poeticdesires

Category: Gryphon

  • Water Torture

    I was fried, hanging on by a thread. And then the thread was cut.

    We were out to dinner, a group of nine of us, sitting around a large table in a pub about a fifteen minute walk from the Flying Dutchman.

    We were all tired, the rush of the Grue slamming to a halt as the event had just ended about an hour ago.

    It was all I had in me to not curl up into a ball and start crying. Having experienced another Grue, I knew this was normal. The intense event followed by the sudden end caused me physical exhaustion and emotional havoc. I knew this was to be expected. I was just barely hanging on.

    We ordered drinks. I decided I needed a beer. Just one beer. My pint arrived and I took one sip. Then two other drinks arrived, one of them being Gray’s. Because he sat next to me, of course I was going to reach over and pass the drinks to him.

    And then my hand clipped my pint glass. And all of my beer, save my one sip, spilled onto the table and onto Gryphon. Gryphon, who sat on my other side. Gryphon, who offered to share his french fries with me. Gryphon, who had made me smile even though I was feeling like crap.

    As soon as the glass hit the table, we both jumped up. I grabbed it, but it was already too late. His pants and half his shirt were soaked.

    I had to get away. I quickly slipped from the booth and rushed to the bathroom. One of the two stalls was free. I got inside and started crying.

    I had been hanging on by a thread. And then the thread was cut.

    All the horrible thoughts came to me in a rush.

    You’re so clumsy. You’re so stupid. He won’t like you now. You’ve ruined dinner. They’ll all hate you now. Why did you even bother coming? No one wants you here.

    CherryBondage soon came into the restroom and knocked on my stall’s door. I let her in and she held me as I wept. Hugging me tight, she asked me what was wrong.

    “I was hanging on by a thread. And then that happened and I just couldn’t hold on any more. And the bad thoughts came and I know logically Gryphon doesn’t hate me and the table is probably laughing about this right now, but yeah. I just… I needed to cry.

    “I’ll be okay. I just needed to cry.”

    And then I was okay. I actually laughed, knowing this would be yet another inside joke directed my way.

    When I returned to the table, I apologized profusely to Gryphon. Gray gave me a big hug.

    And waiting for me was another pint. The bar had spotted me the loss.

    But now I found myself in a new dilemma: I feared picking up my beer.

    I feared touching it even. When I went to drink my beer, I used both hands to lift the pint. When the next round of drinks came, I held my arms in tight to my chest and sat back in my seat.

    To make matters worse (or hilarious, depending on how you saw it), Gray and Gryphon taunted me for the rest of our dinner with my new found fear.

    Asking one to refill my water glass (since he could more easily reach the pitcher), he filled my cup all the way to the top. I stood up and leaned over, sipping the top off just so I wouldn’t spill my water when I lifted it.

    Then the other, the next to refill my glass, held the pitcher high in the air as the water flowed out. I was visibly nervous that the liquid would spill all over the table. Of course it didn’t, but the boys enjoyed egging me all the same.

    Gryphon smelled of beer for the rest of the night; he didn’t have time to go home and change before the After Grue. I kept apologizing; he kept telling me it was okay.

    Eventually, I believed him.

    The night was not ruined. No one hated. I was okay again.

  • Knuckle Sandwich

    Hmm, a punching class at the London Grue. Was I going to attend…?

    Knuckle Sandwich was presented by Gryphon, with his demo bottom Hedwig.

    Gryphon started his class session with some precautionary info: avoiding the neck and face (on a first date), targeting large muscle groups, and the proper way to throw a punch (curves, not corners). He brought along some accessories for his presentation, including boxing gloves and wrist wraps.

    With the talking portion over, he encouraged everyone to get up and have a go. I gravitated towards the wrist wraps.

    After a demonstration of how to apply the fabric, CherryBondage volunteered to be my punching bag. I liked the look and feel of the wrist wraps, especially since I have a physical job; fucking up my wrists could leave me unable to perform my work.

    With a little time on our hands, I learned the proper way to execute the three inch punch. [Tip: Use your body weight, not your arm strength.]

    “You hit hard.”
    “When I have a person to hit, yes… yes I do.”

    As pairs continued to pummel each other, I looked over and saw Gryphon was finishing up with one of his students. I thought this would be the perfect time for me to ask for what I wanted. (See; I’m learning.)

    Gryphon happily fulfilled my request.

    He struck my back, my ass. He jabbed, he hooked. My front, my side. I stumbled, I stood. Happily, I did not slam my face onto the stage when I dropped to the ground.

    Deep pain resonated throughout my body with each of his strikes. I cried out. I came back. I loved every moment of it.

    He struck my ass in a way I had not felt before, hitting down at the top of the shelf, the pain reverberating like a sine wave throughout my rump.

    He targeted under my arms, connecting with my ribs. I hadn’t felt that type of strike in quite some time, the bite of the hit chewing on my lungs. It was horribly fun. For his efforts, I currently carry a memento of our interaction: a lovely big red bruise.

    [For those who wish to dive into my Twitter feed or browse my Fet page, you can see a picture of my bruise, which also happens to include a rather nice view of my ass.]

    When Gryphon finished, we hugged. I thanked him and he thanked me.

    “You are fun to punch.”
    “You are fun to play with.”

  • Poi Is Awesome

    Going into the London Grue, I knew there was one class I absolutely positively wanted to host: Poi Is Awesome; Let’s Practice.

    At first I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. I even had jitters about suggesting the class session at all. But a friend said they’d brought two pairs of poi, and their partner had another. With their assurance that they at least were interested, my mission was set. There would be poi practice at the London Grue.

    As luck would have it, we practiced during the first session, which turned out to be a great pick me up for the day.

    I plugged my iPhone into the sound system, turned on my current favorite song to practice to (Skrillex (feat. Sirah) – Weekends!!!), and we started.

    I was a novice. I’d created my practice poi out of two tennis balls and a pair of clearence tights from Target, total invesment $6.14. For less than a month I’d stood in my living room, watching myself in the mirror (a no-no; poi is about muscle memory), swinging my tennis balls about.

    I practiced front and side planes, worked on butterfly (two side planes close together), and had even gotten to a point where I could spin my butterfly in off time. A few times I experimented with trying to spin planes in front and behind me simlutaneously, as well as trying to move while spinning.

    Now, with the opportunity to practice with people far more experienced than myself, I knew I could only get better.

    When we started, just myself and my two friends practiced. Then one person who had experience fire spinning came over and showed me a trick or two.

    One in particular, which I have come to love, involves me spinning my poi alternately behind my head and in front of my face. When I first tried the trick, I was nervous. Since learning the trick, whenever I want to practice it, I remind myself I have to let go and let my poi fly. It’s exhilirating in an almost dangerous way.

    As people drifted in and out of the class, some knew nothing and I found myself teaching and encouraging people to at least try.

    At one point, Gryphon wondered into our area. He had experience flourtine flogging and took to poi quite easily. I, who still had not figured out how to do a basic weave, was impressed.

    Once, when we were having a particularly good and racous time, Gray yelled over to our group. Apparently we were a bit loud and were inadvertantly interrupting the nearby Rope 101 class.

    Opps. What could I say? Poi is awesome.

  • Movie Moment

    It was kind of like in romantic comedies…

    You hear the voice from around the corner, this new person in conversation with someone you already know. They talk for a bit, and you learn the texture and tone of their voice without yet seeing their face.

    His was a nice voice, deep and rich with an English accent in which I could understand every word. I wanted to kiss his voice.

    And then he came around the corner and entered the room…

    I met Gryphon Friday afternoon.

    Gray and I had spent the better part of the day wondering around London in a light rain that continually fell into the evening.

    The morning began with confusion. I thought I was meeting Gray at one place; he hadn’t informed me that in fact he’d crashed somewhere else.

    So instead of rustling him up, crawling into a spot with my netbook, or resting my head by his knee, I found myself in a small coffee shop, sipping hot cocoa and trying to not be annoyed. The pleasant owners and a good book helped quite a bit.

    When we did meet up, we found shelter in a small shopping complex. He sipped coffee and orange juice. I slowly ate a muffin.

    We spoke about writing, his hopes and expectations during his Euro-Grue trip, and generally caught up on each other’s lives.

    Later we ventured back to my coffee shop, The Electric Elephant, which I highly recommend. (As one might expect, it is quite near the Elephant & Castle station for any Londoners interested in visiting.)

    Afterwards Gray and I landed at Hedwig’s place where plans for the Grue were cemented.

    I helped Hedwig make lunch (a hearty soup perfect for the dreary day). Gray did some work. We all waited for the volunteer to arrive; we all waited for Gryphon.

    He eventually knocked on the door as if on cue, right when Gray asked how much longer til the volunteer would show. As Hedwig and Gryphon chatted, I remembered smiling to myself at the thought of how movie like that particular moment was, both the arrival and the chatting.

    When Gryphon rounded the bend and entered the room, I was pleasantly pleased that this time the voice matched the features. Gryphon had a tall broad frame, a handsome face, wore glasses, and smiled and joked freely. I knew I would like him from the start.

    He warmly introduced himself to Gray and I.

    As we all began to muss out how errands would be run, there was one unavoidable fact we could not ignore. Gryphon was highly valuable to our efforts because he had a car. However, he was also in the process of moving. Only three people (including the driver) could fit in his vehicle.

    With Gray’s quick assessment, it was decided I would remain at Hedwig’s apartment while everyone else ran the errands.

    I stayed on my spot on the small couch, read a bit (finished Story Of O actually), wrote a bit (the blog about finishing said story), and relaxed.

    So much for that movie-fairy-tale thing….