Making the Decision

by Rich Moreland, August 2015

Mercy West talks race and her first on-screen penetration.

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Getting into adult film is a process. No one recommends jumping into hardcore without preparation. Some performers and agents suggest taking it slowly. Begin by doing a little research to get a handle on what is expected. Next go with nude modeling, progress to web camming and follow that with some girl-on-girl before taking the step into hardcore.

The watchword in the business is to always hold something back. Don’t take on everything at once because it short changes the future. In Mercy’s case she wasn’t reticent about BDSM because it is a natural for her. Right now, her hold back is anal which she may put off for some time to come.

Then there is interracial. Needless to say, some models have careers that never include anal or interracial. Others have no problem with it, but like to delay their first IR shoot until their fans demand something new.

In Casey Calvert’s career, she built her brand before doing her first IR gangbang and superstar Allie Haze did her first anal scene after years in the business. The pre-shoot hype guaranteed fan interest.

It’s marketing, pure and simple.

Men of Color

However, when it comes to men of color, the story is a bit different.

For Mercy, performing with African-Americans is seamless and she is perplexed about the never-ending dust-up over race in the industry.

Before her Hardtied shoot, Mercy mentions that Jack Hammer, an African-American performer who works the site, will take her on. “Everything is coming up roses and the thorns feel lovely,” is her response to the prospect.

Later, she adds with anticipation, “Feeling really tense / nervous / excited about my shoot with Jack Hammer tomorrow. I think it’s going to go really well. I’m just not exactly sure what he has in store. All I know is that it’s probably going to be one of the most intense fucking things I ever do.”

Then race creeps into the conversation and Mercy remembers talking with some industry people.

“I was abruptly informed in a dressing room one day that not only was I making the decision to have sex with a big cock and a kinky cock… But I was also making the decision to sleep with a black man. It honestly never crossed my mind when I was considering Hardtied.”

With America’s demographic shift creating a more multicultural nation, Mercy’s naivete reveals something important. Young people are rewriting a portion of the American saga in which acceptance of differences is broader than ever before.

“I didn’t even realize that interracial was still a thing! I get the feeling that it’s one of those ‘that’s the way it has always been, so no one really talks about it,’” Mercy says. “Interracial is a genre and as a phone sex operator I learned quickly that taboos are usually the things that really get people off.”

Despite the no-no attached to black/white sex, Mercy doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about. “It’s kind of crazy that white girls and black guys or vice-versa is still somewhat considered a taboo.” Then, she adds, cryptically. “While working on the phone I realized it’s mainly a taboo for middle-aged conservative straight guys.”

There you have it.

Excellent Chemistry

Mercy describes her first on-screen penetration.

“I was up on a pedestal with my legs in the butterfly position and my arms in strappado.”

Oral preceded it, she says, but it was awkward, not because of the bondage tie, but because of her limitations. “I was suspended from the ceiling on my stomach [which was positioned] on a box.” I had my arms tied behind me and my legs in a hog tie.”

Visually, Mercy doesn’t feel the oral went well. “I’m not really into deep throating . . . I have a tiny mouth and I felt he was a little frustrated after while.” She performed fine, Mercy says, but “it just didn’t go down my throat . . . I don’t have that much mouth.” And, Jack is not small.

Incidentally, the sex isn’t the highlight of most BDSM shoots because it’s the fetish that brings in the customer dollars. Mercy remarks, “I feel like the website doesn’t focus much on the sex, it is more on the rope.” In other words, in her first boy/girl, the sex was secondary and fit in with what she’s accustomed to doing.

“I liked it a lot, actually. It wasn’t far from things that I would do in my real life with someone who is topping me with rope. That’s why I picked this shoot, it was wonderful. I truly, truly enjoyed it.”

The diminutive bondage wench comments on a part of the shoot she believes came out artistically well. Jack was behind her, crouching over with the ever reliable Hitachi and grabbing her hair.

“It looked really nice because he is a giant human being compared to me. It was visually very pleasing. I hope to work with him again, we had excellent chemistry.”

Scream, Curse, and Cry

Crying is normal for Mercy. “It doesn’t take that much for me to cry and I think that is why BDSM people like dealing with me.” She good with pain and can take the marks.

“There was lots of caning,” she says with a smile. “Jack lifted my legs up and caned me quite a bit. That is where the worst marks were, on the back of my thighs, those soft, tender, mushy parts that sadists really love.”

Mercy just let everything flow. “I know I’m in an environment where I am able to twitch, scream, curse, cry, do whatever. I feel like I can take what is given me and deal with it.”

Like all bondage performers, Mercy appreciates the safety of the set. Her personal life offers challenges on two levels that the studio avoids. “I can’t be too loud because my neighbors will hear me. I can’t squirm too much because the restraints will come loose.” Intersec’s warehouse, like Kink.com’s Armory, takes care of that.

“I can react any way that I want and it’s all right and I can be as loud as I want and thrash and do whatever. I can just put up with it [the pain] and feel really good about it after it is done.”

Summing up, Mercy says the intensity turns her on. “Not having to hold back makes me want to be pushed even further.”

Of course, as with all BDSMers, she faces the ultimate moment. She wants to know “how intense my reactions can be before I call red.”

Who knows at this time? One thing, though, our cutie is headed to Kink.com one of these days and will gain more knowledge about her personal limits.

Aftercare

A final comment is due on Mercy West. She confesses that playing in the BDSM scene is emotional. “I get to a certain point when I’m worn down and tired and in a lot of pain.” The thoughts that flood her mind are not the best, she admits, though she is doing exactly what she wants and loving it. Yet, she is “emotionally raw” which leaves her vulnerable.

That is “my pleasure and my ecstasy,” she says, and she knows she can handle it. “It’s all fun times. It’s good stuff.”

However, there is a vital ingredient in the BDSM community that submissives appreciate, aftercare. It means everything to Mercy.

“You know someone is there to be nice and cuddle me and make me tea afterward. So, it’s great, it’s perfect. I get to feel emotional release and sexual release and all that good stuff wrapped up into one.”