the younger woman attendant.
"Agreed," said the other woman, now standing close to Lorrie, who was still partly fastened to the chair. "You must practice this a lot."
"Oh, practice I do. It's an every day affair for me. How about you?"
"I don't get as much opportunity as I'd like and I am really into leather as a medium, but I certainly admire your work," said the second woman, who looked about twenty or even younger and wore only a few, but very elegant and expensive bits of jewelry and a sweater with a deep V neck.
Lorrie was now untying her legs and feet, flexing her legs once the ropes were off and easing herself up out of the chair that was soaked with sweat and other fluids on the seat. She unlocked the waist chain and, looking at her audience, told them that she was going to remove the dildoes and that if they were not interested in this, they should feel free to leave. Both women stayed and watched. The plugs came out easily and the attendants were visibly surprised at the thickness and length of both.
"My God, Lorrie," said the second woman, speaking with a noticeable French accent. "How in the world do you take anything so big? That thing in your ass is almost a telegraph pole," she said with a short laugh and a wink at the other attendant.
"Planning and practice," Lorrie said seriously, wrapping the twin rubber dongs with a small towel and then putting them into a zip-lock bag, then packing up her ropes and hood.
"May I see your hood?" Mavis asked.
"Of course," said Lorrie, walking over to the blond and handing her the sweat-soaked, black leather, head enclosure.
"This is Raymond's work, isn't it," Mavis said, carefully inspecting the complicated strap and zipper arrangement.
"Yes. He does all of my gear. I find he is precise to the absurd degree, but I love everything he has made for me so far."
"And pricey as well, correct?" asked Mavis, still handling the hood.
"Oh yes, of course. He has no real sense of value and his partner, Damian, just sets whatever price he thinks I'll pay."
"True, true," both attendants affirmed.
"Well, friends, I'm off to a shower and then a real long soak in the sauna. Anyone interested?" Lorrie asked as she wrapped a cotton robe around herself.
"I'll come," said Mavis quickly and they walked off together while the remaining woman smiled to herself, considering what might happen with three of them in the sauna and Lorrie still carrying a bag full of rope.
Chapter Two
Calibria is an extremely attractive, active, young woman in her early twenties. She functioned as narrator for several meetings and provided a great deal of detail about her own and others' SB experiences.
She demonstrates a broad range of knowledge and experiences with SB. Here, she sets up some sensible guidelines and talks about common errors, mi
Of special interest is the discussion of bondage media and positions.
Some of this information was distilled from other interviews as well
Calibria - How I got started[ii]
The easiest way to talk about tying yourself up, (easy for me anyway), is to relate how I first got into it. For my twentieth birthday, while I was still in college, an old friend sent me a heavy package with a long letter enclosed. She cautioned me to read the letter before examining the contents, but I went ahead, ripped open the package and was astonished to find a large collection of comics. This was a collection she began, she said, while she too was a university student. Her letter mentioned vaguely that there were few entertainments in those years…no TV, no internet, no U-Tube.
There were many editions of comics with female heroes from an earlier time and I slowly read each one, marveling at the detailed and complicated plots. What I found most amusing was the amount of bondage in these books. Men and women were often quite graphically tied, gagged or chained and I found it surprisingly arousing. Back then, it was perhaps a short jump from reading comics to lying in bed at night, imagining myself in the situation of some woman, (or man), in the comics, bound to a tree by some evil criminal and left to suffer whatever additional perils the writer or comic artist and writer had in mind. Some of the books were hard bound, (no pun), editions with the entire history of the comic strip and the more I read the more I marveled at the freedom these graphic artists had in their day to portray vivid and detailed scenes, often with nudity.
Going to see a film was often an even stronger stimulus and I remember going back to my college dorm and wanting desperately to try to tie myself up as I had seen done in the film. I discovered, somewhat belatedly in my life, that certain parts of my body responded to the mental and physical stimuli. For example, I found that rope was an excellent source of arousal on my breasts and nipples. Putting a course rope around my waist and then tying it through my legs was the most exciting thing I could do.
I began by using whatever materials I found. Lengths of cord and rope were often easy to find and could be kept, with relative secrecy, in a hundred places where no one, even if they found them, would become unduly alarmed. Tying my hands and feet while in bed, supposedly asleep, became a common practice when I was still in college and I cannot recall that I had any real understanding about what was happening other than it was an impulse and a satisfying one apparently. When I was at home and accidentally caught by my parents, little or nothing was ever said about it. If it worried my parents, it was probably passed off as a "growing up" thing that would go away in time. It is important to note that no one ever said that it was wrong or dangerous. In fact, no one ever said anything about it at all.
So I moved ahead with a normal life, collecting more comics, books, magazines, clippings and other printed materials along the way. These often described or showed people tied with rope, chain, straps or even shoelaces. I literally learned the ropes of BDSM from books, not from other people.
Over time, I formulated a series of personal guidelines, but until the author of this book asked me, it had just never occurred to me to write them down or codify the elements.
Only a few times in my active BDSM life have I had a serious incident with self-bondage. Once I was lucky enough to be able to get help from a close friend who knew about and shared my erotic interests. Another time, I came close to having to get help, but somehow managed to get loose. So, given the many years of quiet, secret practice, here are some basics which I have learned. The various types of bondage media are broken into arbitrary categories: Overt, middle of the road, neutral/passive.
Overt - meaning this stuff is obviously used for restraint and if you leave it out in the open or in your travel luggage, you need to have some explanation ready…even if it's simply that you are a BDSM practitioner. Many other clearly BDSM materials fall into this category as well. Hoods, gags, collars in general, rigid cuffs, spreader bars, butt plugs, dildoes, butt hooks, etc. all tend to stand out and may identify you or your interests.
Middle of the road - This includes rope, straps and possibly chain. On the surface, these items are not necessarily for bondage, but that may not keep viewers from making assumptions and drawing their own conclusions.
Neutral or passive - This is just everyday stuff that does not trigger the restraint association reaction in most people. Example: if you have three bathrobes in your closet, each with a sash that you personally use to tie yourself, you can be reasonably sure that this won't signal anything. It certainly will have a different message than the handcuffs and ball gag in the drawer next to the bed.
Preferred materials - Overt
Handcuffs: Having these is about as direct a message as you can send. Just make sure you have keys in critical places and that you understand exactly how they operate as well. There are many types and brands of handcuffs and some use different keys that look pretty much the same but do not fit in the keyhole of another brand. I have three different kinds of cuff keys and they aren't interchangeable.
The cheaper they are, the more likely they are to malfunction or lock up when you don't expect them to. The more complicated cuffs are intentionally designed to be hard to escape from and you should perhaps consider this before you spend large amounts of dollars or Euros on high end, sophisticated cuffs.
Good maintenance, although it may sound silly, is one way to prevent unwanted and scary bondage events. Cheaper cuffs are more prone to rust from constant body contact and may jam for no apparent reason. A little bit of light oil in the moving parts can help avoid such encounters.
Handcuffs can hurt and actually injure if used improperly. There are liners for handcuffs and shackles that spread the pressure over a wider area and are less uncomfortable. Be aware that cuffs can tighten to a point where they may interfere with circulation and do nerve damage. Setting the security locks on the cuffs is a good way to prevent this. Many common styles of cuffs have small security pins set into the frame for locking the ratchet. You set the pins by pushing a short shaft, often on the opposite end of the key, into the pinhole which also needs a bit of oil from time to time. This locks the cuff so that it will not close further. Other brands/styles use a different kind of ratchet lock. Once the ratchet is set with the security lock, it is harder, but not impossible, to pick the lock itself.
If you are interested or can afford custom cuffs, you can have almost anything made and much of it can become daily wear, passing as jewelry. Gold or silver cuffs with hidden locks and small rings attached will get attention. Many years ago, Cartier first introduced a simple gold bangle bracelet that had a small gold lock. The message was clear that the wearer of this costly piece of jewelry was locked into a relationship of some sort. Few who saw the piece concluded that it might have other BDSM implications. If you wear a matched pair, you may make some new friends at the next party.
For most kinds of metal media, it is practical to have a set of heavy bolt cutters in your stash. These are not cheap, but may save your ass if you get into a situation where the keys are unreachable, the locks are frozen and cannot be keyed open, or some other catastrophe occurs that requires immediate emergency release. If you are as paranoid as I am, add a good quality metal file and a hacksaw to your emergency tool kit. Having this kit in your bedroom closet is not going to get anyone upset and is a very good backstop if you ever need it. Just as a good, a sharp knife is your escape backup for rope, the bolt cutter, file and saw are your safety for steel cuffs, chains and shackles.
Leg shackles: Same issues as with cuffs. These are not something you would normally have around the house, although I know people who say they use them to secure their luggage when it's unattended and as bicycle locks. I personally like leg shackles for use on upper arms and, at times, as a substitute for handcuffs, especially when they are lined with leather or some other soft material.
Collars: Same as above, but within certain segments of society, and at certain times in fashion history. A nice collection of metal or leather collars will get no more reaction than a pair of leather jeans, a tattoo or a rubber dress in the closet. Any collar should fit well and not compress the neck. Some metal collars are custom-fitted to have a bit of a taper and curve to them so that they lie flat against the neck and don't exert so much pressure on the edges. Anything with spikes is going to get a lot of attention, but a jewelry collar, with stones or precious metal, even if it locks and has rings attached, may be fashionable in some circles.
Straps: I use a range of straps for even tighter restraint. Straps have another advantage: they are easily stored because they fit into life styles reasonably well…more so than cuffs and shackles ever do. I also have a few lengths of rubber strap. These are one or two-inch wide lengths cut from truck tire inner tubes. I first saw them used by furniture movers and got myself some to use as handy, stretchy bindings. They work very well, especially for crotch straps or in cases where you need some stretch with a lot of strength. Depending on how you are blessed in the chest, these stretchy straps make excellent and exciting breast bindings. Long, one inch wide leather straps have many uses. One of the best sources for such leather body straps in different sizes is the equestrian tack shop. Saddle or stirrup straps are sturdy and useful. Soften them up and keep them from cracking by using leather treatment every now and then.
Specialized BD/SB gear: Items such as single gloves, harnesses, gags, explicit sexual gear, such as dildoes and butt plugs, will normally kick off a reaction from anyone who sees them or discovers them in your bathroom cabinet or bedroom closet. You have to decide if you care. Most SB people I know play it very close to the chest and secure all of their gear from prying fingers and eyes.
If there are young or senior adults or children in the house or apartment, you need a whole different set of security standards. My advice is that if anyone under the age of 21 is in the same living area, keep your stuff elsewhere, out of the house. The possibility of an older family member snooping around can also be reason to lock your gear up.
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