Waterboarding

[Etoile]

We haven't ever had a thread dedicated to waterboarding. It's been mentioned a couple of times in passing on very old threads, and the responses seem mostly negative.

I was waterboarded for the first time on Saturday night. My sadist has attended a clinic on it before, so when I mentioned it to him as something I was curious about, I knew it might actually happen.

It was terrifying. A whole lot of our play is fear-based, and we like it that way. I was immobilized - he later said it was for his protection, and I sure as hell see why, because I'd have been flailing otherwise.

I called yellow twice. The first time I got a short reprieve, the second time I got a longer one, and I thought it was over. Nope.

It should be plenty fucking obvious, but I'm going to say this anyway, because there are people of all experience levels here. I am playing with someone I trust. This person understands I have the ability to revoke consent at any time. They know not to break their toys.

So, he stuffed part of the towel in my mouth, and then I had no safeword at all. We use both manual and verbal safewords, and mine were both gone. And he waterboarded me again. I was honestly so terrified I don't quite remember what happened - I thought I ended it by pushing the towel out, but he said no, he stuffed it back in. I guess it just ended when he wanted it to. At the end, he showed me how very little water he had used, pointed out that the whole scene was really only a few minutes, and called me a very, very good girl.

I was way too mindfucked to have words to discuss it that night, but we talked about it in the morning, and we're totally doing it again.

Anyone else have experiences of waterboarding to share?

 

[Primalex]

We haven't ever had a thread dedicated to waterboarding. It's been mentioned a couple of times in passing on very old threads, and the responses seem mostly negative.

Anyone else have experiences of waterboarding to share?

Well, I was likely one of the people who mentioned it. Sadists (the way I define them) are rare.

I do like to enhance torture scenes with background noise, like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MytAOmbnLpg

Manipulating the sense of hearing is awesome for a mindfuck, in my opinion.

 

[seela]

I really enjoy playing with water, so this is right up my alley.

We have done waterboarding in past, but it has been a few years since the last time. We used to have our own sauna and the benches with the cracks were very convenient for tying me down and because it was a sauna, it was possible to heat it up to make the whole thing a lot more gruesome. The wet cloth would eventually become warm and hot and hot things covering my face is a very big deal to me. I hate it and love it, but hate it more I think. But also love it. It's a weird mix.

We haven't played with waterboarding since we moved, but I do have fond memories of it to say the least. Terrifying really is the only way to describe the experience.

 

[Etoile]

Well, I was likely one of the people who mentioned it. Sadists (the way I define them) are rare.

I do like to enhance torture scenes with background noise, like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MytAOmbnLpg

Manipulating the sense of hearing is awesome for a mindfuck, in my opinion.

Nope, wasn't you, unless I missed it! Admittedly I didn't look at all the threads where it came up, I looked at a few, but there were none dedicated to waterboarding (and nothing at all recent) so I figured I'd start this one. What's been your waterboarding experience?

There's plenty of room to discuss the definition of sadism, though I didn't really mean for it to happen here; I define this guy as a pretty intense sadist, but that's me.

And yeah, being hard of hearing, we can do interesting things with that...earplugs are almost sensory deprivation for me, even just having a hood on makes it so instructions have to be pretty loud. Haven't tried the spooky music in earphones, that might be very interesting!

We didn't do anything with hearing for the waterboarding scene. I think that could lead to a very fast yellow from me...the sheer fucking terror of the waterboarding alone was enough, and that was with being able to tell a little what was going on from movements and sound.

 

[Etoile]

I really enjoy playing with water, so this is right up my alley.

We have done waterboarding in past, but it has been a few years since the last time. We used to have our own sauna and the benches with the cracks were very convenient for tying me down and because it was a sauna, it was possible to heat it up to make the whole thing a lot more gruesome. The wet cloth would eventually become warm and hot and hot things covering my face is a very big deal to me. I hate it and love it, but hate it more I think. But also love it. It's a weird mix.

We haven't played with waterboarding since we moved, but I do have fond memories of it to say the least. Terrifying really is the only way to describe the experience.

Interesting, seela...this post was one of the ones that made me think most folks here didn't like it. But that was three years ago - has your opinion changed, or is it the mists of time that makes you remember it more fondly?

We did it on the bed, with a big ol' towel down for any splashing.

 

[seela]

Interesting, seela...this post was one of the ones that made me think most folks here didn't like it. But that was three years ago - has your opinion changed, or is it the mists of time that makes you remember it more fondly?

We did it on the bed, with a big ol' towel down for any splashing.

No, it really is a love/hate relationship for me. It's scary as fuck and I hate it, but it's also very thrilling in a way that's hard to explain. There are few things that make me more scared than waterboarding, but at the same time fear gets me going like nothing else, so...

There is a bit of that mists of time thing, certainly. But even in that previous post of mine I added that "or maybe it isn't". I've always felt very conflicted about it.

 

[Etoile]

No, it really is a love/hate relationship for me. It's scary as fuck and I hate it, but it's also very thrilling in a way that's hard to explain. There are few things that make me more scared than waterboarding, but at the same time fear gets me going like nothing else, so...

There is a bit of that mists of time thing, certainly. But even in that previous post of mine I added that "or maybe it isn't". I've always felt very conflicted about it.

Fair enough! I have only done it the once, but we've already talked about getting DM permission to do it in a public play space, so I know it's happening again.

 

[seela]

Fair enough! I have only done it the once, but we've already talked about getting DM permission to do it in a public play space, so I know it's happening again.

Interesting. Let us know how it goes if it happens. I would expect people witnessing it to have very conflicted reactions to it, too.

Although now that I think of it, it doesn't really look like that much on the outside, so unless you've experienced it first hand, maybe it doesn't look *that* scary.

 

[Primalex]

Nope, wasn't you, unless I missed it! Admittedly I didn't look at all the threads where it came up, I looked at a few, but there were none dedicated to waterboarding (and nothing at all recent) so I figured I'd start this one. What's been your waterboarding experience?

As I'm not the one lying there, not much to say about it. I don't gag though when waterboarding. Inhaling your vomit is already dangerous enough for my taste, no need to make it more likely. I prefer to stay away from involuntary manslaughter charges. That's not a critique, I'm hardcore believer in RACK, not SSC. Just mentioning where my limits are.

 

[Etoile]

Interesting. Let us know how it goes if it happens. I would expect people witnessing it to have very conflicted reactions to it, too.

Although now that I think of it, it doesn't really look like that much on the outside, so unless you've experienced it first hand, maybe it doesn't look *that* scary.

Yes, we'll be giving minimum 24 hours notice, so they have plenty of time to prep - assuming they go along with it. I will also be affirming in front of DMs that I consent to it, etc.

And I think just knowing that it's waterboarding might make people worry. It is WELL known to be used as a torture technique, so I can imagine people being squeamish. It totally doesn't look like much, but if somebody points out that "hey, that's a waterboarding scene," people might be uncomfortable.

As I'm not the one lying there, not much to say about it. I don't gag though when waterboarding. Inhaling your vomit is already dangerous enough for my taste, no need to make it more likely. I prefer to stay away from involuntary manslaughter charges. That's not a critique, I'm hardcore believer in RACK, not SSC. Just mentioning where my limits are.

Fair point on the gagging, and I expect my top knows that, having been to a class on this. (He's also been waterboarded, so he knows both sides.) And yes, I prefer to avoid hospital visits and jail time in my play! We generally go by PRICK, too - this is far from safe or sane, I think.

 

[xxxSubSamxxx]

Wow this sounds so extreme to me. I think it would be a hard limit for me. Did you have sex or orgasm during the session? Or did you just do the water boarding?

Sam xx

 

[Etoile]

Wow this sounds so extreme to me. I think it would be a hard limit for me. Did you have sex or orgasm during the session? Or did you just do the water boarding?

Sam xx

Just the waterboarding. IMO it requires way too much attention from the top to have sex during that. A lot of edge play is like that - the risk of injury increases dramatically if you try to incorporate sex. Which isn't to say it doesn't happen, but it's WAY more risky that way. I couldn't imagine sex during waterboarding. It's very intense, and sex would probably have caused a mental breakdown. This is fear play and trust building, to me - not for sexual gratification.

 

[richard_daily]

Mix with watersports... or with earl gray tea.

Nothing invokes primal fear like drowning. Adding some additional humiliation to the mix makes for a more dynamic experience IMHO.

 

[Ahlam]

I've been waterboarded for work training. It was terrifying even though I knew it was all being handled by professionals. I don't think I could trust anyone outside of that context to do it without killing me. It's fun to think about though.

 

[Etoile]

I think actual physical danger vs perceived danger causing distress is a big thing with waterboarding.

It's fucking terrifying, but you're not necessarily in immediate actual danger, because the top is there monitoring you. Now, if they keep up, CIA-style, you can definitely experience injury. But if, at one of the earliest signs of distress, you freak out - the top should stop.

 

[richard_daily]

I think actual physical danger vs perceived danger causing distress is a big thing with waterboarding.

It's fucking terrifying, but you're not necessarily in immediate actual danger, because the top is there monitoring you. Now, if they keep up, CIA-style, you can definitely experience injury. But if, at one of the earliest signs of distress, you freak out - the top should stop.

Unless you're doing it really wrong, there isn't a tremendous physical danger (some studies claim hypoxia, pneumonia or pleuritis is possible), but it is torture, and should be treated accordingly (aka, used with caution).

 

[Etoile]

Unless you're doing it really wrong, there isn't a tremendous physical danger (some studies claim hypoxia, pneumonia or pleuritis is possible), but it is torture, and should be treated accordingly (aka, used with caution).

Yeah, it is those studies I was thinking of - though really even just the gag reflex can cause physical discomfort. I guess I shouldn't have said injury, I just meant pain - but this is 99% psychological torture with minimal physical impact, as long as you have a good top.

 

[DudeA]

Erm, doesn't waterboarding give you trauma, psychological and brain damages?

 

[seela]

Erm, doesn't waterboarding give you trauma, psychological and brain damages?

It can be traumatic and damaging, but it doesn't have to be. Pretty much everything in BDSM can be traumatic and damaging and waterboarding isn't any different in that regard. However, a consensual BDSM scene is very different than being tortured by the military in a cave somewhere, psychologically.

You need to know what you're doing and what exactly the risks are, then decide if you're willing to take the risk. Just like in all BDSM activities.

 

[apom]

...a consensual BDSM scene is very different than being tortured by the military in a cave somewhere....

All depends what you consent to.

 

[seela]

All depends what you consent to.

Sure, but still. Consent.

 

[apom]

Sure, but still. Consent.

I'm tickling you. Mostly.

 

[Etoile]

seela is exactly right. It's about how you do it, more so than what you're doing. Waterboarding as an act does not inherently cause permanent damage. If you do it to the extent military torturers do, it can - but that's very, very different from doing it in the occasional scene.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[RawHumor]

I watched a woman be water boarded once. I was the "time keeper". The PYL wanted to go in strict lengths of time.

She did fantastically and never lost her composure. It was amazing to be a part of.