Porn Post-Mortems: Seymour x Sephiroth at The_Love_Hotel, Part 3

[elftaint]

What scene?! Where?!: The Room Of Cool Night Breezes, Seymour x Sephiroth, @ the_love_hotel

Well thank goodness we have come to the entry of smut. I actually really liked this undressing scene for a number of reasons that were not at first apparent. The blow job that came after I think was much weaker - all my fault, Sephiroth was blameless. Let's look!

(PURELY AS AN ASIDE: I thought I'd get into the blow job this time, but we're already up to 1700 words on this entry and Sephiroth doesn't even have his pants off yet. BJ to be pushed to Part 4!)

With the end of one of his red undersleeves, he wiped away the trickle of blood at his lip. His eyes were dark, and narrowed cruelly, but there was wonder in them. Whether it was desperation, foolishness, or overconfidence, he took Sephiroth's quietude for acceptance.

Every movement was tenative, perpetually ready to shift from a caress to an attack. He came from the side, his hand closing over Sephiroth's gloved fingers where they rested against the wall, and he tried to pull them away. There was strength in his grip, though he was not to be compared with the hardened warrior he was pursuing.

"Come," He whispered. "And let me undress you."

I thought this was, purely on the merits, one of the most efficient tags I would post in this entire thread. There's a signature of Seymour's fastidiousness and cageyness, a sleazy seme line, arrogance, but it's not too overbearing. Good job me! So that leaves the "efficient tags" score at 28-3 in Sephiroth's favor. What I didn't quite realize at this point was how Sephiroth-mun had elected to operate the Smut McGuffin, but I was about to figure it out with the next tag.

And he made no move to stop him, or strike out, though tension resonated through him at that touch as though it were a bow string drawn taunt, almost to the point of snapping.

Seymour had asked it of him. The option to fight had ended without resolution.

A noise escaped him, a soft exhalation of breath perhaps, as his hand was guided away from the steady stone beneath his touch. His anchoring had shifted to Seymour alone, the rest of the room an unknown variable vaguely recalled his brief observance of it, earlier.

His eyes had slid halfway open, glowering at nothing at all, in a look that mirrored that of a cornered predator in its proud fury.

OH. Ha ha sorry Sephiroth-mun, it really did take me this long to figure out that Sephiroth was bound to obey direct commands.

One of the delights of leaving things like this open-ended is that each party has an opportunity to surprise the other. I'm enough of a romantic to prefer leaving things open-ended for exactly this reason: not because I love ambiguity, but because I want to feel the effects of my partner's imagination. Anyway, Sephiroth surprised me. I'll confess that it was not a pleasant surprise. I saw it as being pushed into the position of 'boss', and:

1. Being a boss is for the inhumane and detail-oriented, neither of which I qualify for.

And my experience with threads immediately previous to this one was that being a boss happens because the other party is not interested in allowing me sufficient intimacy to understand what they really want and feel, so I'm forced to guess and direct instead of sense and lead. The difference is a little subtle but it hinges on reciprocity: the boss doesn't need input, he already has a vision for how things should go. But I want the constant back-and-forth feedback of a struggle.

2. Being a boss means one is a lot less likely to be surprised.

Both by disobedience and by acceptance - both of which I absolutely crave. I don't want to win the battle of getting the character in bed only to lose the war of becoming important to that character. My ideal long-term RP relationship would be one where the ostensible bottom fights back forever, yet clearly doesn't want to win if it means losing the relationship. Tense! Dramatic! Intimate! Surprising!

3. Being a boss pretty much always means that my partner is about to go on cruise control.

And I'm left driving all scenes basically blind, which I kind of resent.

I harp on this because all these things developed in their most inglorious fruition in the thread I was most involved in immediately prior to this one. And that thread really got under my skin and fucked with my seme!compass! So honestly I was intensely displeased to see this crop up with this lovely thread that was developing with Sephiroth.

Nevertheless: I made one mistake and one not-mistake. The mistake was not talking to Sephiroth-mun about it right away and getting clarification on where the scene was going from that perspective.

The not-mistake was trusting that this sensitive, intelligent, attentive player was not going to go limp on me. My trust was not misplaced and the scene continued beautifully. STILL IT IS ALWAYS BEST TO ASK.

Seymour: Where pale skin emerged he couldn't help but run his fingertips over it, feeling the other man's pulse, his warmth, the secret history written in his scars.

Sephiroth: Those scars were fine, nearly invisible but in the right light glistening even whiter than the pale skin they lay upon, sealed with mako energy and the regenerative powers of that creature whose cells he bore. One exception ran parallel to his shoulder blade, hidden by that coat and lengthy silver strands, a pale patch of skin still netting itself together again.

The scars were still few, and most would never even notice. He was, after all, meant to be invincible.

And of course in the very next tag I would prove to be very aggravating indeed: imputing scars where none existed. But Sephiroth-mun rolled with it, praise holy boners and alleluia. I can only imagine how annoying it is when someone misreads your character's body. I was embarrassed to make this mistake, but I also had to smile at "...most would never even notice. He was, after all, meant to be invincible." - I took it as the most delicate and subtle kind of "pay more attention" knock, and thought it was very slickly done IC.

Actually, I would say that good manners informed an enormous amount of the energy of this scene on all levels. Which I loved - I am a stickler for manners IRL, I think if you follow all the little rules you can break the big ones, and I would rather talk with a murderer who chews with his mouth closed than a saint who asks me how much I make a year. Sephiroth-mun has excellent manners, and it shows.

Anyway pfft let's talk about sensuality.

Seymour: The long sea-blue tendrils of his hair brushed Sephiroth's chest as he leaned in. As his victim's coat and bindings fell away, the hollow of his collarbone was revealed, and Seymour bent to kiss it. He inhaled deeply, relishing the fresh masculine scent of his skin.

Sephiroth: He could catch the scent of the Guado's hair, something oceanic and exotic, as he leaned closer and the warmth of his lips passed over his skin. Again he grew tense at the proximity, those slitted pupils thinning.

Sephiroth: Now, as he felt the other's breath and lips teasing below his jaw, a warm spasm ripple through him, pooling directly downwards. An echo followed in its wake at the warm touch of unnaturally long hands trailing ever lower...

Sensuality is so important to me.

I hope it is not any particular secret that I am, like the Seymour I portray, an inveterate sensualist IRL, and I will let that inform my RP. What is less obvious is that I love love love love it when a partner also trends sensual and talks about the sensations of closeness: scents, tastes, etc. I don't care if they have to godmod or make things up - like the detail about how Seymour's hair smells, or mine about how Sephiroth's skin smells. I am delighted to have my character painted with the sensations that you or your character enjoy. I can only hope that Sephiroth-mun was as forgiving about all my (non-scar) imputations.

I love reactions, too. There were a great many excellent reactions on Sephiroth's part, and once again, I can only hope I kept up my end.

Well it's about time for another dirty domination trick!

Alas, boots. Although it would have entertained him greatly to take Sephiroth with his pants around his knees, hobbled by his own impossible garments, it was wrong for this moment. This capitulation would come more easily if it permitted Sephiroth to retain his dignity, or so he strategized.

"Here," He offered suddenly, dragging Sephiroth's hand up to the top of his head. Though it was more than a little ridiculous, the position made sense as Seymour knelt to undo the buckles at the general's knees. "Lift your foot."

BE RIDICULOUS.

A moment of careful absurdity does much to break tension and generate intimacy. The message I'm hoping for is "I am absolutely going to pork you stupid, but I'm human and vulnerable like you." In another scene at TLH, Seymour started the scene seated in a big fancy chair; he surrendered the fancy chair to his partner and fetched a comically tiny canvas folding stool for himself.

A character who never does anything ridiculous may be more respectable and easy to worship, but worship, like non-con, is entry-level intimacy. I would rather provoke a single moment of genuine affectionate confusion than a lifetime of worship. You lose the battle of looking like a god, but you win the war of looking like an unforgettable and very real lover. I think the very end of this scene owed much to the willing failures and absurdities presented en route, like this one.

Once more he could not seek protest, though if he was hoping to save his dignity, this was certainly not helping matters.

His free hand instinctively went to the other's shoulder, grasping perhaps more tightly than was necessary. His fingers had already curled into the brilliant blue strands that he could no longer see, one foot lifting as instructed.

Luckily, there was a zipper that ran down the length of the boot at its back, hidden but for the tiny metal tab at the top. The sensation of those hands caressing his leg, meanwhile, did nothing to end his inner struggle not to enjoy this.

I've nearly forgotten to talk about how beautiful Sephiroth is blinded in this undressing sequence, which is incredibly erotically charged. He has been de facto overpowered by the curse on his eyes and the operation of the ring's enchantment - so it's like bondage, but he's not actually tied up, so everyone's hands and mouths are free to roam where they please.

This is the kind of bondage I like best, perhaps all the more so because it's next to impossible to perfectly enact IRL.

It was around this time that I was starting to relax about being the 'boss' - it was becoming apparent that Sephiroth was still alive and angry under his obedience, which is also a quality I value greatly. Seymour was permitted to have his way with him physically because of the enchantments and spells and whatnot, but there was still a fight going on: whether Sephiroth would mentally accept first the physical acts, and secondly Seymour himself on whatever level.

There was still something to hunt for! Excellent! I'm back on board!

Anyway note that, as if to reassure me that he was indeed no puppet, Sephiroth grabs Seymour's shoulder more or less voluntarily.

The moment when Sephiroth grabbed him for the sake of stability - even if his grip was tight enough to hurt - marked the first time that he had laid hands on Seymour of his own volition. As if anything about this could be construed as voluntary.

He was indecently thrilled by it. Seymour marked the occasion by turning his head to press a lingering kiss to the white wrist at his shoulder, and proceeded to remove the other boot. He reached up then to tug the loose black pants down, and found himself eye to eye with what had to be the most exquisite -

"Remarkable," He breathed, almost inaudible.

LOL EUPHEMISMS. It's always hard to figure out how visceral the vocabulary should be in a scene with someone you don't know very well. I erred so far on the side of caution that I got all the way to omission.

Anyway, Seymour was surprised IC and I was surprised OOC to find Sephiroth reaching out for him. In 99% of all cases, TLH subs seem to live in an impermeable box that they cannot move out of without the dom's express permission. Again, in my prejudiced way, I take this as cowardice in the face of intimacy. I have no idea what else it could represent and I not only welcome correction on this point, I beg for it. What on earth can it possibly mean that your character won't touch mine without forms signed in triplicate?!

I was inappropriately moved by this gesture on Sephiroth's part.

I also thought this undressing scene was pure class and would rank it just behind the 'let's play with your wing' and 'let's have an inappropriately involved anal sex orgasm' parts of this scene in terms of absolute enjoyment.

OHMYGOD THESE ENTRIES KEEP GETTING LONGER. BJ in Part 4! I promise!