Stryker’s beast

If you’re really not into graphic accounts of self-administered anal action, this post probably isn’t for you.

Last time, I said the “realistic” Jeff Stryker dildo seemed ridiculously large. That got me doing some research to find out how big he really is. According to a page called Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Penis Size But Were Afraid to Ask, Jeff Stryker’s cock is 7.5″ long (measured in the proper way along the top, from the pubic bone to the tip). As you can see in the picture below, the “realistic” dildo is actually about 9″ long measured in the same way. That’s about a 20% increase. I’d estimate the insertable length to be about 8″.

Besides the length, the really interesting thing about this dildo is its girth. The circumference just under the head is a half inch greater at 7″ than lower down the shaft where it’s 6.5″. While I can’t find any reliable information about Stryker’s actual girth, I can say these proportions are accurate based on the numerous times I’ve watched him put it to use, though the actual size of the dildo is much larger.

So yeah, it’s bigger than the original. For me, it’s at the very limit of a usable size. While I might be able to get something bigger inside me, that’d just be showing off and not really all that enjoyable.

I haven’t had anything this big to play with in a while. In the recent past, when I felt like getting fucked, I’ve used a cheap vinyl dildo that’s 6″ insertable with a circumference about 4.75″. Nothing too impressive, but also pretty easy to use. Prior to climbing Mount Stryker, though, I made preparations. First thing I did was remove the hair around my asshole. I’ve found that hair is hard to lubricate and will grip a dildo and get pulled in and out with it keeping things from being nice and slippery smooth, so I shaved an area about two inches all the way around. Also, I used one of the other new items I bought with the dildo: the Colt Anal Douche.

As Dan Savage says, having anal sex without douching your rectum is like having oral sex with a mouth full of food. The obvious issues of residual fecal matter is what squicks out so many people who might otherwise really get into anal. This is too bad because it’s so easy to deal with when you have the right tool and the Colt Anal Douche is that tool. The really nifty bit, and what makes it better than the run of the mill bulb enema you can get at any drugstore, is the 6″ attachment you put over the spout on the bulb. The water comes out of it along a seam near the top as opposed to squirting out a hole way up into the colon. It feels better and keeps the water where it needs to be. There’s no point in filling your lower intestine with a gallon of water since the only part that really needs to be cleared is the rectum. All you have to do is fill the douche with warm water (get all the air out!), squirt it up your butt, and push it all out. After three or four times, if the water coming out is as clear as when it went in, everything is ready to go.

As I said, it’s been a long time since I had anything this large in my ass. I approached it in the only way you can when dealing with this much mass: slowly and with tons of lube. I used water-based Astroglide as opposed to the silicone lube. I like to put a condom over my toys to make clean up easier and also because I find vinyl actually causes irritation and stinging. Perhaps I’m allergic. In any event, I decided to get things going with the smaller vinyl dildo, sheathed in latex, to open things up and distribute lube all along the soon-to-be assaulted path. Maybe it was because I was staring down Stryker’s beast, but the smaller dildo slid in rather more easily than normal and was soon in all the way to the base. I could feel my prostate was already crackling with electricity. I left the small dildo in for several minutes while preparing the main event. Once it was out of the way, I moved the big guy into place.

It was as if the smaller dildo had never been there. As the fat, blunt head of Stryker’s beast pressed against my hole, I remembered that there’s nothing subtle about this cock. It’s all business from the very start. My sphincter complained, but I kept a steady pressure against it. I’d push, let it sit there as the tight ring of my ass stretched against it, then I’d pull back to give it a few seconds rest. Then I’d push again, trying to get just a millimeter further. At about 2″ in, the fattest part of the cock was starting to come into play and I found the compression of my hole against the condom squeegeed all the lube off. I had to reapply it again and again.

Push, wait, withdraw.

Puush, wait, withdraw. Lube.

Puuush, wait, withdraw.

Puuuush, wait (oh, god, the stretching), withdraw. Lube.

Finally, after maybe 15 minutes of this, my sphincter had finally opened wide enough to envelope the fattest part of the cock. I admit, if I had never actual had this thing up my ass before, I might of chickened out at this point. The sensation of being opened to that extent was incredibly intense and I only had about a third of the thing in me. But I persevered, slowly yet forcefully, until the 7″ circumference of the first half was past my rim.

After that, it was like the cock got sucked up inside me. As the shaft moved along and the slightly thinner part entered me, I felt myself being opened like I hadn’t been in a very long time. Eventually, I had the dildo in all the way to its balls. I couldn’t move it, though. I was so full of it, the best I could do was leave it in place and let my chute stretch along the entire 8″ of the beast. I’d leave it in as long as I could stand it, then pull it all the way out for more lube. I felt my rectum collapse behind the retreating invader.

Then, back in. All the way. I actually bottom out at precisely the point in which the Stryker dildo is in all the way. The entire length of my rectum is opened by it and its head presses against the point where my anal passage turns and becomes my colon. It’s as if it was custom made for my body.

After another 15 or twenty minutes of repeating the cycle of putting it in, leaving it there, and then pulling it out for more lube, I felt myself loosen up sufficiently to start fucking. I can’t even describe it. It’s like having your guts punched, but in a good way. Eventually, I was pistoning the fat dildo in and out, faster and faster, grunting and moaning and feeling the stretch on the way out and the filling sensation on the way in. Over and over. I can’t say how many times and for how long. In the past, I would have come well before I got to this point, but of course, I couldn’t even see the cock let alone stroke it. My entire being was focused on the feeling of this giant slab of rubber invading me, insistently pushing my prostate and everything else out of its way again and again.

I eventually just tired out. My legs were cramping and sweat was flowing down my forehead. A cock that couldn’t come was fucking a body that never would. The only barrier to going all night was physical fatigue. So much effort had gone into even getting to the point were I could put it inside me, that my tank was close to empty by the time things really heated up.

Finally, the dildo slid out heavily with a slurp and a pop. My asshole gaped at the abuse. I felt it with my fingers and easily could get two inside to massage my fiery gland. I could tell I had leaked, but the natural lube mixed with the Astroglide so I couldn’t tell which was which. I used the douche again to sooth my chute and flush out all the extra lube. I had to concentrate to keep my asshole closed so the water wouldn’t simply fall back out. The first time I pushed it clear, the action caused a huge glob of semen to escape the end of the chastity tube. I was well-milked.

After cleaning up and putting everything away, I went to bed, exhausted but still spinning. I read some porn and worked The Portfolio until my eyes couldn’t stay open any longer. After about three hours of sleep, one of my various electronic devices made a small sound, but it was enough to wake me up. I was in a hormone hangover, still buzzing with unexpressed sexual energy. My hand reached around to my asshole and it felt smooth and well-fucked and entirely not mine. It was as if I was fingering a stranger. A stranger who had been used and abused. I could feel the absence of the giant cock inside me and I remember why I loved it so much. I wanted it again right then. I wanted to feel it split me open and stretch me to my fullest, I wanted to feel it punch me again and again.

But I didn’t get up. Instead, I went after my nuts. I squeezed and pulled and slapped them. I found that whatever internal lock that usually keeps me from really working them over had been released, so I crushed them and beat them and felt the tendrils of warm aching pain snake throughout my body. Instead of pulling up when I normally hit myself, I was able to strike them with greater and greater force. They felt swollen and hot and they throbbed. All of my unreleased sexual frustration was taken out on the fleshy punching bag. Putting my finger back on my hot, shaved hole, I decided it felt not unlike a pussy. My pussy. Wet and loose.

Exhaustion retook me and I fell back asleep with the ache of my abused testes still rolling though me. I slept fitfully and woke often, each time finding my hands either on my nuts or along my crack. This morning, I’m still swimming in the hormones from the night before. My ass is craving the Stryker dildo again. I can still feel the void it left inside me. My guts hunger for it. Night can’t come fast enough.

Weekend nerdery

Reader OzCub left the following comment in reply to my last HNThumper. My reply started to get pretty long, so I decided to make a full post out of it.

Your blog has really sold me on the steelheart device. Problem is – I’ve never worn any device before. I’ve seen it recommended elsewhere that you should probably start with a more flexible/adaptable device like a CB6000 or a Birdlock. What are your thoughts on that?

Also I’m planning on getting a PA done because I think it would suit my cock. In your opinion, would it be better to sort that out before I even consider delving into chastity? Or can it come later (so to speak)?

Yes, I think it’s probably best for for someone new to enforced chastity to start with CB6K (I have no experience with a Birdlock, but based on what I’ve read of Tom’s and Aarkey’s experience [part 1 and 2], I wouldn’t recommend it). There are two reasons to start with a CB6K. First, with a relatively low investment, you can figure out if locking your cock into a hard tube is something that flips your trigger. Sure, reading about it can be hot, but there’s a lot of stuff that turns me on when I read it that I’d never want to do in real life. Chastity could be that way for you, too. A hundred and fifty bucks and a few weeks can answer the question for good.

The second reason the CB6K is a good way to start regards fit. Not so much the tube or cage portion because I’m now convinced that that needs to be approximately the same size as your normally flaccid penis (erring on the shorter side). It sounds totally unintuitive, but the less room it has to grow the more comfortable the device will be in the long run. Keeping that in mind, you might want to consider the CB6Ks. The other critical element in fitting a device is the cuff ring. I know from experience that the ring I could barely wear on day one would be ridiculously large on me now. The body adjusts over time and, eventually, you will probably find yourself in a ring that’s not a lot bigger around than the shaft of your erect cock. Unless you’re willing to get a custom steel device with multiple cuff rings or are willing to replace one with another later on (probably requiring you to send the whole device back for several weeks), the CB6K is a good way to get used to the constriction and let your nutsack stretch a bit. Once you settle in to a ring that works for you, the move to metal will probably mean dropping down to a slightly smaller one. At least, that’s how it worked in my experience.

Regarding rings and sizing, I know Mature Metal will send you some for fit, but I’ve never done that. I’m not sure how that’d work since a ring without a tube or cage is just a cock ring and I know that the smallest cock ring I can stand is actually bigger than the cuff ring I’ve got on at the moment. I think since the tube keeps the cock from getting fully erect that the ring can be smaller. Maybe someone who’s done that can leave a comment on how well it worked. In any event, a smaller ring means less weight, bulk, and, at least for me, greater comfort day in and day out and higher security. However, as I’ve already driven into the ground, I’m not super impressed with MM’s quality and design (though they have many fans in the community – I think I’m in the minority on that). You said you’re already settled on a Steelheart, so maybe that doesn’t really matter to you.

I seriously doubt you’ll regret getting the Prince Albert. I think they’re really hot. Plus, when you get the chance to jack off with them, the sensation can be fucking fantastic. Plus plus, of course, their utility with regard to chastity security is quite high. Were I to do it all over again, I’d probably have gotten the PA first. Waiting for it to be totally healed will make wearing it in a device a lot less of a hassle and you can always stretch up to larger gauges while it’s locked up. You’ll probably start at an 8 (or maybe a 10) and eventually work up to a 6 or a 4. From initial piercing to 4ga is at most a 3 month process. You’ll want to wait at least 30 days before you lock up a new PA. If you start chastity first and then get the piercing, it’ll just mean interrupting the chastity for a month. That’s what I did and it was a pain.

Good luck!

While the pussy’s away…

Belle leaves tomorrow. She’ll be on the other side of the world for two weeks. Sucks.

Normally, the cock would be secured during her absence, but smack in the middle of her trip, the kids and I are flying to see Grandma in Vegas. So, obviously, the SH-S will need to come off due to national security concerns. For me, this is a tricky thing because I could just say I need to be out for four days because of travel and leave it at that, but I know (don’t I) that I really only need to be out for a few hours on the two days I’m travelling. If I stay out the whole time, I’ll feel like I’m cheating. Also, I know temptation will be too great to avoid unauthorized diddling with the merchandise. So, the plan at the moment is to stay locked up until Friday morning when I’ll pop my emergency key and take the device off for the flight. As soon as makes sense on the other end, I’ll put it back on until Monday when we fly home.

Once home, I would, theoretically, have access to a free key. That’s not going to work for me. I can be trusted, but keeping the key secure is hotter for the same reason using the PA fixing is. The further away access to the cock is, the better.

As you can see, the current security tab in the keysafe is number 553. That’ll be broken on Friday and replaced with 543 on Monday. I’ll post a picture here of the locked device and the keysafe with 543 in place as soon as I’m resecured. Cheating will be impossible (even if it is also very unlikely).

It’s typically the case that Belle lets me pleasure myself in ways unrelated to the cock while she’s gone. She hasn’t yet given me the word, but assuming it’s coming, I’ve obtained a new toy. Well, actually I’ve replaced an old one. Back with I was single and young, my roommate had a porn tape starring Jeff Stryker. I have absolutely no idea what it was called, but the story line involved Jeff’s character being locked up in jail for an ill-defined offense. Once there, of course, he fucked just about everything with his quite impressing cock. There were a couple of scenes in particular I liked. The first was his check-in at the jail where the guard made him strip, turn around, and spread his cheeks. Jeff always played the top (at least in the stuff I saw him in) so to see him have to submit to authority like that was really sexy. There was another scene with him in a supply closet where he totally dominated another prisoner and yet another in his cell where he fucked a guard. Really hot movie. Pretty sure, between the two of us, that my roommate and I wore that tape out. (Edited to add that after spending about five minutes on the Google, I think the movie in question was called Powertool.)

In any event, the reason I bring it up is when I started buying my own sex toys one of the first I got was a “realistic” Jeff Stryker dildo. It looked like Jeff’s cock, but man. It was so big. And yeah, his cock was big, but I don’t remember it being that big. Regardless, I certainly got my money’s worth over the years with that thing. It was big, but just big enough so that I could really get going with it and not feel like I was about to injure myself. Also, I liked that the first half was fatter than the lower half. Interesting sensation, that. Pull out and feel yourself stretch, push in and feel yourself fill up.

Blah blah blah. Fast forward about 20 years and I received a brand new Jeff Stryker realistic dildo in the mail yesterday. Assuming I get the customary permission to abuse myself in Belle’s absence, I’ll post a review here on the blog. Will Jeff’s giant schlong be as great as I remember? How will my 43 year old ass deal with it? These questions and more will be answered…as long as Belle gives me permission to find out.

6/24/182.5

So, yeah, six months. That’s what we’re doing now. What’s up with that?

A casual observer will claim this is topping from the bottom. I suggested it to Belle so, therefore, I’m a bottomtopper (or whatever). In fact, it was a suggestion. I brought it up but also made clear to her that it was nothing more than a suggestion that she could decide to disregard or modify or whatever.

The logic in favor was pretty simple. She likes me better when I don’t come and am locked in the device. I like me better that way, too. So, why not see what would happen if I was put into an essentially orgasmless existence. No coming and no chance that I would at all for a long time. That’s an interesting element since the way she’s handled me before now, there was always at any time a chance she’d let me come. Now, according to her, I will not be coming – no chance – until mid-September. Will that change how I behave? Knowing that nothing I can do will grant me relief? That was one of the things she made me agree to before making the final decision that this was what we were doing. She’s going to hold me to the six month term absolutely.

There are downsides, of course, and mostly for her. She likes to fuck me. It will be very difficult to do that for any extended period if she’s really serious about not letting me come. Also, she seems to like letting me have orgasms. Not frequently, of course, but she enjoys seeing me enjoy them. So, committing to this means she will be sacrificing, too.

For me, this is about taking things to their logical extremities and seeing how that works. Truth is, I still do like to come. The moment of orgasm is utterly fantastic and, especially when they come so infrequently, totally universe exploding for me. I come so hard now that it feels like I’m turning inside out from the effort. Icy tingles run over my scalp and down my back. Probably the most intensely pleasurable sensations I’ve felt. Those measly little squirts over the bathroom sink I used to give myself with regular frequency aren’t even the same species of what I feel now.

But, everything else that I feel is so much more exiting and just plain better when I don’t get to come. Those nuclear orgasms are really great, but they happen so fast. Once I know I’m going to get to have them, it takes just one or two minutes for me to get there and then they’re totally spent in about ten seconds. In exchange for maybe five or ten minutes of bliss (including the post orgasmic drunkenness), I get hours and days and weeks and months of craving it. Constant tension and expectation and dripping precum. I don’t know if you’re like me, but when I fix myself on something I want, I find that wanting it is almost better than getting it. The actual obtaining of my desires is often (though not always) a bit of a let down. I’m sure there’s a clinical description of this phenomenon and I’m also sure it’s managed by brain chemistry. What I’m not clear on is if it’s a universal behavior or if it’s only present in some people (and if its presence makes one more likely to kink on orgasm denial).

So, I have essentially three questions I hope this experiment will answer:

  • Are longer, extended periods of one kind of mostly low-intensity pleasure (orgasm denial and craving) in exchange for incredibly short yet powerful bursts of pleasure more or less satisfying?
  • How does removal of any hope of orgasm change how I feel and act while being denied?
  • Is there a point of diminishing returns after which continued denial is actually detrimental?

Let’s just say that the answer to the first question is, yes, I a find long-term orgasmless existence more satisfying than infrequent yet occasional orgasms. Plus, let’s say that removal of any prospect of coming does nothing to abate the behavioral benefits Belle and I both recognize as the result of not coming and that extending the denial for a really long time doesn’t have its own adverse results. Would we be able to logically conclude that I don’t ever need to come again? If Belle could accept the changes that would mean to her preferred lifestyle, could this mean I actually do start living an absolutely orgasm-free life (or one that’s essentially so because they’d occur with extreme infrequency and probably accidentally)?

The answer to these questions can only be found in the fullness of time. Also, the answers might not matter if Belle decides that she’d still rather see me come every once in a while. While a lot of this territory feels like ground we’ve already covered, the big difference now is that I’m aware that this is a two person arrangement. While it is, obviously, about me, it’s only partly so. Wherever this experiment takes us, it has to work for us both.

Drippy tube

So, to recap from the vacation, I was, indeed, locked up the entire time. Besides being out for the flight, the only other time she let me out was one morning when I went diving. Other that that, 24/7. I was, of couse, also out for the flight home, but we got back so late that she let me stay out that night.

Next morning, we were both home having taken the Monday after off as well, though the kids were at school. I was getting dressed and ready for the day when she asked me if I wanted to make her come. Well, fuck yes. Plus, being out, I figured there was perhaps a chance I could get the dick wet (though she had just started her period). No, though. I got her off with my fingers while she stroked the cock lightly, but just enough, so that I was always wanting more. Mixed with a few slaps to the nutsack, I was groaning right along with her when she finally came. Regardless, she got out of bed and left me there, hard and wanting. The cock bobbed and throbbed in the air while she went about her business unpacking.

Eventually, I got up, still hard, and went into the bathroom for my shower. I decided that my current state would not allow me to soap up without also playing with the cock, so I put the SH-S on. While the cock wasn’t rock hard at this point, it was still respectively pudgy so it was a bit of a trick getting everything through the ring and stuffed down the tube.

Something I haven’t mentioned here is that I have not been using the PA fixing with the new Steelheart. I found after a few days of wearing it that it was just too crowded in there and I was getting pinched. However, while I don’t need the extra security, it is so much hotter with the fixing in place, so it’s in there now. I woke up last night with a pinch, but took a leak to soften the meat and then repositioned things so that by this morning I felt no ill effects at all. I’m going to see it I can leave it in place for the rest of the week.

I’ll need to figure it all out by Saturday because Belle will be off on another one of her world tours. Two weeks of no Belle. I hate hate hate these trips, but there’s not much that can be done. In the middle of her absence, the kids and I are flying off to Grandma’s house for a long weekend, so I’ll need to use my key to get out prior to leaving and to secure everything again once we get back.

In any event, it’s been about two weeks since my last orgasm and stuff’s building up in there. Two mornings in a row, I dripped precum after my shower while getting ready at the mirror. I get why that was yesterday since she let me share one of her orgasms, but this morning was same old same old. Regardless, long ropes of thick clear fluid hung from the hole in the steel tube, sticking to the hairs on my legs.

Two weeks down, 24 to go. That’s a lot of morning drips.

A tale of two lubes

There are a few different points of view with regard to lubrication and the practice of wearing male chastity devices. When we first got into it, most of the advice I saw online said baby oil was the way to go. Some said lotion. Others maintain you don’t really need lube at all and if you think you do, you have an ill-fitting device. With this last group, I totally disagree. I’ve worn three different devices made of both plastic and steel and have always, to one degree or another, need to lube it up. I think individual body chemistry is a big part of determining if one needs to keep things slippery down there. If you’re one of the lucky few who are just naturally oily, then this post isn’t for you.

The contenders

I tried baby oil early on. It’s main benefit is that it’s easy to find (though not always in a non-baby scented state) and it’s cheap. On the minus side, it’s oil and tends to run all over. Plus, I didn’t find its lubrication properties to be all that terrific or long-lasting. By lunchtime, it was as if it had never been. Lotion, I found, ended up getting sticky and left residue so that it eventually did the opposite of lubricate. Regular water-based lubes like KY or others meant specifically for intercourse didn’t last and also can also leave a sticky residue. Plus, many of those types include sugars that one really should not be using in close contact with warm and moist environments. That led me to silicone lubes.

The first one I tried was System JO’s Premium lubricant. Compared to the other alternatives, it’s quite expensive (around $20 for a small bottle), but a very little bit goes long way, so in practice a 4.5 oz. bottle can last months and months (4-6, on average). It’s entirely odorless and leaves no residue whatsoever. Also, it’s terrifically slippery stuff. After applying it around the ring of the Steelheart, movement is practically frictionless. By the end of the day, while most of it is gone, I can still detect a bit of it still doing its job, especially down under the scrotum where it’s most important. In short, I was thrilled and recommended it without reservation.

Then, I found another silicone lube for sale at Target. It’s called Astroglide X and was a bit cheaper than System JO (around $10, though in a smaller bottle) plus, since I’m in Target about a half dozen times a week, it’d be way more convenient should I run out and need more.

Even though they’re both “premium” and both “silicone”, in actual fact, they’re not the same at all. Their ingredients tell the story best. System JO Premium wins purely on complexity. Its label says it has four ingredients, two of which contain 28 letters each(!), and it says it’s “hydroxy-terminated”, whatever that means. The Astroglide X, on the other hand, has only two ingredients, neither of which are found in the System JO product and there’s no hydroxy termination claimed. They’re entirely different.

This become evident as soon as you pour a little out. The System JO is like clear, fantastically slippery maple syrup while the Astroglide is much thinner and nearly as slick. You can put a dime-sized dab of System JO on your fingers and have time to close the bottle and put it down before it’ll start to run away. The Astroglide is harder to tame and will start to slip through and around your fingers as soon as it’s set free.

big boy bottleOK, so which is better at lubricating a steel chastity device? System JO, hands down. The Astroglide X is a fine product and good in a pinch, but the System JO Premium lasts longer. It just does. Also, when the Astroglide has run its course and is no longer lubricating, it feels to me like it leaves a slightly grippy texture behind. The device feels less free to move around than it would had I used nothing and there’s a residue left on the steel tube. The JO totally dissipates. As I said above, it will still be noticeable 12 hours after application, but even when it’s all gone, there’s nothing at all left behind. It’s clearly a superior product for my purposes.

As I was beginning to run out, I decided to invest in a large pump bottle of the JO Premium. It was about $45 for 16 ounces, but it filled both my smaller bottles (one for the bathroom and one for the nightstand) with a lot to spare. This one bottle will last me way more than a year, I’m sure. I figure it comes out to about 20¢ a day (applied twice over 18 months assuming I’m locked up 75% of the time).

So, with all that said, you might still be in the baby oil camp or the hand lotion camp or one of those people who says no lube at all is the best, but, if you’re not so set in your ways that you’re willing to try something new, System JO Premium receives the official Denying Thumper seal of approval. Highly recommended (still).

Slinky snake attack

Yet another thumb-pecked missive.

Today, I went scuba diving. Anyone who is even passingly familiar with that sport knows it is typically done while wearing a skin-tight wetsuit. Luckily, prior to my heading off to dive, Belle asked if I didn’t think taking the device off beforehand would be a good idea. While I wasn’t wearing it when I had the suit on, I can say the big old honking SH-1 would have been quite visible while the petite SH-S might not have been (maybe).

In any event, when Belle handed me the key, the morning wood had not fully subsided and, in fact, was well reinforced by her warm and beachy presence next to me in bed. Therefore, when I started to pull the tube off, I witnessed an interesting illusion. While the tube itself is only about 2.5″ long, a nearly six inch erection came out of it. I was reminded of one of those slinky snakes that come flying out of a fake can of nuts. It just kept coming.

Once free, I watched the cock’s erection stiffen and cure, pulsing to life. While I had not been given permission to do so, I admit to having my way with it for a while, especially as I showered. The sensation of my fingers running across the soapy flared head of the cock nearly made my knees buckle. Of course, I didn’t take it too far as my next orgasm is still almost five and a half months away.

In related news, I realized today that my body’s become quite accustomed to the SH-S. It hasn’t woken me up in days and, when I do stir and feel the meat’s intense compression, I just roll over and go back to sleep. It’s remarkable what we can get used to.

Once I was back from the dive, I put the device back on. That’s what Belle had told me she wanted before I left, so that’s what I did.