Models Plus Science Equals Mummification

If You're My Mummy Then Who's Your Daddy?

Over the last year I have undergone an extensive set of tests to prove to myself that I am not allergic to tape. It has never concerned me. I do not have nightmares about swollen red hands itching from contact with tape. I have never woken up in a cold sweat, sat up and screamed, "Great Scott! What if I am allergic to tape?!?!" Come to think of it I've never screamed, "Great Scott!" ever as well. That is most likely because I do not give two s**ts about how many gigawatts it takes to travel through time and think Delorians are stupid. You made a car out of a kitchen sink. Congratulations.

The point is that I am very scientific. Oh, you want proof? I wore a lab coat and held a clip board in a video with Angelique Kithos and Kendra James. Still not convinced? I was wearing glasses and nodding my head most of the time. That is right, it was scientific bitches! The only way to know something is through empirical evidence. You develop a hypothesis and then test that hypothesis rigorously through the scientific method. Years of contact with tape were not enough. There were too many variables, too many unknowns. I had to do this right. I could not let Angelique, Kendra or that pristine white lab coat down!

Fetishcon was the answer. It was the only place that a non-electrician can walk into the lobby with almost 30 pounds of tape and not get funny looks. It was the only place where I could explain my experiments to a host of beautiful women without them pointing in a random direction, saying, "Look, flying monkeys!" and then disappearing before I turned back to them. In fact these same people were telling me to bring it on. They said, "Bring it Ted, bring on the science. Do your tests, gather your data. You can count on us!" Whitney Morgan brought a protractor. Ashley Graham donated some beakers. Star came to town with an Erlenmeyer flask. Gigi Lynn reminded me to wear glasses because, and I quote, "Science is about smarts and you look dumber without your glasses." The girls knew I needed answers, they appreciated the empirical method and the science could commence.

We went through a lot of tape at this year's Fetishcon. I am not exaggerating, I finished off a full box of electrical tape, three boxes of microfoam, a box of blenderm, two rolls of transparent electrical tape, three rolls of duct tape and a various amounts of four other kinds of tape. The electrical tape alone weighed over 22 pounds according to the shipping manifest taped inside the box. Yes, they taped the shipping details for a 22 pound box of tape inside the box with tape. Fortunately for the world i\t did not open up a wormhole. I did four full mummification sets, 2 partial mummification sets, 32 wrap gags and 11 layered restraints that utilized electrical tape or duct tape or both.

The testing was done. We all sat around my laptop nervously as the data ran through a series of algorithms developed solely for the task at hand. Each girl underwent mummification, brutal gagging and layered restraints. This was more than money. This was more than bondage. This was science. After the programs finished running the results were finally ready. We broke into cheers and danced around the flickering screen. I was not allergic to tape. The science was there, the science was sound and the science clearly said that the mummification and tape gags would continue!

Image courtesy of Ashley Graham in Mummification Country Club Initiation.

What is your favorite gag?

Gags for me are even more important than restraint for making a damsel completely helpless. The tightest and most devilish hogtie conceivable is nothing against a scissors-toting roommate just one shout away. That's why it's important to make a gag not only effective but challenging. The more a damsel has to deal with wearing a gag the less she'll be able to struggle. She can try to yell but opening her mouth lets that bit gag sink even deeper and pry open her mouth even more. She can try to scream but all that mouth-packing held in by gauze makes it hard enough to breath. She can try to shout but then all the drool backed up behind that huge ballgag will spill out all over her bare breasts.

A challenging gag presents a damsel with both limitations as well as choices. She can struggle but when you can only breath through your nostrils you run out of breath very quickly. She can scream but not too loudly because there's so much drool and packing in her mouth she needs her tongue to push it away from her throat. The poor girl has to fight both the physical demands of the gag as well as the mental demands. Their mouths are pried open, their lips are sealed and their faces are encased. It's often far more uncomfortable than even 500 feet of rope. I've had people tied into pretzels but it's always the gag they want out first when it's all over.

My own gag preferences have evolved over the years. I still find it amusing that I used to hate ballgags. Now nobody gets through the door without having one popped into their mouth. Layering is my favorite thing now. Ballgag a damsel, tape over it, gauze over that ... the more the better. If a gal keeps saying something and I reply, "What?" over and over I know the gag is done right. And there's just something about the struggling you get when a damsel knows it's the real deal and not a simple ballgag. A model told me that when you can't breath through your mouth or swallow your drool you want it to be over. You don't know if you can bear having the gag taken off and then put back on again so you just keep wiggling hoping that the next thing the rigger says is, "got it, lets get you out of that." Of course, they wiggle a lot longer than they'd hope!

The image is from Kendra James in I Can't Get Away If You Tie Me Up Tight!

The Eyes Have It

Who couldn't like a great facial expression? A damsels gets that pinched look when she's really going to exert herself. She looks dejected because no matter how much she struggles the restraints aren't loosening a bit. Her brow furrows and she squints as she tries to scream past that huge wad of rubber in her face. Her eyes open wider than wide as she works against the crotchrope. Her eyes plead and her brow furrows at the same time when she looks at her captor.

Each adds to the drama of the story involving a helpless heroine in the midst of a dire predicament. How many have thought about the drama behind the drama though? The story is one thing but strict restraint and a gag to match are a challenge in themselves. The model not only has to wiggle, moan, hit marks, remember dialog and sweat her ass off to get the scene done, but she always has the physical and mental challenge of dealing with tight rope and a face full of shut the hell up.

That pinched look isn't just about the exertion. It's because to flop over she needs to roll over her welded elbows. It isn't going to be comfortable at all, but she knows she needs to roll around to make the scene look good. The dejected look? That comes around when she's shot for hours. She's shooting a scene that involved 20 minutes of getting tied up and she's been rolling around under hot lights for another 15. She's exhausted but you signal that you need five more minutes. She doesn't know how she's going to do it, so she's digging down deep to get you the time on film that you need. The brow furrowing and squinting is because there's so much saliva backed up in her mouth that moving her tongue might let it flow into the back of her throat and choke her. She's trying to position her tongue so she can keep making noise without passing out. She opens her eyes wider than wide because that crotchrope is damn tight. It doesn't feel good and in pinches a very delicate area at times. She is not comfortable and is hoping that wiggling her hips shifts things enough to go back to just uncomfortable from, "ow ow ow ow ow." Her look pleads because she's totally exhausted, aching, hot, sweating and mentally worn out but the end of this scene means there's another one still to go. Release means only five minutes of rubbing sore muscles and mentally gearing up for that crazy suspension you keep talking about.

My point is that these women work DAMN hard to help producers provide material for everyone to enjoy. Strict bondage isn't about playing a part. It's about a real predicament. The model is working her ass off to struggle through exhaustion, choking gags, aching jaws, sore muscles and ropes so tight they feel like they are cutting. Imagine having a back-ache, a head-ache, a sunburn, an upset stomach, a dentist running that water spray into the back of your throat, rug burns everywhere and waking up with the circulation in both of your arms gone all at the same time. Now imagine with all that someone put 2000 watts of light on you, tells you to struggle and then gropes and spanks you at the same time. That is the drama behind the drama!

The image above is from the next-to-last set of my last shoot with Kendra James. She was run ragged all day but still never let up in her exertion and playing the part. If you don't mind a short clip showing someone who's worked 12 hours but is still giving it her everything, check out Black and White and Duct-Taped All Over.

Auburn Arachnid

I've dabbled in comics for as long as I can remember. I drew a lot before photography kicked into gear and did a number of bondage portraits, a ton of bondage drawings and a fair number of bondage comics. I even did a portrait of Ashley Renee she had hanging at her home for a bit. I'll post that up at some point if I can dig out the scan!

During the comic days I had a number of staple characters I created and one of them was the Auburn Arachnid. Unfortunately my naming conventions dated back to when I was eight when ham-fisted monicers ripe with alliteration seemed oh so awesome. This heroine was a reporter by day and a red-haired fighter of crime at night. She did a story on a meteorite impact and found out the thing gave her enhanced strength and balance. Her room-mate was a scientist and harnessed the power of the stone with the electronics in wrist bands. Yes, the room-mate got tied up a lot :)

Anyhow, the character has been around for decades. She started tied up in burning warehouses, to bombs and to other manners of diabolical devices. By the time I was in my late teens and early 20s she usually ended up gagged with her panties and tied with her ankles up by her ears. Funny how things like that change.

Flash forward to today. Now keep in mind that I enjoy developing bondage material. I have no plans on developing super-heroine material, but when Kendra James came to visit I couldn't resist. She was doing material for a friend that has a super-heroine site, and I've always loved Kendra's super-heroine work. After a bit of my usual material I decided the opportunity to have Kendra and a trunk full of costumes would never come again. To my surprise, all the components were in place and with Kendra being a redhead the Auburn Arachnid came to life ... an then got tied up, groped and yes, had her ankles tied up by her ears.

Here's the teaser:

Kendra James has gotten herself some power bands, a belt, high-heeled boots, a black spandex catsuit and a mask. The redheaded reporter decides it's time to fight crime! Her first foray into the field though breeds disastrous results. She finds hidden files on a phone but not the taser built into it. Shocked into unconsciousness and her power bands fried, she is tied, groped, gagged, stripped, spanked and finally unmasked. It seems someone collects superheroines and naked on your back with your ankles tied to your neck means your going into the collection.

Here's the video: Kendra James in Superheroine: Roped, Groped and Revealed.

Kendra James what were you thinking?

It's always fun to go through video and pull out the odd things that happen during a shoot. Like when the dog gets loose and gets into the scene or UPS picks the the perfectly wrong moment to need a signature on a delivery. I should do a blooper reel someday! I do actually have a piece of video where the model told me her boyfriend would be checking up on her once an hour and if she was indisposed I should pick up and tell him she'd call him right back. Sure enough in full restraint and tape-gagged the phone rings, I pick up and I say the classic, "she's a bit tied up at the moment, she'll call you back." He said to put the phone by her ear and she mmmphhs four times. After the shoot she told me they agreed that any number of mmmphs other than four would mean call the cops. I find that funny until this day! Why four? Who knows, still damn funny though.

My first shoot with Kendra had some funny moments as well, mainly because she's a hoot to be around. I still have a vivid recollection of her in a naked lotus tie, neck to ankles, and hearing, "little help please." I know I've told the story but turning around to see nothing but feet and you-know-what was a bit shocking, very funny and just plain awesome from a perv point of view.

Some of the things that really get my wheels turning though are when I see expressions and wonder what is going through their heads at the time. It's fairly obvious when the expression means "just get this over with idiot!" Other times it's a bit harder to read. I was working on screen shots and just had to put up this one from Kendra James in Vintage Vixen Hogtied. I had recently re-mastered it for better color and a higher bit rate. I took the screen shot because it had drool, and I LOVE drool. Nobody plays a character in distress better than Kendra, so it could just be play-acting. The more I look at it though the more it seems to say that she knows the only way I'll get the camera out of her face is to drool. I can't even view it anymore without knowing she's thinking, "here, it's all over my bra now, happy, now film something else already!"

Chop saws and powerdrills

Custom videos get done on weekends around these parts. Since yesterday was date night (Barbecue following Paranormal Activity 2) that makes Sunday get 'er done day. Angelique is dealing with mutant activity in Fallout while I'm prepping for a super-heroine request that came our way.

I've already ordered the missing materials for the outfit but still need to hit the party store for a harlequin mask. Earlier I had the fun of bringing out the miter saw and the drill press to put together a post rig. Now I don't know about most of you but I like to keep my home, well, a home. As such I don't bolt poles into the floor for the sake of cinching damsels up to them. That requires making rigs. The new place has the perfect door way that only required making a brace for the top of the door jamb, a brace for the bottom and a pole to go between them. The sawdust flew, the whir of the drill driver echoed in the garage and 20 minutes later we have a post for a tasty pole tie that is rock-solid and damages nothing in the house. Even better I got to use some old two-by-fours that came on a shipping pallet for our treadmill ... I hate wasting good wood (pun intended) and was glad to get the entire rig done for free!

With permission from the requester I'll put up some peeks at how things went later. Until then I'll put up something from a clip that went up last night. It stars the wonderful Kendra James. It's notable in that it is the very first clip I ever shot of her and that it contains more dialog from myself than any clip I've ever done. I'm the strong, silent type when it comes to "bad guys" but it was necessary to be a loud-mouth to make this clip work. All the rigging was done on-screen which is always a bit tighter than when it's done before the camera rolls, and Kendra had to deal with a gag consisting of a large ball, duct tape, a gauze head wrap and then electrical tape over that. Again, those in-the-moment gags tend to end up with a full stretch on the gauze, so she really had to deal with some discomfort. Notable as well for the longest title I've ever used, Kendra James in I Can't Get Away If You Tie Me Up Tight! is available now.