Wednesday, October 30, 2013

A Game for Kinky Geeks?

So I’m not a gamer. I have nothing against it—I have many gamer friends—it’s just never been my particular brand of geek. But, apparently, game developer Merritt Kopas created a game I just might have to check out, the Consensual Torture Simulator.

Yeah, yeah, I’m not the biggest fan of the name either. I think “consensual” and “torture”—and even to an extent “simulator”—have a lot of linguistic baggage attached to them. Particularly, in the gamer world. Put them all together and you get a verbal history that makes the kinky wordsmith in me more than a little queasy.

But bear with me.

The mindset this game seems to have—the aim and premise it promises to present—gives me hopeful pause. In this game, you play a top who’s about to have a romantic, loving, kinky night with your female partner. The night begins with cuddles and hugs and, most importantly and most romantically, upfront negotiations. Your character is given a wide array of choices—from activities, like spanking and slapping, to toys, like canes and floggers—to achieve the night’s goal, which is to make your bottom cry. There’s even a safeword, “tulip,” that’s given that your bottom will use if it gets to be too much. The game involves all the right stuff like check-ins and after care, all the things responsible kinksters employ and enjoy in real life. 

The thing that intrigues me about this game is that “there is an actual humanity to the game that is missing from mainstream porn (and dare I say it, many of those triple-A games that feature torture). As far as the game is concerned, you care about this person. They're not just someone you're screwing/hurting. You'll hug and giggle with them before anything starts. You'll comfort them after the beatings end. You may even soothe your girl mid-game.” So often, in media, kinksters are presented as less than human. We’re the crazy ex who was psycho nuts but a wild ride and one helluva one-up sex story. Or we’re the damaged victim who gets raped or abused because we got into stuff we shouldn’t have that needs to be saved or cured. Or we’re the dead body left humiliated and strung up like a cross between bad gallows humor and leftover holiday decorations in the middle of a crime scene.

Kopas created the game because she believes, rightly so, that “there are a lot of videogames about violence but not nearly enough about consensual forms of violence and non-normative forms of intimacy.” Kopas’s girlfriend and play partner goes on to say that “so much of the violence in videogames is not only nonconsensual, but also consequence-free, a power fantasy where the digital world has been designed to be permissive of your whims.” I really like that the game, according to Kopas, deals with the “special kind of vulnerability involved in asking someone to hurt you until you can't take it anymore, until whatever defenses you're still holding up and might not even know about crumble and you break down in hot, streaming tears. There's a lot of risk involved — and not just for the party on the receiving end.” And that “It was really important to me to portray the player character as a human being, not just a pain-dispensing robot.

However, there are a few things that still make me a little wary. Like how the game offers some options that aren’t mainstream or advisable within the kink world, like slapping and punching to sensitive and almost universally off-limits areas like the face and breastbone areas. And how, according to some players, it’s not as easy to check-in and to know your boundaries as they would like. Your bottom may look like she’s getting more and more exhausted and she will start to cry, but still won’t say her safeword.

A part of me, like the player, agrees that there is something very interesting about that—the vulnerability of the top, where you’re never sure if you’re going too far or not far enough. But, if actions that would cause a normal person—masochist or not—to safeword out don’t in the game, I think I’m still a bit troubled and on the fence about it. A lot of the game relies on the conscience of the player—whose storyline is based in love and care for their simulated partner. As Kopas says, “I won't pretend that the game is perfect in that respect, like, I'm putting some trust in the player not to just keep going as far as they can, because it's not a perfect simulation of course. 

I’d like to think that the people who play this game will take that into account and not gut-instinct back to the kind of programmed presentations of violence that this game seeks to challenge. But, without the knowledge of how to do responsible sensation-based S&M, I don’t know how well a likely vanilla, more mainstream player could be expected to do so.

But, overall, this game presents a side of kink and BDSM that isn’t seen nearly enough in media and is hopefully gaining a stronger voice in the mainstream. I think I just might have to check this ten-minute experience out. Consensual Torture Simulator is just $2 on Gumroad.


**For more kinky gaming fun, check out Riding the Iron Bull - Kink and Dragon Age: Inquisition

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

The Deviant Nerd – Conflicted About Kink Contracts

Conflicted About Kink Contracts
The Deviant Nerd
Brought to you by Tag Your It, come check out our vast array of custom collar and tag designs and let us prove that we’re the name in claiming.


Question: Hey Pip,

So last time you talked about a girl who’d signed a D/s contract and I know I’ve heard about them and NDAs in books and stuff. Do people really do that? And, if they do, how? How do you write one up? How do you get someone to sign one? How do you get out of one once you sign it?

 — How Do Contracts Work?

———

Pip: Hey Contracts,

So, personally, I’m not a huge fan of contracts. Because, in my experience, they don’t really work outside of fiction. In order to do kink—and do it effectively and safely—you have to have pretty much constant communication. You have to make sure that you’re both/all on the same page at all times.

It’s why there are so many ways to stop, slow, and alter a scene, from beginning to middle to end. Kinky checklists. Negotiations. Safewords. The Stop Light System. After care. These are all ways to make sure that a scene—and the relationship as a whole—goes well. For both/all parties.

It’s why even those that insist on signed contracts—and indeed some do—those contracts don’t actually mean all that much. They’re really more of a starting off place. A place to begin the much more complicated and much more involved and never-ending discussion of what you’re hoping to get out of this. A lot of times they’re either for people who are very much into old school protocol and traditions or for newbies, who may not have the knowledge, experience, confidence, or vocabulary to say exactly what they want and don’t.

In reality, contracts tend to end up broken. Either, the contract is held too rigidly and the partnership ends. Or the contract is flexible and then isn’t really needed anymore. Even those who insist on and maintain contracts will have negotiation clauses included in the original contract that allow modifications when necessary. 

Because they are always necessary.

Completely 100% followed-through contracts don’t really exist, any more than 24/7 kink relationships do. They are fantasy fodder for those who don’t have to worry about the everyday practicalities of maintaining a relationship with real people in the real world.

Because, think about it, even in a normal, vanilla relationship, are the things you wanted and agreed to at the start of it—from how often you see each other to how you have sex to how much you’re willing to fake interest in that that thing they obsess over—ever exactly the same things you wanted, agreed to, or got in the middle or the end of it? 

Relationships are fluid. They have to be or they fail. Kink relationships are no different.

And, as for non-disclosure agreements, I really, really don’t like those. First, depending on where you live—and the judge you get—these types of NDAs aren’t terribly binding. And for good reason. Were these NDAs truly legally binding, you are essentially signing away your right to alert authorities if something bad—like abuse or rape—happens. 

What’s worse is that, even though they aren’t legally worth the paper they’re written on, it can make an unknowledgeable, naïve person not report abuse or rape when it happens because their abuser has now added the existence of this agreement to the usual feelings of shame and worry involved in reporting. 

Agreements like this make victims feel like they’re responsible for their own abuse. That they agreed to it. That they caused it. That they asked for it. Naive bottoms are less likely to want to report and will feel like they can’t because they’ll think—utterly incorrectly—that they’ve signed away their right to.

Second, let’s say a very stupid, probably prejudiced judge actually does uphold such a flawed agreement, YOU ARE ESSENTIALLY SIGNING AWAY YOUR RIGHT TO ALERT AUTHORITIES IF SOMETHING BAD—LIKE ABUSE OR RAPE—HAPPENS. No one should be trying to get people to sign these agreements. Not for any reason. And, certainly, no one should be agreeing to sign these types of agreements. Not for ANY reason.

Third, kinksters have a personal responsibility to choose the people they play with well. If you’re so worried about whether the person you play with will use your play as blackmail later, you really shouldn't be playing with them in the first place. 

BDSM is all about trust. 

The relationships that are built in this world should have a solid foundation of trust. Without it, everything crumbles, if you’re lucky. It explodes horrifically, if you’re not. This is how rape and abuse—and erroneous charges of rape and abuse—happen. 

If you’re being responsible, you shouldn’t need these kind of agreements to bind you in the first place. Each other’s best interests should be always and already be at the heart of your relationship. 

If it’s not...what are you doing even thinking about playing with each other?

 — Pip, Your Resident Deviant Nerd



* If you have a sex, kink, love, or life question for The Deviant Nerd, email Pip at PipJones.DeviantNerd@gmail.com
And read more about Pips story in Brought to You By.



Thursday, October 24, 2013

Play a Trick, Get a Treat - Part Two

Alter Ego - A Halloween Short Story - Part Two
Read Part One Here
So I wrote up Max's first BDSM experience and thought it would be fun to explore Show Me, Sir's costar's first foray into kink as well. So here it is. Hope you enjoy!


Ben had to blink for a moment, his brain adjusting to hearing the vaguely porno phrase outside the fantasy. It was weird. Even in the real world, the words sounded like fantasy. Scripted and a little stilted, she’d said them as if she didn’t really mean them.

He wondered what that meant.


Then she held out her hand to him, the gesture so much more convincing than the words.


His gaze swept over the long lengths of her legs, lifted and shaped by the tall heels on her feet, and up the swell of her slim hips. He swallowed hard at the way the tight vest clung to her waist, soft and sweetly curved, before framing—hugging—those breasts.


Meeting her pretty, blue eyes, he saw the briefest flicker in her gaze—a quick break in character. He reached out, that look making him take her hand. There was something so familiar in that look. An uncertainty that he knew well and wished she didn’t.


He watched that crack in her confidence close as her small hand gripped his, tugging him through the party crowd and up the stairs, and wondered why that would make him feel so much better. 


Ben swallowed hard as the scent of booze, sweat, and over-stimulation struck him. Seeking that surety again, he held tight to her hand and focused on the magician as she snaked her way through the space, sometimes seeming little more than an arm almost swallowed by the mob and a bouncing top hat.


They wove through congested hallways, squeezing tight to couples who’d congregated in and out and around the bedrooms. Some of the doors were wide open, revealing rooms overflowing with too many conversations and even more people. Some doors were shut, quiet dens—pockets of conspicuous silence—or muffled murmurs—music or moans—hidden behind the wood and walls.


They stopped in front of a door, shut and silent. Ben held his breath as she turned the knob. Letting his hand go, she stepped into the room, flicking on the light. She turned, a dramatic, almost dance-like pivot, with her hands spread in ta-da as she took off her hat in one smooth motion. Standing just inside its entrance, she looked at him, left lingering in the hallway. “Come in.” It was almost a command with just a trace of question touching the performance. 


He stepped into the room, the door shutting behind him. He gave a small laugh and shuffled a bit on her carpet as she reached into her hat. “Don’t tell me there’s a rabbit in there,” he said.


She pulled out a box of cards and waved them at him. “Much as I love a classic hat trick, pretty sure a bunny violates house rules,” she said as she sat down on one of the room’s beds.


“So you actually do magic?” he asked, a little impressed. He’d figured it was just a costume and a line.


“Of course,” she said, an obvious look on her face, as she gestured for him to join her on the crimson comforter covering her bed. “I told you, I’m a fan of magic.”


Ben looked around what he assumed was her half of the room as he sat down. Rawlings sat spine-bent and well-read next to Tolkien on her bedside. Tamora Pierce and Mercedes Lackey sat stacked on her shelves. Kelley Armstrong kept Kim Harrison company as their corners peeked out from under her bed. And strewn and stuck alongside all those were biographies of Houdini and David Copperfield and how-to books on classic illusions and close-up magic. They were everywhere, tucked away like treasures among her textbooks.


“So what are you going to do?” he asked, nodding to her as she shuffled the deck. “Do I pick a card, any card?”


“Mmm,” she said as she dealt out eight cards, four in front of him and four in front of her, “sort of.” With a flick of her hands, she shuffled the rest of the cards. “We’re going to play a game.”


A game? “Okay,” he said, even parts wary and intrigued. “What kind of game?”


She flipped the top card in the deck and flashed the eight of hearts. “Basic high card, low card,” she said. “Beat my card,” she said, flipping the next to reveal the jack of spades, “and I’ll take something off.”


He swallowed hard as his gaze shifted south. He liked those rules. “And if I don’t?” he asked.


“Then you do,” she answered simply.


That was a magic trick?


Looking at her, sitting cross-legged across from him, her soft thighs parted and her posture welcoming. 


Yeah, maybe it was a kind of magic. 


“Sure,” he agreed, shifting to mirror her position on the bed.


Together, they flipped over the cards—his outside left, her inside right. He smiled when his ten of diamonds beat her three of clubs. “So,” he said with a nonchalant cough, “do I get to say which article of clothing you take off?”


She pursed her pink, gloss-coated lips and tilted her head. “I’m willing to take suggestions,” she decided as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “So long as you take mine.”

Ben shrugged, figuring that was pretty win-win. 

Jutting his chin a bit, he looked her over. There was a strategy to this, he was sure. Did he go for the easy start, like her shoes or the bow tie, or did he dive right in? It felt creepy going right for a big ticket piece, like her vest or panties, first, but it also felt like lying to pretend like that wasn’t, in fact, exactly what he wanted. 

Besides, if he asked for something so exposing, what would she ask for in return? He shifted a bit. He wasn’t really all that comfortable naked. Didn’t really understand how anyone could be so casual about being so vulnerable and exposed like that. 

And, sure, it wasn’t like he hadn’t guessed—and, God, sincerely hoped—that that was where they were headed. 

It was just that…he could wait for a bit. Ease into it, really.

“Shoes,” he said hesitantly, almost as a question.

She nodded sagely, looking too much like a mind reader for his comfort. “Shoes, it is.”

Reaching beneath her bent thighs, she gripped the black pumps’ tall, thin stiletto heels in her hands and pulled the sleek shoes off. Bending low, she folded over herself so she could tuck them safely under her bed with her books. It really shouldn’t have, but watching her twist her legs around so she could rub the now bared soles of her feet in her hands, moaning softly as her fingers and palm pressed into her flesh, made his breath hitch. 

Which was weird. 

It was just her feet. 

Just shoes. 

Not anything particularly sexy to him. 

But there was something about the fact that she’d taken them off—bared herself—for him. Because of him. Because he’d asked her to.

“Go again?” she asked, her hand now traveling up her calf to rest on her knee.

He nodded as he reached for another card. He flipped over his inner left card—a seven of hearts—as she flipped over her outer right—an eight of diamonds.

Ben swallowed hard as he looked at the cards. Moment of truth, he supposed. “All right,” he said, wondering if she’d play fair. 

She bit her lip, tilting her head this way and that. “Shoes too, I suppose,” she said as he let out a relieved breath. 

Ben toed off his sneakers. Flexing his feet, the boy born and raised in a strictly Asian home actually felt much more comfortable without his shoes on her bed. His shoulders—that he hadn’t even known were so tense—relaxed as he rolled his neck a bit. “Keep going?” he asked.

She smiled. “Yeah,” she said as she flipped her outer left to show a queen of diamonds that beat his next card, the five of spades.

Her grin spread and her blue eyes glittered. He really ought to have seen it coming—and a part of him perhaps had. “I should be nice,” she told him, lifting her shoulder casually, “and ask for your socks or even your shirt.” She gave him a pointed look that made his body stiffen, anxiously but not unpleasantly. “But I’m not going to be,” she said plainly. She held out her hands. “Pants, please.”

Ben choked. His pants? They’d gone from shoes to pants? He could feel his face pale as his mouth slacked and his eyes bugged. His eyes flicked around the room and, while he knew it to be completely empty, he still felt put on the spot. Put on display. It was too well-lit in the small sorority house room. He could still hear strains of the party happening below and around them, thumping music that was more pounding beats than songs and discordant conversations layered on top of each other in a rumpus of sound that echoed in his ears.

“We can stop, if you want,” he distantly heard her voice say across from him. “Go back to the party.”

And, though it was completely illogical, a part of him was sure, as he listened to and imagined the goings-on below him, that the costumed revelers below were doing the same with him. Knew every play of their game. Eaves-dropping, hushed and hovering, as the magician stripped off her heels. Had snickered at him as he, so eager and sure of himself, shucked his own shoes.

“Ben?”

He imagined those eyes and ears tuning in as his shaky hands fumbled for the button of his jeans. The sound of his own zipper sliding down ripped metallic and loud through his head. Reaching for the now loose waistband, he turned away from her—feeling too watched already without watching her watch him—and caught the bespectacled gaze of Harry Potter staring back at him from the glossy, brightly colored cover on her nightstand. Ben stared back through the wide, glassless frames of his own eyewear, not understanding why the plastic should feel so much heavier on his face as he looked at his costumed copy.

What would Harry Potter do?

The thought was as ridiculous as it was unavoidable. Made Ben smile a bit, really. What would Harry Potter do, if he ever found himself in this situation? If Ginny or Cho had ever played the Chocolate Frog trading card equivalent of “You Show Me Yours.”

Gryffindors were brave, adventurers and heroes at heart. Ben would’ve bet that Harry would never have backed down. Wouldn’t cower—or would at least stalwartly hide his hemming and hawing in some never outwardly seen inner monologue. He was the boy who lived! Wand at the ready, he could do anything.

Which sounded dirty, under these conditions. 

But, at any rate, Ben took a deep breath and turned back to his patient prestidigitator. Pushing up the plastic-rimmed glasses, he steadied himself and stood before shedding his jeans down with a quick shove.

For a moment, he felt silly. Stupid, really. Standing at the side of this beautiful girl’s bed with his pants around his ankles and his skinny, chicken legs sticking out. He felt like an idiot. A half-naked idiot. He shut his eyes and waited for her to just start laughing at him.

“So,” she asked, “you want to keep going?” 

He blinked and stared at her. Her blue eyes were looking up at him expectantly. Maybe even a little excitedly. She was having fun.

And why wouldn’t she?

This was her game, after all. She’d picked him. Brought him up here. Laid out her rules. She must have known what she was getting into. Must have chosen him for a reason.

“Why me?” he asked. He hadn’t meant to but now he couldn’t stop thinking it. He had to know. Out of all the guys who’d come to this party—all the frat guys and athletes and everyone—why had she settled on him?

She shrugged. “You like Harry Potter and Batman,” she said simply. 

Was that all it took? Really?

Well, why not? While very alluring, his Zatanna wasn’t really more attractive than the tens of sexy ghosts and witches and cats running around the party. Looking at her now, with her angular face and softer, fuller form, she was actually less conventionally attractive than the tall, slim flapper who’d written her number on is hand. 

So why had he gone with her?

Magic.

He’d gone with her because she’d promised him magic. She’d looked past the fake glasses and faded T-shirt, straight through to his muggle heart, and spoke to that sci-fi/ fantasy fan who longed for something supernatural—something special. Who, from the time he’d read his first Spiderman comic, had been promised that there was something special in him.

And, skinny legs and a hermit personality or not, she’d seen that promise in him.

So, yeah, why not?

Ben sat back down. Together, they flipped over their last cards. And his king of spades beat her nine of hearts.

“My turn,” she said, a knowing look on her face. “What’ll it be?”

He looked at her, his Zatanna. Suddenly, he didn’t want her to take off her clothes. Didn’t want her to strip herself of her costume. Of her magic.

He could go for something simple, like her bow tie. But it was such a defining part of her costume; he couldn’t take it from her. He couldn’t go for her vest or bra or panties without making her strip off other pieces first. So, though a part of him hated to lose it, he said, “Coat.”

He watched her sit up a bit, tossing the fluttering coattails before rising to her knees. She grabbed the lapels and slipped it from her shoulders and down her arms, letting it fall like a curtain around her. Ever the performer, his Zatanna knew how to put on a show as she sat—almost preening—in front of him, her white vest brilliant against her pale skin.

She leaned forward with her hands planted between her parted thighs as she lowered herself down onto the duvet, her arms again framing her breasts and aiming his gaze down. 

With his gaze still lingering on that hidden space beyond her balled fists, he asked, “So what now?” They were all out of cards.

She crawled forward, those hands moving her forward and her breasts swinging full and weighty as she prowled over the downy plane. She smiled a cunning grin as she flipped his cards face-down again. “Now we go again,” she said.

“But we already know the cards,” he said. Without the element of surprise, didn’t that take all the fun out of the game?

“And you remember them?” she asked, skeptical as she turned her own cards.

He nodded. Sure. It was four cards. Eight, including hers. Even after a few drinks, of course, he could still remember eight cards.

She smirked. “Then this should be an easy win for you, shouldn’t it?” she concluded as she sat back on her haunches.

Good point. So he sat back and mentally went through all the cards. He knew his cards, definitely, and did know which cards she had and was almost certain he knew their order. 

“Ready?” she asked him, reaching for her inner left card—a nine of hearts. 

He felt a little bad—wondering if she knew that it was the last card she’d played and the easiest for him to remember—but not quite guilty enough not to play his ten of diamonds.

“Easy win, indeed,” she murmured as she sat back, looking at him—and not the cards—almost daringly. She fingered the lapel of her vest and gave him a questioning look. 

It was the logical choice, so he nodded as she thumbed the buttons open, each springing open to reveal more and more. Ben felt his mouth water as the bright white material parted. 

Underneath, she had on a black lace teddy that hugged and adored every curve. He’d thought that she was wearing a bra and panty set under her costume, but this was better. The thin, almost airy layer of lace both hid and displayed her, playing a teasing game with his head. 

The cups dipped in a low vee that barely contained her breasts, letting them spill, full and cream-colored, out a bit now that they were free from the constraints of the pearl white cloth. 

A sheer lace belt wrapped the dip of her waist, offering peeks of pale skin and accentuating the lush sway of that line. 

His gaze drank in the swell of her hips and belly, soft and sweet, following it down to where the lace fluttered playfully over her thighs.

The white, now discarded fabric puddled on top of her coat as she reached for her lowest card—a three of clubs. Another easy win. With confidence, he flipped over his five of spades, a low card, but high enough. Ben liked games and all, but he was done playing around.

“The teddy,” he said, without hesitation. As much as he liked it, he wanted to see her.

She took a deep breath, hesitation flickering a bit in her eyes. She shut her eyes and nodded, her shoulders squaring. “As you wish.”

He watched her peel the lace straps down her shoulders, the cups dipping with her movement. He held his breath as the soft, black material fell below her breasts—so lush and sweet—leaving her pretty pale pink nipples bare to his gaze. His hands fisted in her comforter as he held himself back from touching her, tasting her.
She tugged the teddy over the sweep of her hips, wiggling a bit as she freed it from her legs. God, he could smell her, hot and aroused. A rich warmth that filled his senses, at once comforting and exciting. And the sight of her, bare and so smooth—he had to hold himself back from touching her.

“Let’s go again,” he said, his hand already turning over his seven of hearts, anticipating her eight of diamonds. The room was too hot and, despite his usual modesty, he welcomed the loss of his shirt. 

She laughed as she turned over her card. “Last one,” she said as she moved on to her next card, turning it over to reveal the queen of diamonds.

Yes, it was. He didn’t even look at the card, knowing it to be the king of spades. “Bow tie,” he said, more than ready for her to be completely naked.

“Ah-ah,” she tutted, pointing down. “Not so fast.”

He looked down. He shook his head then looked down again.

A two of spades.

What?

That wasn’t his card. He hadn’t had a two of spades. He looked down at his cards again. A ten, a seven, a five, and a two. No. He’d had a king. He knew he had. “You cheated,” he blurted out.

“Not cheating,” she said as she picked up her queen. She twirled it between her fingers with a quick flick, transforming it into a joker. “Magic.”

He pouted. He knew it was just a strip card game, but rules were rules and he should have won.

“Tell you what,” she said, reaching for her bow tie, “I’ll take it off if you do something for me.”

“What?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

“If you,” she said, pulling one of the ends and unraveling it into her hands, “put it on.”

Really? “Sure,” he said with a shrug. “Okay.” Why not? 

He took the tie from her and began wrapping it around his neck.

“No,” she said, stopping him, “not like that.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her questioningly. What did she mean, not like that? “How do you want me to do it?” he asked, trying not to sound snide. Or feel ridiculous in just socks, briefs, an untied bow tie, and fake glasses, like some Hogwartian Chippendale dancer.

Crawling over the cards on the comforter, she pulled the tie from his loose grasp with a devious smile. She grabbed one of his wrists and wrapped one end of the cloth around it before twining it around the other. She then wrapped it around both. Tight. Before tying his hands together in front of him. “Yes,” she said, sitting back to review her handiwork, “something like that.”

Uh. He looked down at his bound hands, trying to decide if he was okay with this. On one hand, he wasn’t not okay with this. He pulled at the tie a little bit and was relatively certain that, with how short the cloth was, he could pull it apart with one strong pull. He wasn’t exactly trapped. Didn’t feel threatened or uncomfortable with it.

Beyond—well—he’d never done anything like this before. Wasn’t entirely sure he knew what to do or how to do.

At least, I don’t have to worry about what to do with my hands, he thought ruefully as he lifted them up to inspect the knot.

“Now,” she said as she sidled closer, dragging the corner of a card down his chest, “we’re ready for our next trick.”

“Which is?” he asked, his body stiffening as the card’s cardboard edge cut along the taut, sensitive skin of his stomach.

“My favorite,” she said with a dramatic tone, “show-stopping trick.” She tapped the the card over his hard-on, making him jump a bit. She flipped the card in her hand to reveal the queen of clubs. 

“This trick,” she said waving the card in front of him, “is called The Queen’s Club, which is based off of an old tale of an ancient princess.” She took the card and slid it up his right thigh and down the other, leaving a strange, shivery wake in the card’s path. “This princess lived in a very rich land with her dying father, who was determined to see her happily wed before he passed.” Reaching for each knee, she lay his legs flat in front of him on the mattress. “But the princess was stubborn, a little spoiled, and, most of all,” she said, kicking one leg over his, so she straddled his thighs, “very, very smart.”

Ben’s mouth went dry and slack as she settled over him, her naked pussy hovering hot and tempting so close to his own bare flesh. 

“So,” she continued, completely ignoring his intense stare, “liking her life just as it was, without a husband or lord to tell her what to do, she told her father that she would lock herself and her servants in her rooms, which for her had everything she could ever need, and any man who could find something she wanted that her rooms could not supply would earn the key and her heart.”

Ben fought the urge to squirm—to shift his hips up to touch his to hers. “Did anyone ever succeed?” he asked, concentrating on her words rather than her sweet scent, like warmth and woman and want.

“Well,” she said, tipping his chin up his chin up with the card, “let’s see.” She took hold of his hands and brought them down between their thighs. “It’s said that, if you can please the queen well enough,” she said, holding up the card in her hand, “the key will be revealed.” 

God, the soft, satiny skin slide of her slick sex against his hands as she settled on top of him was intoxicating. He watched her eyelids flutter a bit as she slid his fingers inside her pussy and purred, “So show me something, Magic Man.”

Then she bit the card, holding it tight in her teeth, as her hips swiveled a bit to adjust to his hands.

Please the queen, huh?

Ben cocked his head a bit. That—yeah, that—he could do. So he did. Leaning forward, he bent low to capture one taut, pink nipple in his mouth, his lips closing wetly around the hard flesh. He suckled her, licking and nipping and enjoying the lush texture of her against his tongue, as his fingers explored her. 

He noticed, as he slid his slick thumb up to stroke her clit in circles, that his magician liked a rougher touch, her moans growing into deep, desirous growls as his fingers pistoned within her. He triumphed at the throaty sounds that tore out from behind tensed teeth and the silken arousal that flowed from her and onto his fingers as her body pushed her hips down onto his hands only to lift her breasts up to meet his mouth.

Though the thick, lensless glasses hanging precariously askew on his face, Ben could see, could feel, her body thrust up and down—and up and down—over him, his mind memorizing her movements and imagining them within a myriad of other contexts. The sight, the sound, the scent of her arousal woke something within him, some sleeping beast inside that craved more of it. All of it. He wanted this moment to continue on. Forever, maybe. It would never be enough. There wasn’t enough pleasure in the world to sate the hunger now building within him. It was a hunger that, once fed, only grew. 

“Come on,” he murmured, feeling magic in those words, as he urged her on, seeing the tension in her body and the pleasure on her face build. “Come on.”

He could feel her reach for—would have sworn she could practically see it in her sightless, trance-like, lust-hazed gaze—her climax’s peak. His teeth sucked on her nipple deep in his mouth as he pushed his fingers as hard and deep inside her as he could. Her body pulled taut as a cry rang out in the room. 

Idly, Ben wondered what the soulful song sounded like on the other side of the wall. Wondered if her crescendo-ing cry would echo in concert to the party’s music. He imagined that every beat of her orgasm—that inviting clench that hugged his finger still buried hilt-deep in her warmth—would match the sorority’s soundtrack.

He saw her languidly lean back, reaching up to take the card from her mouth. He could see the tracks of her teeth, from where she’d bitten down on the laminated card. She turned it. He blinked at the ace of spades. Her ace in the hole. The key that would unlock everything.

She backed off a bit, reaching out to grab one end of the tie and unravelling it as she pulled. It wasn’t until she was leaning back over his knees, that he realized that—somehow—his briefs and socks were gone, leaving him as naked as she was. Which was strange as he couldn’t recall when or how they’d disappeared.

But what was puzzling him more was the crinkly, stiff feel between his wrists. Right where the tie had been. Separating his hands, he watched as a condom—foil-wrapped and ready—landed on his lap.

The key to everything you could ever need.

Ben shrugged as he picked the condom up off the mattress. It was one hell of a trick.

One he was determined to figure out.

Later.

He ripped the glasses from his face and threw them to the floor before tearing the wrapper open and rolling on the condom with precise and efficient moves. He grabbed her by the waist and flipped their positions. Free of the plastic frames, he looked down at her, more than a little amazed by his magician. She looked beautiful laid out beneath him. Her long, midnight strands flowing about her. Her face flushed and set in an eager expression. “Come on,” she dared, licking her lips. “Come on.”

Atop her, his arms and legs around her as the rest of his long form surrounded her, he leaned down to kiss her. She tasted like a sweet mix of liquor, soda, and seduction as he slipped himself inside her. He moaned against her mouth as her snug softness enveloped him, making his entire body heat. He thrust, wildly and almost helplessly, knowing that he wouldn’t last long and wishing he could care more than he did. But, like her before, he could almost see his peak, could feel it call to him. Tugging him toward it, headlong and uncontrollable. 

“Come on,” she panted again, thrusting just as franticly beneath him. “Come.”

And the words—like a spell or incantation—pulled his orgasm from him, letting it flow through him, into her. His long body stretched as he felt her arch against him, the sound of their lust loud in his head. 

For a moment, the world stilled, shrinking down to just him and her and the thundering beat of their bodies still entwined together.

Ben opened his eyes lazily as he carefully pulled himself from her. He sighed as he removed the condom, his body still sensitive. He settled down next to her on the mattress, feeling her hand on his chest as she curled her body around him, the labored rhythm of her breath soothing as she drifted into sleep. He looked down at her, trying not to move and wake her.

Early sunlight filtered in through the slit in her dorm room window to shine on her face.

It was strange.

In the morning light, she looked different. Her skin—that had seemed flawless and fresh in the night—was streaked with fading makeup that now strayed and stained skin it’d bled into. Even her hair, that had flowed so beautifully over her shoulders and around her face, now seemed crooked and a little off. Ben spotted wisps of blond peeking out along the hairline of the now obviously synthetic, black strands.

She looked younger in this light. His lips, now slightly chapped with her lipstick all but licked and kissed off, parted on a snuffling yawn. There was something youthful about her, snuggled up tight on her bed, like a child playing dress up.

It was a trick of the light.

It was identity alchemy.

With a little makeup and a wig,” she’d told him, “you can step out of your life and into one of your own imagining. With just a wardrobe change, it’s like being given license to do all the things you normally wouldn’t.”

It was magic.

He leaned back against her headboard and looked at the palm of his hand. In red ink, it read 896-3360.

Ben had a head for numbers. For remembering things like that. And those were not the numbers the Speakeasy flapper had left on his hand. 

With a smile, he let his mind center on those numbers—committing them like an enchantment to memory—before letting his own dreams drift over him.



UNIDENTIFIED FETISH OBJECT
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THINK YOU OWN ME?
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Wednesday, October 23, 2013

The Deviant Nerd – Consent: It’s Not Easy Being King

Consent – It’s Not Easy Being King
The Deviant Nerd
Brought to you by The Taming School, for when you want curling up with a good book to feel like a good post-coital cuddle.


Question: Hey Pip,

My friend has been dating this kinky creep for about a month now and, no matter how hard we try, she just won’t listen when ALL HER FRIENDS tell him that she needs to leave him. He’s abusive and controlling and just plain horrible.

Like, he makes her call him “Sir” all the time. Like ALL THE TIME. Even in front of us or her family. It’s like he does it just to embarrass her or make us uncomfortable or put her (and, in a way, us) in her (our) place. Like, when she first introduced him to us as her boyfriend, he flipped out and threw this huge fit and started this screaming fight right in the middle of a crowded restaurant.

She later told me that he’s way into all that Dom/sub stuff. Said that, at the start of their relationship, he made her sign some crazy contract where he gets to control what she eats and wears and does and everything. It says all the things he gets to do to her whenever he wants and all the things she isn’t allowed to do whether she wants to or not.

And, now, whenever we go shopping or change in the locker room, I see all these bruises all over her, like her back and legs and butt and stuff. And, when I ask her about it, she just gets super nervous and changes the subject.

We’ve been thinking about going to the cops to try to get them involved, like getting a restraining order or some kind of abuse charge against him, but don’t know how to go about that. Do you have any advice?

Thanks!

- Have Escape Loser Plan?

———

Pip: Hey HELP,

Look, I know your heart is in the right-ish place here. You care about your friend and are worried that she’s in trouble.

But, here’s the thing…I actually don’t think he’s done anything that terrible. 

Don’t get me wrong; he sounds like a jerk and I would never play with him, much less date him. But, if your friend agreed to his terms…she agreed to his terms. She got to know this guy—friggin’ drama queen top that he is—agreed to get involved with him, signed his contract, and is staying with him. You don’t really have anything to report to the cops. Certainly nothing to bring charges or a restraining order against him. Your friend might be in a relationship you wouldn’t want to be in or that I wouldn’t want to be in, but she isn’t necessarily a victim. He isn’t automatically an abuser. 

It doesn’t sound like she got manipulated into this relationship. You don’t say that she was lied to or tricked or is being taken advantage of. You don’t mention a shift in their relationship, like there so often is in abuse cases, where the abuser was one way initially to lure someone into the relationship before then changing to show truer colors. You haven’t even told me that she’s unhappy or upset by their arrangement.

The only thing that borders on—but doesn’t qualify as—abuse is him flipping out over titles; this is what makes him a drama queen top. It’s irrational and weird and speaks to a level of crazy that could be seen as a red flag. 

While kink isn’t really all that taboo anymore, it’s not mainstream either. It’s not something you tell your family or your partners’ family either. And you should definitely never involve them—or anyone who hasn’t already consented to be involved—in your scenes. Because it’s weird, disturbing, and rude. For everyone involved. So titles are really never used outside the BDSM world. I don’t know anyone who would expect or even want that because it would expose too much of themselves to the world. It’s a liability for the person with the title, out in the wide and often presumptuous and prejudiced world, as much as it is for the person they’re asking to use it. 

But, like I said, it’s unwise and off-putting, but it’s not abusive and it’s certainly not enough to build an official or legal case against him. What you describe wouldn’t and shouldn’t make the police act. And, I know, you’re worried because you’ve seen bruises and marks on your friend, which—under normal, vanilla circumstances—should be a huge red flag and should make you worry about your friend.

But your friend is kinky. And, in kink, pain and damage aren’t automatic indicators of abuse like they are in the vanilla world. In fact, we tend to be quite proud of our bruises and scars—often descending into a battle scar contest worthy of Jaws. But only with each other. Which is likely why your friend is uncomfortable with you noticing her marks. Because there’s a good chance she knows you well enough to know you won’t understand.

It’s a hard thing to wrap your head around, even among kinksters, this idea that a top can beat a slave bloody and raw, can string a submissive up until they pass out, can burn, can suffocate, can cut, torture, and rape a bottom and—so long as everything was agreed upon beforehand and wasn’t objected to at any point—it’s not abuse. 

It’s just fun. 

However, even in the kinkiest relationship, the most vanilla sex—in the dark, half-clothed, married, missionary—can be abuse if done without consent. 

Consent is king in kink. 

It’s what determines right from wrong in our world. And you just haven’t proven to me that her boyfriend’s done anything worse than acting like a thirteen-year-old girl quibbling over a freakin’ title. It makes him unlikeable, not evil.

My advice: talk to your friend. Talk and, more importantly, listen. Really listen. Check your preconceived notions about how relationships and sex work and really listen to her when she talks to you about him. Does he make her happy? Does he take her wants and needs and desires into account—whatever their BDSM play contract says? Do they play safe and smart? Does he make her feel good? In and out of bed?

If he does—if they’re healthy and happy—stay out of it. 

Better yet, be happy for her. 

It’s hard to find anyone to love and be loved by in the vanilla world; in kinkland—where we’re few and often far apart—it can feel darn right discouraging at times. You may not get it, you may not even approve but, if you’re really concerned for your friend’s happiness, talk to your friend, get to know this guy, see what they look like together, how they interact, then decide. 

If you still have reservations after that, talk to your friend about it. Be understanding but honest. Explain why you feel the way you feel and let her know that, if she ever needs someone to talk to or go to for help, you’re there. 

Because, in order for you to help her—if she needs help—she has to want help. And, in order for her to want your help, she has to know that the offer for help is more about her and her happiness than you and your perceptions. If you want to be her friend, be there for her, whatever she decides.

No questions. 

Not judgement. 

Just because you care.

 – Pip, Your Resident Deviant Nerd




* If you have a sex, kink, love, or life question for The Deviant Nerd, email Pip at PipJones.DeviantNerd@gmail.com
And read more about Pips story in Brought to You By.