I've always wanted this blog to be primarily a bondage forum, and maybe this reader's musings, too long for the comments section, might serve as a starting point:
I have many of the same concerns that you have regarding the behavior of Eric and Logan and Dylan. The latest toothbrush activity is disturbing from the standpoint of health.The subject of safety has disturbed me all along but Reality prevails and they were kids.
Logan did show some concern for what effect his tortures had on Eric. Early on, during the camping trip, he asked Eric if he was up to more. Then on at least two other occasions, he made comments to Eric during a torture scene, saying, "Please don't make me do this to you," or similar words. I sense that he, in his own mind, is trying to excuse himself for doing something that he secretly has reservations about doing. Yet he seems to want to do them and safety is not a consideration. Dylan, on the other hand, shows no restraint whatsoever and is much more dangerous than Logan.
They both must like what they do though, for even though Eric says he asks for these things Eric seems to mean he generally wants tough scenes, but he doesn't ask for specifics. There is nothing, so far, to indicate that he asked specifically for the toothbrush scene, or the ice scene, or the boiling water scene.
Eric seems to have an uncontrollable desire to endure such actions. Spontaneous activities, especially new tortures, fulfill Eric's needs better than repeats. What bothers me is there is never any sign of a review, or feedback or discussion [call it whatever you want] with Logan and Dylan about an activity. No feedback about whether or not the activity was good, or too much, or too close to being over the limits to be used again. Any action that could result in a trip to the ER, in my mind, should be reviewed. Rampant sadism should not be continued and even tho Eric states that he was in control and could stop things at any time, he must realize that his control wasn't always immediate and a trip to the ER could result before a stop could be enacted.
There were times when Eric was totally helpless and wouldn't be able to communicate, due to blindfolds, hoods, gags etc. Sometimes he would be screaming in pain and the potential of damage may not penetrate through his pain and allow him to call an end to it soon enough.
Many of the torture games seem to have a time limit to determine the win or lose result. This one, however, first appeared to be heading for a no definite goal, because when Eric asked he was told that it ended whenever they tired of hearing his screams. That's an 'open end', which means that it would not be a contest and Eric could never win unless they wanted him to, which seems unlikely. It was apparently changed when Graham was negotiating and appears to have been set at 4 hours. I may have missed something tho.
Graham seemed to require some reward to encourage enduring such punishment. In other games, the only reward was bragging rights, which are worthless, for no one else knows about the game but them. The incentive to endure such torture should be substantial [or significant].
I look forward to each new chapter but I must confess, while I know he always comes through OK, I find myself fearing that Eric could encounter a dreaded trip to the ER in each new chapter.
One thing that never set well with me is when Logan and Dylan forced Eric to agree to be their slave for the entire rest of the year. That seemed to violate the consensual aspect of the agreement, for they dictated the conditions rather than negotiating them. They knew that Eric was not capable of saying 'NO'. [He probably couldn't say no even if he were free, which he wasn't.] That, to my way of thinking, displays the character of both Logan and Dylan.
In this chapter the four of them go to the Shack after having beaten the shit out of the two victims. If they were dressed in shorts only, then the bruises must have showed. Even if they wore shirts, the short sleeves would not hide the arms and the shorts would expose the leg bruises. Both Eric and Graham must have been stiff, sore and hoarse. Didn't any of that cause comments of friends that night? How did the burgers taste to Eric after his mouth brushing? Yuk.
One thing does emerge from this entire series. A slave is on call to perform whenever the tops want to have some action. This means that regardless of how up to it the slave may be, he will be used when the tops want. Slaves are human and have their ups and downs just like tops, but tops can be obtuse and not recognize symptoms at times. Eric must have had times when he physically wasn't up to these activities. Was he ever given any consideration for such a condition?
I realize, as I'm sure we all do, that these chapters are composites of Eric's experiences and as such must skip over some facts to accomplish a readable and flowing document. I don't want this to be taken as a criticism, it's not. I just have questions in my mind which may or may not be cleared up, but at least I asked. I really do enjoy reading Eric's experiences. I do wish that they had considered safety more.
Eric and Logan and Dylan were extremely lucky, for which I am grateful, that no one was hurt. They defied the odds and won.
Bob, do with this whatever you want. If you pass it or parts of it on to Eric, make sure that I don't discourage him from continuing to give us more chapters.
[Eric, please take note, if there's anything no one wants to do, that's discourage you from continuing to give us more chapters.]
