Why Did I Agree to a Tape Gag?

Um, crap, oh man that tape is going on tight!

Strict bondage tells two stories. The script that the actors play out tells the obvious story, but the tight rope and unforgiving gag write a story of their own.

The script is about a story that is make-believe. Star is engaged to a filthy rich man, but she is a filthy and naughty girl. She has a bad habit of being overly friendly with other men. She has the bad fortune that her indiscretions are found out. She will be rich in less than a week, but those photos will end her free ride before it even starts. She shows up at a hotel wearing only high heels and handcuffs herself. She is a priss with harsh words, but the rope he brought is harsher. Her applies more and more to her naked flesh, her helplessness growing with each loop of the thin cord. She complains the entire time, but he has a remedy for that. He forces dirty panties into her mouth, packing them in tightly. She feels the tape wrapping over her face again and again. She tries to push the panties out, but they will not budge. It is not long before she is stringently tied and balanced on a leather ottoman, her head pulled down to her ankles. He instructs her to fight the ropes and she does so despite the discomfort. She needs those photos back and no amount of humiliation or pain will ruin her dreams of luxury. He returns and places a tall and wobbly pedestal near her and to her horror lifts her up and places her on it. He tells her that she acts like a princess and princesses go on a pedestal. Escape is an option long gone, and it is no longer relevant. There is only enduring until she satisfies his perverted whims and gives her the photographs. Imagine her shock when he sets up a camera and begins filming. It seems he has other plans and tells her the ladies at the country club will have a field day knowing their new member is such a kinky little pervert. She has no choice now. She will bend to his will once a week or he will release both the video and photographs for all to see. This is her penance, and both the ropes and her selfishness force her to bow in reverence.

There is always a story behind the story with strict bondage though. There is a real girl dealing with real ropes. The cords cut deeply into her, and each minute they make her skin burn a little more. Her crossed ankles on the pedestal are digging into the wood, and they are starting to hurt. He tied her elbows, and her hands are starting to tingle from lack of circulation. He pulled her neck down to her ankles making everything twice as uncomfortable. It will be okay though, all she has to do is breath. Each deep breath helps the discomfort fade and disappear. All she has to do is breath and focus. Meditation becomes difficult though when fingers and panties start filling your mouth. The gag is the "oh shit" timer for a set. It signals the divide between when a model is confident with a position and when she switches into "holy crap I do not think I can hold this for 15 seconds let alone 15 minutes" mode. Star's eyes illustrate this exact moment. She plays the bitchy girl perfectly up until he gags her. Her derisive sneer morphs into wide eyes, a furrowed brow and a reddened face. The panties fill her mouth completely. She tries to work them out with her tongue but the tape is tighter than she expected. It digs into her face and forces the panties even deeper into her mouth than when they were first packed in. Her deep breaths are replaced with short ones. She is no longer fighting the ropes, she is fighting to make it a mere 30 seconds, and then 60 and then 90. She fights to breath, and all the discomfort of the ropes comes flooding back. Everything is twice as difficult as before. She tells herself to just breath. It will all be over soon she reminds herself, but time has slowed. The seconds tick by slower and slower, and all she knows is the discomfort of the ropes and the gag. Her tongue is tiring. She fights to hold the panties against the tape that wants to push them deeper into her mouth. Her saliva builds, soaking the panties and trying to run down her throat. Has it been 15 minutes yet? He is holding up five fingers. Oh shit, it has only been ten. She cannot feel her hands and is already lightly coughing. The wet panties are winning the battle in her packed mouth. The ropes have long defeated her. Five minutes is an eternity, but I can do it she tells herself. She bites into the panties, tenses her muscles and hopes with all her heart that he has scissors in his back pocket!

Image courtesy of Strict Bondage on Display with Star ... at http://www.clips4sale.com/38048/6951227.

Hemp Rope Hogtie for Angelique

Hemp, hogtie, helpless!

I have never been a frequent user of hemp rope, mainly because nylon is easier to work with and far more comfortable for the model. Oh, when I refer to hemp rope I'm not talking about nylon or polyester or cotton rope that's been died brown so it looks brutal. Fake shit is okay when you're trying to be nice to the model, but saying that it's hemp rope when it's brown nylon kind of makes you a douche. I'm not talking about anyone in particular, I'm just saying hemp is hemp. I'm talking about the real deal, scratchy, stiff and smelling of the oil it's soaked in to keep it from rotting away.

Angelique asked for some art shots of her in a hemp body harness. Everyone knows this will lead to no good as my turn at the scenario involves her in a full shibari-style tie completed with a knotted gag and a fully jacked hogtie. There's something about rolling around on a dirty garage floor bound completely in hemp that makes for a great scene for me. The rope is basic, the setting is basic and the scenario is to-the-point. Movement is tough, struggling is uncomfortable and even being untied isn't for the meek. Oh, that's scratches. No shit, it's hemp. That's why I only use it on the tough gals, the ones that understand that the material sometimes requires a rope hickey here, a scratch there and some rope burns to make for a great clip.

As for rope hickeys that's what I call those tiny bruises that people get on their elbows and behind their knees from the rope being cinched. It always happens during the more intimate part of a tie, the part where the photographer keeps saying excuse me for reaching between a girl's thighs or pinching the skin on their elbows. It's a great telling point for how much empathy the photographer has by how gingerly they apply something that is guaranteed to pinch but still feel bad when it does. If a photographer asks you to suck it up when you say, "Ouch!" ask him how many dead animals he has buried behind his house.

Hemp isn't for the meek. It looks awesome. It makes me want to tie people up totally naked. That's the difference between hemp and nylon or cotton for me. I almost never tie anyone up naked. When the hemp comes out though you will be wearing nothing but your birthday suit. Well, that and a lot of hemp. It will look great though, so thank you for bearing through the rope hickeys, the scratches, the rope burn and my 100 apologies while putting the rope in place.

Image courtesy of 240 Feet of Hemp Rope Hogtie Hell with Angelique Kithos.

Careful what you wish for

Have you ever been in the ocean and been hit by a huge wave that you didn't see? You know it's there somewhere. You get preoccupied, stop paying attention and that's when it hits you. It knocks the breath out you, drags you under and spins you around like a rag doll. It pins you to the bottom and churns you with the broken shells and sand for what seems like forever. Just when you think you are going to suffocate it lets you go and you pop to the surface. The sun is on your face and you take a huge breath of air that feels like the greatest breath of air ever taken.

Welcome to my last two weeks!

I've been preparing for the biggest event of my life and every detail is hitting at once. The stress has been a bit overwhelming with discussions, details, writing checks and trying to stay sane even when the world has gone crazy. On top of that we have a dog that had knee surgery and Angelique got bitten on the face by the other dog! Emergency rooms, trauma centers, medication, stitches (on the dog only thank goodness) and the list goes on. Just having to carry the dog around everywhere has been a chore although it's burned off seven pounds of my post-holiday dough-boy physique.

Fortunately everything all just fell into place yesterday. So many things resolved themselves and so much of the pressure has been taken off of everywhere. Now we sit back and enjoy life!

I've still been putting up clips but I haven't had time to update my musings. A recent clip starred a gal named Tina. I have a normal pattern when I shoot. I do a test position to gauge someone's abilities. Then I do an amped-up position followed but a much more relaxed position to regroup. After that it's usually something off-the-wall for fun. I broke that pattern with Tina. She walked in feisty and basically demanded to prove she was the best bondage model in the world. So I gave her the treatment. We started with a full-out take-down with sports tape and then moved on to two more positions. In all three her elbows were crushed. I was the wave and when Tina popped up for air she needed more than the sun and a deep breath, she needed a pain-killer. Then she said, "let's see all those other posers handle that!" Makes me laugh to this day ... I felt like I was being a little mean the whole shoot and it was really just a badge of honor to her.

Check out Tina in She Tried to Rob Me So I Stole Her Dignity but only if you like harsh take-downs, ballgags, welded elbows, bare feet, head wraps and a hottie sitting butt-ass naked on a toilet seat while she struggles!

All Tied Elbows Are Not Equal

I know that everyone has a liking for different ties, and I myself like a large variety of restraints. I don't mind if someone's elbows don't touch as long as it looks tight. You can see when someone has them back there as much as they'll go, the shoulder shape and the slight color change always give things away. I do have to admit though that I find nothing cooler than when elbows touch. From an artistic standpoint there is a symmetry that is visually appealing. From a rat bastard point of view there is just utter helplessness there. When the elbows are tied touching you lose so much mobility. You can't twist your arms, bending is severely limited and the hands can only do so much. Love it!

All elbows are not equal though even when they do touch. Some people have great flexibly which allows their elbows to touch. Every so often you run into someone who's elbows just plain touch and by this I mean no tugging, no cinching of the rope or any external force is necessary. What does a rigger do in this case. You crush them of course. I'm not talking pain or damage or being an irresponsible ass. I'm talking about arms so close together there are no gaps and no spacing; skin touches skins from wrist to elbow. Holy crap it's a nice thing to work with I'll tell you.

I had the pleasure of working with Victoria Ashely on a video I called Date With Welded Elbows now up on my store. I plan on putting up several screen shots at www.tedmichaels.com very soon! The first shoot almost didn't happen because she got lost, but I drove out to lead her to the shoot when she got twisted around. I told her to put her arms behind her back when the first set was going and to my amazement they just touched. No ropes, no help from me ... just two unbound arms side by side. I couldn't believe it.

We did two shoots over the next two weeks and those elbows were welded 90% of the time!