On Rope Bondage

by Dozer 

I was asked not so long ago "Why Rope? You've got cuffs, chain, snap-links in that bag over there, so why rope?" It was a good question. My slave loves bondage, but wants it inescapable, and considering that I believe she is Houdini's great-granddaughter, rope becomes a challenge. It takes a long time to set up, a lot of forethought if you want it to look neat and symmetrical, and in the end may have to be cut off if the knots tighten. All of that said, some of those very qualities make it appealing to me.

Most of the influences are personal, but more than a few appear to be universal among the D/s community. I'll start with my favorite: aesthetics. Rope bondage, properly done, is just plain pretty! The crisscross of rope over the skin, the contrast of colors (white on dark skin, black on pale skin, red over lingerie…etc.), the patterns over the body all give the same enhancing effect of well designed lingerie. It's "more naked than naked".

 It's also a fun game tracing the patterns and paths: just where does that (blush) rope end up? If a submissive is placed "on display", I enjoy letting others play "find the knot" with their fingers. It helps if both the puzzle and the puzzle solver are blindfolded…ahh… I digress already, but it does give me a nice segue into the next aspect: Sensuality.

Rope is sensual. Unlike chain or cuffs, you can have different textures running along the skin. Applying it involves a LOT of touching, adjusting, tightening, and all of this can take hours. It's foreplay just like massage or spanking, very slow and cruel. Moving knots to change the patterns gives the submissive yet another set of bindings to work on and contemplate. The amount of rope can enhance her sense of helplessness. While stocks and other bondage implements do a very effective job of holding the submissive in place, rope can totally immobilize the submissive.

 Not being able to move at all as she is touched, watched, flogged, or otherwise stimulated often helps put someone very "deep" into subspace. It also is an act of submission to place herself in a position to be tied. A struggling submissive is VERY difficult to put into any sort of complex bondage using rope. There are ways, naturally, handcuffs and straps as a temporary measure for example, but to do a proper harness and complex bondage requires the submissive's cooperation. She is submitting to become helpless, while your fingers and hands are all over her, taking away one avenue of movement at a time…sensual indeed.

Sensual and focused… As I mentioned before doing complex bondage requires you to be paying attention to what you are doing. You cannot just toss a few loops of rope around and then watch the scene in the corner, you must remain with your work in progress. This intensity is appealing to both myself and my slave. I am no where else but here and now, doing nothing save tying her up. This element of attention helps us both get into mode. You may not be feeling particularly Dom when you start, but by the time you've spent forty-five minutes working on a now helpless and straining slave, I can all but guarantee you will be!

Once you’re done…you have someone you can literally do anything you please with, be it sensual, cruel, passionate…or all three! It's re-assuring to her as well that you've taken the time and care to create a living sculpture with her body and soul, and the perfect stepping stone for the most intense play afterward, whatever edge you care for.

With all of this, why not Rope? (smile)

Opinions and comments are always welcome.

Humbly,
Dozer