Long time no see

If you've been following my blog long enough, you'll have seen this video before - not that I expect you to complain about seeing it again. This is one of my personal-hot-button classics, right up there with Bjork's video for "All Is Full of Love" and Massive Attack/Young Fathers' "Voodoo in my Blood" (which you can look on YouTube if you like, or just wait for me to post again one day. I'm sure I will).

But this time I'm adding a new element to this familiar scorching video. I've figured out a plot which, I think, makes perfect sense considering what we see onscreen. In fact, it might even have been what the director had in mind, if he or she is an MC fetishist.
 

Let's start with a recap, making note of the most important points. We start with a woman alone at night, locked in a house yet fully visible to the outside world thanks to a wall of solid glass. Locked behind that glass, wearing such a delicate, fluttery gown, she might as well be a fish in an aquarium...but fish get put into aquariums by their owners, people who buy them and display them as mindless ornaments. Our protagonist doesn't seem too bright, either, when she gets frightened by a simple clattering sound on her phone - a sound that, incidentally, causes her nipple to pop straight up...or is she frightened because the sound aroused her?

But when the phone rings again, but she seems less frightened by what should a scarier sound: a woman's gloating laughter. Who is it, sounding so confident and almost diabolical? It's not the fetish zombies who spring up a moment later. They don't smile or speak, and their faces are empty of everything except a firm sense of purpose. Our protagonist flutters away, but the zombies drag her back to the front room (Look closely and you'll recognize the furniture and bookshelves), where they can be seen. Apparently they aren't afraid of unseen watchers. Their firmness turns to flat-eyed pleading, and they begin to pose for her. Eventually they make her over, but not into one of them. Her lingerie is shimmering white while theirs is black with chains. Her face is bold, while theirs are almost soft. They kneel behind her as she looks straight at us.

Now, tell me: what was all that about? What do these images suggest to you? To me, they suggest that our protagonist began the story as a captive, imprisoned by someone who thought they could own her and display her at will. That person must have been very powerful, to wipe her identity and turn her into a fainting flower. But the zombies are "Fleurs du Mal" - flowers of evil, and they've come to reclaim her. Our protagonist recognizes the clacking noise: it's made by beads or chains, something a real slave might wear. And hearing it stirs the first of her memories just as it stirs her nipple.

Then comes the second call, and the laughter....which doesn't come from the zombies who spring up with supernatural speed. They aren't t capable of laughter any more than they're capable of truly threatening this woman. She only runs because she doesn't remember, so they drag her back to the front room, back into the sight of her "owner," and begin to pose for her. They're reminding her of all the perversions she taught them; they're pleading with their eyes for her to remember. She is the owner, and even without her direct influence, they're still so deeply enthralled that they'll rescue her rather than free themselves. They can't talk - she's taken their voices from them - so they do what they can. They obey the commands she once gave them and hope she'll remember again.

It happens, finally, when she fetches up against the boots of her majordomo. The memories flood back and she sinks to the floor, half ecstatic, half horrified because she knows now how she was trapped. But her slaves descend on her, loving, ecstatic, and redress her in the familiar lingerie of a domme. Then she snaps upright with the same supernatural speed she gave her puppets and she stares at the window, knowing her ex-owner is watching, knowing how frightened that person is to see her returned to herself.  They'd captured her by trickery, but she was always the more powerful of the two. Now that she's free, she'll be out of her prison in an instant; and she'll make the false owner grovel mindlessly at her feet. She'll laugh that laugh again, and her her slave will shudder in delight. Already they've forgotten who they were. They're even glad to have forgotten. But they'll never be like her other slaves, the privileged ones. She won't dress her ex-owner, or let them touch her ever again. She'll have something nasty in store, something only a mind as brilliant and powerful as hers could dream up. And no matter how degrading it is, her former owner will love it.

No one fucks with this woman and gets away with it.

first an update, then a gentle gift

The update is about the story I'm working on now, which I've temporarily titled "Slavestyles of the Rich and Famous." If I come up with a better title, I'll let you know - or if you suggest something better and I use your suggestion, I'll give you a free copy of the e-book and a shout-out in the credits. If you'd like to brainstorm with me, here's the basic plot. There's an island in the South Pacific that poses as a self-improvement retreat center (and New Age hippie commune, complete with free love sessions every night) for the richest and most famous people in the world. But actually, every aspect of the retreat program is designed to slowly brainwash participants into slaves who will either be auctioned off or, if they're not desirable enough for auction, become recruiters and/or staffer for future retreats. The brainwashing includes giving the slaves a "mask" personality that they can wear in public, making them seem to be their usual selves, so buyers can use them in any way they like. This includes taking them as public lovers, turning politicians into puppets, making athletes throw games - or anything else the buyer can think up. I have a very surprising, scandalous destination in mind for my protagonist. You'll never guess it, but I think you'll love it. It involves the biggest betrayal you can imagine.

All the brainwashing occurs through natural processes like sleep deprivation and plant extracts that legally and naturally induce whatever state of mind a situation requires. Then, once the participants' brains are softened up, they're led trustingly into hypnosis and neurofeedback exercises that erase their wills and personalities. But since the brainwashing doesn't use any illegal drugs or other methods, the island's mysterious "founder" has total deniability. If she were ever investigated, there would be nothing to incriminate her; and if anyone infiltrated a retreat, they'd end up enslaved just like the rest of the participants.

So that's where I'm going with the story, if you decide you'd like to play the title challenge. You just have to post your suggestion in the comments here so that there's no question of who said what first. And remember, this blog is set up to allow totally anonymous comments, so there's no need to reveal your real identity.

And now on to the promised gift. I've been researching biofeedback and neurofeedback videos since I'm using them in the story, and I've just accidentally found a wonderful guided meditation that's not sinister but does wonders for soothing anxiety, OCD, and depression. It really works. I've just listened to it, and although I started in a state of high anxiety, I feel wonderfully calm now - if slightly lightheaded. I'd recommend this video for anyone who struggles with the kinds of problems I have. But in case you're wondering if there are any hidden suggestions in there, I'll try to ease your mind.

1. The video probably uses binaural beats, since the description says it works best if you listen with headphones. I've been using binaural beats for years, to soothe myself when I get anxious, and there's s nothing scary about them, in themselves.
2. My impression is that the video induce a light state of hypnosis, but I never lost track of what the speaker was saying, and nothing he said was in any way inappropriate. He's just teaching you how to control your breathing and to use that as a way to calm yourself when you're struggling with anxiety, depression, or OCD.
3. There is a transcript of the session below the video. It's one of those automatic ones, which means it's not perfect; but it's pretty close and should reassure you that there's nothing suspicious in what the speaker tells you. The transcript includes a few "mms" and "yeahs," but I listened to those parts again after I'd listened to the video, and even with my speakers turned up to full volume I never heard anything like that. The YouTube ttranscription robot must have pulled those sounds out of the music. Again, everything the speaker says is completely appropriate. He's like a really good psychiatrist, soothing and teaching you without doing anything harmful.
4. The video is 42 minutes long, but the speaking stops after about 32 minutes, and then you have the option of either drifting off to sleep or waking up gently. I decided to wake up gently because whenever my thoughts drifted during the presentation, it was usually to think about how I should this video on my blog. But now I'm going to bed, and I expect to rest well.

I might never share anything this uncompromisingly "nice" again, so take advantage while you can...if you want. This video did me a world of good on a very hard day, and it might do the same for you.