by Rich Moreland, August, 2015
For the present, this is the last in the Mercy West series. Here’s hoping she will talk with us again soon. đ
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âJust hearing someone using it sends shivers down my spine.â
Mercy West is on the set of Hardtied and the day is getting long. But no worry, itâs all good.
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Negotiations
Some years ago when Kink.com established the practice of pre and post-shoot interviews, the reasoning was simple: avoid obscenity charges. The best way to deflect the law was to demonstrate that the model was fully in control of her cognitive awareness, consenting to everything and having fun.
At first, tears were avoided because of the impression that the girl was in pain. After several performers said that crying was their natural response to the intense pleasure created by their fetish, that restriction was set aside.
Within the BDSM community negotiations are always precursors before anybody does anything to anyone. What are the player’s limits and what will happen during the scene? Kink follows this standard as do the other BDSM-oriented porn companies.
Mercy West gives us an inside look at similar preparation at Intersec, the company that runs the Hardtied site. She’s punished to the extreme, as is her desire.
âThe general public isnât aware of the negotiations that go into professional BDSM scenes,â Mercy begins. What is on-screen for commercial purposes doesnât reveal the work that leads up to the shoot. There are emails and phone calls that fill the weeks before the actual filming date arrives.
Before she arrived in Oakland for each of her Intersec appearances, Mercy talked with the directors.
âHow I was feeling, where my head was, and what I was prepared for,â she relates.
This is important because uncertainty can slow everyone down “if limits arenât laid out,â Mercy says. Some directors and crew will âtiptoe around talking about the hard stuff” on set and when they finally get to it’s a little late.
It’s the same with submissives or bottoms. Mercy feels comfortable with âfull disclosureâ and emphasizes there are no âstupid questionsâ with BDSM play.
Subdrop
An in-person interview on shooting day lays everything out. Though the Intersec folks had a written list of her limits, they insisted that she state them on camera.
âThey wanted me to talk about how I was excited to be there and it was of my own free will, that I am aware that the activities are the same as in Hollywood . . . itâs acting. I choose to participate in what they want and Iâm not coerced in any way.
Theyâre basically covering their asses which I can definitely understand. I am sure it all has to do with lawyers and things that may have happened in the past.â
âAs far as prerecorded interviews and interviews after and the type of questions they ask,â Mercy says, procedures vary from company to company. As would be expected, âthe post-shoot debriefingâ is held after the performer âcalms down and takes a breather.â
From her experience with rough bondage scenes, Mercyâs recovery time is fairly short.
âIâm normally pretty smiley and bubbly and happy because it just feels amazing and I love it. I really think they like to show that.â
The twenty-five-year-old is making a name for herself as a submissive who can take it, but mentions that not all porn models are cut from the same BDSM cloth.
âEverybody processes things differently. A lot of girls can seem really sad or be totally unenergetic and very out of it. Thatâs fine, there is no wrong way to do it, but it might not come off as well [on film]. Itâs just not visually pleasing.â
For BDSMers who lean toward masochism, the issue of subspace sometimes arises. Endorphins that elevate the senses while outflanking awareness can be a safety concern so models are carefully monitored as the scene progresses.
Later subdrop, or the crash after the rush, occurs. For some submissives, it can be immediate causing them to be âsort of shy and standoffish,â Mercy says. But that is not who she is.
âWhen I come out of a scene, I am fully of energy. Iâm jumping up and down.â She confesses, âI have such a big smile on my face itâs hard for me to get the words out sometimes.â
But the 5â2â bondage sweetie can’t entirely escape the emotional letdown.
âGenerally the subdrop comes . . . way later [for me] sometimes, but definitely not right after [the scene]â she explains. âSo the interview with me and the debriefing is important because some people have really strong reactions and Iâm one of those people.â
Weaving Terrors into Pleasure
Back to the set and Mercyâs dom in the shoot, Jack Hammer, has his upcoming treat for her. Later she recalled what happened.
âIâm terrified of the single tail whip. I love it, it feels really great. I like having it used on me, but Iâm terrified of it and it just makes me tremble. Before Jack brought it to use on me, he started just whipping the air and sort of walking around. I started to lose it.â
She is suspended in a chest harness, dangling from the ceiling on tiptoe, giving her wiggle room to highlight her fear, but disallowing escape.
It’s the kind of predicament that sells the shoot to Hardtied fans.
âI started to lose it and bawl uncontrollably before he even touched me.â
To intensify matters, the workday is wrapping up.
âIt was the last shoot of the day,â she recalls. âThis was the last section [of the scene] and I was totally exhausted but I lost it . . . because in the moment I wasnât thinking I am on a stage, performing, giving people what they want.â
As the fatigue sets in, Mercy begins to weave the tension into her ecstasy.
âOh no, that man has a big whip and he knows how to use it and he wants to hurt me.” She thinks, âIâm trapped!â The excitement increases because none of it is being done to her “in a bad way.” she says.
Swirling emotions in a cauldron of pleasure and pain integrates the staged fantasy into a sensual experience.
âThatâs what goes through my head when Iâm playing,â Mercy concedes. âThat is the sort of space that I want to be in. The adrenaline and the terror and I know Iâm safe. I know Iâm not going to become injured in a way that I donât approve of or that is really terrible.â
Record the Marks
For non-BDSMers, itâs a hard sell, but Mercy is reassuring. âI know that I am safe so I can let my mind go to those places. I can let that fear bleed out of me.â
Itâs also a statement of why so much care goes into a sexuality charged play scene that comes across as abuse for those who want to see it that way. Mercy explains, âItâs why the debriefing is important because they like to have performers elaborate when things like that happen.â
Companies want models to be honest. They will say, âYou were crying not because we are holding you here and forcing you to go through these things, but because it excites you and was very overwhelming and you get emotional when you play.â
She is delighted to tell the interviewer that she was not coerced, had a safe word to use if she wished, and âwas in total control of the situation.â
Of course, BDSM shooters always walk a legal fine line. Some studios do a full body scan âto record the marks so they have on camera what they did and how you looked after the shoot,â Mercy says. Itâs evidence, quite frankly.
The director and crew ask the model to walk, lift her arms and legs. Mercy doesnât mind. Itâs for everybody benefit.
âIt makes me feel like they are on top of things.â
No doubt, everybodyâs got a lawyer . . .