Tag: Artwork

Communication Breakdown

The wider acceptance of kink and the corresponding uptick in mainstream articles on it is a good thing. Less stigma is good. More people open to indulging in kink is good. Unfortunately the quality of the mainstream articles is somewhat erratic. For example, take this recent Cosmo one on Cuckolding. It’s not terrible, and it’s certainly positive on the kink. In fact that’s actually kind of the problem. It’s possible to be too positive.

Cuckolding is a great way of strengthening communication in a relationship, as it requires honesty from both partners about what they enjoy, what they don’t and what their boundaries are if they do feel jealous or uncomfortable.

It’s certainly true that cuckolding requires good communication. However, this makes it sound like cuckolding would be a good option to improve communication in a relationship that has a problem with it. I’m not a therapist, but I’m fairly sure that first step in strengthening  communication with your partner isn’t sleeping with other people.

This reminds me of people who think that the solution to a rocky relationship is to have a child. Because when two people are stressed and unhappy, the obvious answer is to add a small screaming person who’ll dominate their lives for the next 18 years. I’ve known two couples like that and it worked out about as well as you might expect. I’m guessing that cuckolding, like having children, is a good way to make a great thing better and a bad thing even worse.

I’m not sure of the background to this image, or who the artist is, but it definitely has a strong cuckolding vibe to it. If anyone can help me attribute it, then please leave me a comment.

Strange Comfort

I’ve been in a bondage frame of mind recently. I think it’s the cold weather. There’s something comforting and relaxing about certain types of bondage. Almost like being gently hugged. That sense of relaxing into an embrace, with no further thought being necessary. Some people like to avoid the chill by cuddling in front of a roaring fire. Others tilt towards layers of rope, tight leather straps and isolation hoods. I think my dream scenario would be to combine the two, with heavy bondage and cuddling in front of a roaring fire. I really need to make that happen someday.

This image is by the artist Harry B, sourced via this tweet.

Warning Signs

Apologies for the lack of an update yesterday. This was due to me being collapsed on my couch in a post session haze of endorphins. I had my first session of 2020 yesterday, and Savannah Sly made it a highly memorable one. 

There are two key warning signs that something particularly painful is about to happen when playing. The first is if the domme briefly disappears to find a specific toy and reemerges with a particularly gleeful expression. Whatever she has found will not go well for you. The second sign is if she starts to do something, then pauses, and decides she needs to muffle your moans before proceeding. She might be concerned about the neighbors, but you should be more concerned with what’s about to happen to your delicate parts.

In the case of our session yesterday, the toy in question was Savannah’s medical stapler and (equally important) the staple removal tool. The muffling was required when she decided to apply it to the tip of the cock. Right over the urethral opening. Ouchy.

Here’s a different medical scene showing one of the more fun ways to muffle a patient’s screams. This is of course by the artist Rubex.

Submissive Gaming

Yesterday’s post got me thinking more generally about the intersection between videogames and kink. Obviously using sex and fetish to sell videogames is nothing new and, like every genre of art, there have been sexually explicit examples from its earliest days. What I’m more interested in are the mainstream games that plug into a BDSM or D/s vibe. The kind that push our kinky buttons without us necessarily being immediately aware of it.

There’s a clear link between topping and playing videogames, in that both are about control, flow and mastery of the local environment. That’s obviously what Gita Jackson in yesterday’s article picked up on. From the submissive perspective it’s a little trickier. For example, I can’t imagine a videogame about being tied up would work all that well. What would the controls be like? Mash Y to moan. Hit X to safeword if pain meter fills up. Wiggle the thumbstick to move your fingers and prevent ‘Game Over’ due to pins and needles. It probably wouldn’t be a bestseller. 

There are plenty of games that involve rescuing a princess or some equivalent trophy female character, but they’re clearly not femdom. The female character is passive and helpless. There are an increasing number of games with powerful female leads, but they don’t tie to a D/s dynamic. For a game to push my kinky buttons it’d need an active and powerful female character that drives the story, but also the ability for me to have a fun gaming experience acting in support of her. That’s a tricky combination to find.

I’d guess the best place to look for examples would be RPGs. They typically have different characters working together and interesting mixes of genders and power dynamics. For example, both Final Fantasy VIII and IX had feisty female leads (Rinoa and Garnet respectively) with the male lead character working on their behalf. Hunting around online I also came across this video from the game Ni No Kuni 2, which clearly has a femdom slant to it. Does anyone have any other game suggestions? Anything that pushes both their controller and their kinky buttons? I’ve been pondering it all day and haven’t come up with much.

Medieval concepts of chivalry are an obvious dynamic for games with a femdom slant. Just as long as the Queen is the type to charge into battle and not spend all day moping around in her castle.

The Modern Muse

The Guardian recently published an interesting article on the modern concept of the Muse. It highlights the unequal way artistic collaboration is viewed when it involves men working with women versus men working with men. A beautiful female actress may inspire a male director, but she is typically portrayed as passive, waiting to be molded and guided by his genius. In contrast, when it’s a male star and director, like De Niro with Scorsese or Depp with Burton, then it’s typically seen as two individual talents coming together on a collaborative venture.

The article finishes by questioning what effect the increasing number of female directors will have on the interpretation of this dynamic. That got me thinking about the kinky equivalent. Could a male submissive be a muse in the traditional sense to a female dominant? Obviously male submissives frequently inspire sexual attraction and hot kinky fun. If they didn’t we’d be stuck with only professional dommes, all of whom would be really, really bored with their job. But what about artistic inspiration? While most scenes involve creativity, I don’t think many of them are art in the traditional sense of the word. However, there are exceptions, and BDSM can clearly be a performative act. So are their male submissive muses who inspire their dominants to new creative heights while also being passive vessels for that creativity to be poured into?

If nothing else, it’d make for a great setting for femdom fiction. The beautiful submissive who inspires a dominant to increasingly sadistic and controlling acts in the name of art. The muse who sparks a creative fire that ultimately destroys him.

This artwork is of course by the brilliant Sardax, from this post on his site showing his artistic muse as a cruel mistress. 

Fetish Pony

Fans of fetish artwork will recognize the distinctive style here of Michael Manning. He’s the creator of well known series Tranceptor and The Spider Garden. What I particularly love about this specific piece is that it’s a commission by  @DrPonyBatBond, featuring him with Mistress Michelle Lacy. In a world where content creators have to fight to get paid for their work, and erotic content is constantly being stolen, it’s great to see someone commissioning original artwork from an artist they admire. The nature of the piece and the kinks involved also fit beautifully with the artists personal style, resulting in a very memorable image.

If you’d like to commission your own piece from Michael Manning, then his commission page is here. Alternatively, you could subscribe to his Patreon here.

A Dame To Die For

I’ve been watching a bunch of film noir over the holidays, so this seems an appropriate image to share. It’s odd that guns and knives in BDSM  are a total turn off for me, yet I’m a sucker for a deadly femme fatale. Particularly the scenes where she turns the tables on the helpless schmuck she’s ensnared, holding him at gunpoint while explaining what a fool he’s been. I think it’s because the gun in these scenes is incidental, a necessary device to give her power, rather than being a fetishistic focus. I’m actually kinking on the betrayal and the masochistic pleasure of trusting someone you know is going to ultimately hurt you.

This illustration is by Robert Maguire, an artist famous for his crime noir covers. I believe (based on this article) that it was for a novel called ‘So Cold, My Bed’ by Sam Taylor.

SMpedia

Fans of Japanese BDSM may want to check out SMpedia. Based on a machine translation of their front page it’s ‘a non-profit database established to accurately convey the process of the birth and development of post-war Japanese SM culture to future generations.’ I have absolutely zero ability to read Japanese, but the modern browser translate tools seem to do a pretty good job to convey the gist of its pages. There is an English language version known as Nawapedia, but there’s a lot less content and it doesn’t appear to be being updated.

The artwork below is from the site and by 小悪征夫, which Google translate as Yukio Koaku.

There is also a twitter feed for the site, which is where I spotted this image.

Final Gift Suggestion

For anyone still searching for that perfect gift, and not into the boots or books from my previous two posts, how about cushions? The one below is from Regards Coupables, a french artist and is available here. If the obviously Lichtenstein inspired art doesn’t do it for you, there are alternatives from the same artist that retain the humor and sexiness but substitute a cleaner style of drawing.

Kinky Equivalent of 69

Here’s a cute image of shared mutual pleasure. She gets a comfy spot to dominate him and drink her tea. He gets to make her happy and enjoy her feet smooshed in his face.

I’m not into feet as a kink, but this is an image that still appeals to me. Their contrasting facial expression with the shared connection via the cup and saucer really make it work.

The artist is signed as Suzy. I think that’s Suzy Q who has this instagram and is Lady Suzy Q, a specialist in foot fetish sessions (twitter site here). However, given I’m working via translation tools, it’s hard to be 100% sure. Image originally sourced from this tweet.