PLEASURE AND PAIN: SUMMER GAMES (various M+/M+) [S2 #16 Apr 26]

[blackbound]

PLEASURE AND PAIN IN THE CITY OF KINK

An article series by Elvic Mengi.

For those in the know, the city of ——— needs no introduction. The city most friendly to "alternative lifestyles" in the country, perhaps the world, and a city especially friendly to people of color participating in these lifestyles.

What shaped this city has been written about to exhaustion, but little has been written about how it ticked, and continues to tick; and so the Times has sent yours truly to investigate, interview, and bring you a series of articles on the people, past and present, that make it what it is.

#1
THE ARTIST

Of course, we can't talk about the city without talking about its perhaps most notorious resident: the mononymous extreme artist Kenneth. Very little is known about him: he is known to be the son of Nigerian immigrants, both deceased, and now around 40 years of age.

Kenneth entered the scene with a bang almost twenty years ago when he presented his first art installation: naked, hands cuffed behind him, eyes and mouth covered in tape, he stood on a tiny platform bolted into the wall of an industrial hall at a perilous height. Two large spotlights illuminated him, placed close enough that their heat made him sweat from head to toe. A moment of inattention would have made him fall unprotected to the ground below, probably shattering every bone in his body.

Six hours in, the fire department dispersed the crowd and brought him back down to Earth. He spent the night in jail before being released, and his notoriety was established.

He went from there with other installations that always involved himself in one form of extreme restraint or another. "Hunger Strike", in which visitors could force feed him with the press of a button while he was crucified to a metal contraption, landed him in hospital. "Pigs", in which he hung upside down, mummified and wearing a gas mask, inviting the public to deprive him of air via, again, a button press, famously ended after one day when the venue intervened, ejecting a visitor who - in their view - was actively trying to murder the artist; Kenneth disagreed violently and stormed off, refusing to work with the venue ever again.

He released his greatest - and currently final - work ten years ago: a film simply named a particularly vile racial slur. Numerous legends and myths have grown around the film since its release - that it was fake; that it was not only real but nonconsensual; that there exist hundreds of hours of unedited, unreleased footage of the ordeal; that his real-life brother is in it; that the uncredited actor playing his brother did not know what would happen to him at the end.

Kenneth, now living at an undisclosed location, will not answer any questions about the film, except to someone who is willing to undergo the same torment as him, as documented in it. Nobody has been brave or stupid enough to take him up on this, and so the details will likely remain a mystery.

The reasons are obvious. The film was shown only once; tickets were $500, but any viewers agreeing to be restrained to their seats, with no way to leave early, were allowed free entry. Most of those who did still regret it.

The film starts with two white men, dressed as police, carrying a large sack into a remote house. They take it downstairs into a BDSM dungeon right out of a nightmare and shake Kenneth from the sack. He is brutally bound and gagged, and the two waste no time in restraining him to a chair, where he will spend the next seven days being tortured.

The footage shows date and time in one corner at all times, and while there are obviously a large number of cuts to reach its 3-hour length, it seems clear that the film is 100% real or had some of the best make-up, special effects, and especially continuity possible at the time.

Much of the view is obscured or silhouetted when the torture gets sexual in nature, but the audio always lets the viewer know what is going on. When the footage is not obscured, we see Kenneth suffer. We hear him scream (or grunt) in an ever-hoarser voice as his tormentors have their way with him. Even when they deign to give him food or drink, they do so in cruel ways. Each day ends with the increasingly unresisting artist being unceremoniously shoved into a cage; the camera runs through the night, and we see a rapid time-lapse before it cuts to the next day and the horror begins anew.

In the second most infamous scene of the film, the tormentors place a "hot chip" (from the idiotic, viral challenges on social media) directly on the artist's tongue while his mouth is forced open with a dental gag. There are no cuts for the next thirty minutes as deafening, screeching music drowns out the real audio, but the suffering is real and hard to watch. I will admit to the reader that I fast-forwarded through this scene, imagining my reaction if I'd been one of those original viewers, chained to my chair while everyone else had already left in disgust.

The most infamous scene, of course, is at the end, and if you have any desire to see this film yourself then 1) why? and 2) spoiler warning.

Kenneth's tormentors decide that they are bored and that it's time to "end it". The plastic bag they've used on him repeatedly makes another appearance. Kenneth barely reacts as his eyes and mouth are duct-taped shut, and they tie it closed around his neck. A few seconds in, the door bell of the house rings, and one of the men goes up to investigate.

This is the only other point where the cameras are outside the house. We see a young black man from behind, holding up a photo to the man and asking whether he's seen his brother. The man lifts his walkie-talkie and says "stop" into it before tackling the confused young man.

The scene then cuts to Kenneth, the bag no longer on his head. We see him reacting to the noise - muffled shouting and begging, the camera lingering on him, making us imagine what is going on. Then one of the man unwinds the tape from his eyes, which go wide. The camera whips around and we see the younger man, bound to another chair, gagged and blindfolded, and the second man grins as he pulls the plastic bag over the man's head. The camera holds on him, bucking and screaming in terror, Kenneth begging from off-camera, before the film cuts to black and ends.

(spoilers end)

The beginning and end of the film are the only reminders that it is a work of fiction, and it's easy to forget throughout. It's extremely hard to watch, and has never been shown in public again, although a paid download is available from the artist's website.

The film has been regarded as vile torture porn, and it has been academically discussed as an indictment of police culture. But anyone who wants to know the true intentions will have to find them out themselves.

I don't think I'd recommend it.

***

Next time: I visit a trio of Black entrepeneurs and learn about their inclusive services.

[DeeperThanRed]

It's an intriguing idea to write an antology series around a city but I think this is a really intriguing start.

I really liked Kenneth as an artist who creates art with his self-imposed bondage. Elvic's narration puts a unique spin on the story and even when it got a bit hard to read, I found myself wondering what's going to happen next.

I'm looking forward to the rest of this story. You really have a knack for this type of hardcore bondage stories @blackbound!

[blackbound]

It's an intriguing idea to write an antology series around a city but I think this is a really intriguing start.

I really liked Kenneth as an artist who creates art with his self-imposed bondage. Elvic's narration puts a unique spin on the story and even when it got a bit hard to read, I found myself wondering what's going to happen next.

I'm looking forward to the rest of this story. You really have a knack for this type of hardcore bondage stories @blackbound!

Don't worry, they won't all be this hardcore. The next article will be a visit to three entrepeneurs you're already familiar with!

[Red86]

Intriguing start and quite the mystery with Kenneth's last performance. Looking forward to seeing the 3 familiar faces in the next article!!

[blackbound]

Intriguing start and quite the mystery with Kenneth's last performance. Looking forward to seeing the 3 familiar faces in the next article!!

It'll be a while since I'm off on vacation right now but I hope the wait will be worth it!

[blackbound]

Sorry everyone (well, all two of you), I caught a heavy cold and the second part will be delayed for a bit longer.

Have some AI art I wrangled out of Bing before they locked it down even further as an apology!

[Pup Wingletang]

Get well soon @blackbound.

As always you come up with interesting and occasionally challenging ideas. I've always found performance art a bit strange but maybe I could get behind this!

Sounds like the three virtues might be about to make a reappearance...

[Xtc]

As usual, @blackbound, a well written tale.
Get well soon, good sir.

[gag1195]

Definitely an intense start! But it's hard to imagine a stronger opening for this article! Have to say though, if I lived in this city, I don't think I'd have the construction to visit this artist's events!

[blackbound]

Thanks, @Pup Wingletang, @Xtc and @gag1195 - it's going better already.

The rest of the article series won't be this intense, but the finale to TYING THE KNOT will probably be the most intense thing I've written. Now if I can only figure out the crucial middle part...

Until then, the Three Virtues are next - and anyone who doesn't know what that means might want to check out this story and its prequel!

[Red86]

That sucks to get back from vacation, only to have some cold/flu/bug get you when you return. Glad to hear your on the mend!

The rest of the article series won't be this intense, but the finale to TYING THE KNOT will probably be the most intense thing I've written. Now if I can only figure out the crucial middle part...

No worries, it will eventually come to you and be worth the wait!!

Also nice AI pics!

[blackbound]

That sucks to get back from vacation, only to have some cold/flu/bug get you when you return. Glad to hear your on the mend!

Better that than Covid, at least...

No worries, it will eventually come to you and be worth the wait!!

Trying to keep it at least somewhat realistic is tripping me up. Ah well, as you say.

[blackbound]

#2
THE ENTREPENEURS

Hair salons. Spas. BDSM dungeons. Escape rooms. What do these four things have to do with each other? A trio of entrepeneurs are running all four, and they've made quite the names for themselves within the city. Their latest project is a research partnership with the biggest bondage accessory store in town, and they show no sign of wanting to stop expanding.

I meet Freedom, Promise, and Blessing at their flagship dungeon. All three are impeccably dressed in suit and tie, not exactly what I was expecting, and one of them cannot help but grin at my reaction.

I get a thorough tour of the extensive dungeon with its neat rows of bondage paraphernalia, furniture, cages and even jail cells. I can imagine what many of the devices do, but by far not all of them; they are only too happy to explain.

When we finish, they ask if there's anything I want to try. The question catches me by surprise, but I shoot back with a question of my own: if I were a complete newcomer (I am) and wanted to book a session, what could I expect?

Naturally, they offer to show me, and for the sake of our readers' entertainment, I can't but agree.

They have me sit on a comfortably padded bench, and I get what they call The Lecture. Their rules - and the rules in bondage play in general - are "safe, sane and consensual".

I interrupt to ask how this gels with their Extreme Escape Room offer, in which participants select a date range during which they are kidnapped and deposited in various types of bondage-themed escape challenges, and they tell me about the paperwork involved with what is called "consensual non-consent" - the players waiving all consent, but consensual. Research indicates that this is a very common fantasy, and they offer this possibility to carefully selected candidates.

The interlude over, they continue the lecture. I am to use the safe word "yellow" to temporarily interrupt play, and "red" to immediately terminate it and be set free. If I'm gagged ("if?" I wonder), head movements and sounds replace those words.

They make me repeat all of it, and when I'm done, Freedom pulls my hands behind my back and snugly ties them with rope.

"How's that feel?" he asks. I move my hands, try to pull them apart. Not a chance. "Weird," I reply, "but comfortable."

He grabs my tie and pulls. With my hands bound, there's little I can do to stop him, and so I follow obediently as he walks me over to the rack of gags.

"Anything in particular catch your eye?"

As I ponder my choices, he explains about effect gags versus real gags - a ball gag, which I'm sure everyone has seen in use ever since Quentin Tarantino opened the flood gates with the iconic scene in his 1994 movie Pulp Fiction - may look severe, but a normal one can easily be dislodged by the wearer if need be. The heavier muzzles, on the other hand, are designed to keep the wearer quiet - either with or without something actually protuding into the mouth, the latter for longer-term wear. Yet other gags keep the mouth open, which does nothing for keeping the submissive quiet, but humiliates them as they will usually drool uncontrollably, and opens the door for other kinds of play. The really heavy-duty gags, he says, are not for beginners.

I settle on a ball and he smiles. "Good choice. It'll look good on you."

He straps it into my mouth. The rubber ball feels weird between my lips. I try to say something and have to laugh at what comes out. He surprises me by smacking my behind and telling me sternly to be quiet. I obey, and he grabs my tie again and walks me over to a mirror. The ball gives my mouth a surprised look. I try to suck back the extra saliva that's collecting but it starts running out the side of my mouth. I can see him smiling again.

Again, he walks me across the dungeon, to a leather-padded X-shaped device against a wall.

"I will now untie your hands and put you on this St. Andrew's cross. Nod if you're ok with that."

I'm not sure if I am, but I nod, and shortly after, my wrists and ankles are locked into heavy-duty but comfortable leather cuffs.

He steps behind me, and suddenly slips a blindfold over my eyes. I grunt in surprise, and he reminds me to use my safe words if I want to.

I don't, and he explains that surprises and pushing limits are an integral part of a bondage experience as well.

"Here's where I would figure out where to go next. But surely that content is too spicy for your readers?"

[Dear reader: it was. -ed.]

After my release, I drive across town to meat Yvan, a dominant who has made hardcore scenes his forté. When I arrive, he has a client - a man dressed in an early-20th-century diving suit, desperately struggling and shouting inchoately.

Yvan explains that he fulfils wishes - just not necessarily how his clients imagine them. "I'm like a genie that way," he grins. "My current client thinks that he's on a time limit before someone worse comes to get him, but that's not true. I'll release him in a couple of hours."

I decide right there and then to forgo any offer of a session, but to his credit, he doesn't. We chat pleasantly, and I leave none the wiser.

***

Next time: "Locktober"

@Pup Wingletang @Xtc @Red86 @DeeperThanRed @gag1195

[Red86]

Ah, nice seeing the virtues again! It totally makes sense for the article but damn, I feel like we missed out on some fun after the cross scene . Gotta say, calling them entrepreneurs is kind of an under statement, I mean who needs 4 businesses. Though it funds alot of fun, maybe we should take notes

[blackbound]

Ah, nice seeing the virtues again! It totally makes sense for the article but damn, I feel like we missed out on some fun after the cross scene . Gotta say, calling them entrepreneurs is kind of an under statement, I mean who needs 4 businesses. Though it funds alot of fun, maybe we should take notes

You'll have to blame the prissy newspaper editor for that elision, I'm afraid.

[Pup Wingletang]

Bloody editors and their censorship! I notice they get to enjoy the scene whilst denying it to us!

Being domed by Blessing, Freedom and Promise in suits - is anyone else getting hot under the heavy bondage hood?

[blackbound]

Bloody editors and their censorship! I notice they get to enjoy the scene whilst denying it to us!

I can only imagine them sitting there clutching their pearls at the sheer filth of it all! Maybe we can find Elvic's private blog later.

[blackbound]

#3
LOCKTOBER

During the last few years, chastity has really caught on in the kink community. The idea of surrendering control over your sex life - to a master, a partner, or even a timed lockbox - seems to be the secret fantasy of many. During my visit with Freedom, Promise and Blessing, I learned about a chastity retreat, and today, I'm on my way to speak to some people there. There is just one catch: only those in chastity are admitted, and thus, I am currently wearing a metal cage oh so very kindly prov1ided by Promise (at least I got to put it on myself). He's kept the key to "make sure I return it", possibly the flimsiest excuse I've ever heard, but what's an intrepid reporter to do?

In case you're wondering: it's a strange feeling, but surprisingly comfortable. As I drive to the retreat, I wonder how my partner would react if I returned with this on, and conclude that I have no idea.

When I arrive at the stately mansion, I am welcomed inside by Rui, the mastermind behind the retreat. I ask him if he requires proof of my status, but he declines graciously. His "boy" (and fiancé) Faiz, he explains, has been in permanent chastity for over two years now. I ask him why, but he has a hard time expressing the reasons. What I gather from his repeated abortive attempts to explain, he has no interest in his own sexuality and is giving himself entirely to his future husband and master. As weird as this may sound, it's clear even in my limited time with them that this is a loving, two-sided relationship.

With them lives another pair of men whose relationship is equally loving, but with a much different dynamic (editor's note: these two have requested anonymity). The nominal submissive, W., hates being "locked", as he calls it, but his fiancé L. locked the cage onto him during a session at the beginning of the month and refuses to remove it. Both assure me that this is mutually consensual, and W. reassures me that he will have his revenge, prompting L. to muse about transitioning from "Locktober" into "No-Vember".

Rui shows me the sparse but comfortable rooms for the mostly single young men who come here for a period of chastity. He runs one retreat during October, the now-traditional month for a chastity challenge, but I am surprised at the second retreat, which runs throughout Ramadan. He hosts a group of young Muslims who desire support in following the tenets of their religion, both with staying away from temptations of the flesh as well as with fasting throughout the day - he demonstrates the leather masks that make eating and drinking impossible by strapping one onto Faiz. When it's time for iftar and suhoor, food is already prepared.

"By the way," he tells me just before I depart, "there is no requirement for admission. You got tricked."

Both are visibly amused at my annoyance, and I take my leave. I call Promise from the car, and he tells me I can come get the cage off of me the following day, then hangs up before I can tell him what I think of that.

And so, I spend a relatively sleepless night in celibacy.

I've calmed down the next day and he apologizes for the prank when I meet up with him, offering me a free massage to make amends.

I accept, but didn't expect I would be shackled to the massage bench with leather cuffs. Somehow, he talks me into accepting the rubber ball gag back into my mouth and places a strip of tape over my eyes before getting started.

Not five minutes in, I'm glad to have the ball to bite into as he skill- but painfully treats my muscles, the aches disappearing into a floating sensation of bliss. I almost doze off and only notice he's done when he suddenly pulls my hands behind my back and locks the cuffs together with a carabiner.

I protest but, like before, he smacks and shushes me, and I meekly comply as he walks me out of the massage parlor - I'm still blindfolded, barefoot and shirtless. We're clearly out on the street for a moment, and I hear someone cat-calling me and complimenting my body, making me both blush and wanting to disappear into the ground.

We dip into the barber shop next door and he transfers my cuffs to to the chair. I get a full hair treatment - also complimentary, he assures me - while blind, mute, and restrained. Against all instinct, I am fully relaxed and feel safe and cared for.

Finally, he removes my restraints, returns my shirt and shoes, and hands me the key to my cage. "Feel free to keep it," he smirks.

I just might.

***

@Pup Wingletang @Xtc @Red86 @DeeperThanRed @gag1195

[Red86]

I'm not gonna complain if you can "find" Elvic's private blog!

Ah a nice little snippet with more familiar faces!

Such a mean but also very comical trick Promise did. Kind of convincing that that would be a requirement but not all that surprising that Promise made it up just to get Elvic to stop by again the following

[blackbound]

I'm not gonna complain if you can "find" Elvic's private blog!

Ah a nice little snippet with more familiar faces!

Such a mean but also very comical trick Promise did. Kind of convincing that that would be a requirement but not all that surprising that Promise made it up just to get Elvic to stop by again the following

Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for commenting, as always.

[gag1195]

These last two chapters have been great! It's a very unique take to see a lot of these different aspects of kink and bondage from an outsider's perspective, and one who's reporting back to boot! It's also great to see your other characters pop up for these fantastic cameos! I know it is currently all in good fun, but these guys sure are enjoying the relative naivety of our hapless reporter! Also, similar to @KidnappedCowboy's Hunky, foppish city full of bound hunks, I might need to move to this city... Maybe a holiday home?

[Pup Wingletang]

That Promise is a trouble maker! It seems like our reporter might be in the process of falling down a kinky rabbit hole!

I love the idea of the fully restrained massage and beauty treatment. There's definitely a part of me that would like to try out a kinky haircut.

[blackbound]

These last two chapters have been great! It's a very unique take to see a lot of these different aspects of kink and bondage from an outsider's perspective, and one who's reporting back to boot! It's also great to see your other characters pop up for these fantastic cameos! I know it is currently all in good fun, but these guys sure are enjoying the relative naivety of our hapless reporter! Also, similar to @KidnappedCowboy's Hunky, foppish city full of bound hunks, I might need to move to this city... Maybe a holiday home?

Thanks! I wasn't quite sure whether I captured the tone correctly. And you're right, as is @Pup Wingletang - there's a lot of (realized) potential for mischief, kind of like the classic "foreman sending you to fetch the optical axis" prank on building sites.

That Promise is a trouble maker! It seems like our reporter might be in the process of falling down a kinky rabbit hole!

I love the idea of the fully restrained massage and beauty treatment. There's definitely a part of me that would like to try out a kinky haircut.

Me too, though the most "extreme" I've had so far was just a Thai massage which involved a wooden board and hammer.

If there's any other avenues anyone would like to see the reporter explore, please let me know in the comments!

[gag1195]

I feel like a trip to Kink City's Dog Park or Dog Pound could be equal parts fascinating, educational, eye opening, and overwhelming for our intrepid reporter!

[Pup Wingletang]

I feel like a trip to Kink City's Dog Park or Dog Pound could be equal parts fascinating, educational, eye opening, and overwhelming for our intrepid reporter!

I second this!