The Much Delayed Hypno Toy Post
Meant to write this earlier, but things have been so busy. (Okay, so SL hasn't helped, either.) I admit I was putting it off a little because I knew it was going to be another long one. The following is essentially what could've been four or five different blog entries all mashed together into a single rambling monologue. Enjoy.

So after actively exploring hypnosis for awhile, I kind of lost interest in it for a period, for a number of reasons. I was still open to the idea of in-person hypnosis, since that's something I've not gotten to explore much as I'd like, but otherwise I just wasn't very interested anymore. Other than letting a friend trance me a few years ago when he was looking for people to practice non-erotic hypno on, I really hadn't bothered with any hypnosis for probably around four years or so.

However, a few things have changed since then. I still have zero interest in text hypnosis...but now webcams and mics are a lot more common. I even have both built right into my laptop. While in-person hypnosis is still preferable (feeling someone's touch while frozen in place is on my list of things I'd like to experience at some point), webcam hypnosis is the next best thing.

My recently renewed interest in hypnosis has been sparked by mainly by two people: Lex of the Hypno-Fantastico, and a long-time friend of mine who goes by the name the Enchanter.

First, Lex posted some hypno-induction videos to Youtube. I was still not entirely in a hypno mood, so I didn't try them right when came out. But I started to become a little more interested after seeing a couple videos posted by Jenniferj521 of her reactions to Lex's videos, followed by videos demonstrating the effects of some text trances emailed to her by Lex. (There were only two or three videos at the time, but now there are ten, with more continuing to be added every now and then.) I wouldn't have probably known about the vids, except that a few people IMed me a link. Including Lex himself, who offered that if I wanted to try his hypno vids and the results were favorable, he'd be willing to send me a customized one as well. However, I still hadn't had enough interest return that I felt like giving it a try just then, so I told him I'd give it some thought.

At about the same time, my friend Enchanter told me he'd been learning hypnosis and had found a local erotic hypno group, and we were discussing his recent successes. The idea came up of maybe trying some webcam hypno sometime in the near future. Not right away, as he wanted to get a few more in-person trances under his belt before he decided to try out the webcam thing, but now I was beginning to consider it a little more.

Earlier this month we started chatting about the idea more. I was finally feeling much more up for it, and we set a time for the weekend. In the meantime, I decided to give Lex's freeze/immobility video inductions a try.

If you're curious to give these a try for yourself and see how well you might take to them, here are the videos to watch (in this order):

1) 001 Hypnosis Induction

2) 002 Freeze / Immobility Post Hypnotics

3) 002 Freeze Test

The first file is sort of a primer, to hopefully make the second file work even more effectively. The second file gives you three variations on freeze triggers. The third file allows you to test the triggers to see how well it's worked.

Some of you will take to the trance very well. Some of you might have so-so results. Some of you might feel like it didn't work at all. Some people are simply more suggestible than others, for whatever reason.

So how well did it work on me? Well, I can be sort of a difficult trance. So while I was a little disappointed that some things didn't work as well as I would've liked, I wasn't necessarily surprised by it either. I've gotten kinda used to it sometimes working and sometimes not.

In this case, the first freeze trigger had me freezing in place, but the skeptic part of my brain said "yeah, but you've done that so much, you're used to it now." Honestly, I could just tell someone "say freeze and I'll freeze, and I won't move until you say release," and you could throw pillows at me or try to tickle me or maybe even lightly pinch me and I wouldn't move. I know what being still like that feels like, and can just kind of do it whenever I feel like it. I think.

The second freeze trigger I'm not sure about. I wasn't moving my hands much anyways, and when he said bound, for whatever reason I didn't really even feel like trying to move them. You might say that means it was effective. But I'm the skeptical believer, remember.

The third freeze trigger I can't really remember much of... Joking. ;-) It ended up feeling just the same as the first trigger, because I was fully aware of time passing and hearing him ramble to fill time. Which is just one of those things that disappoints me, but I'm used to it being that way.

On the other hand, afterwards I started thinking about the first file, the induction trance, and how he'd said "suggestions" plural. I only remembered the one, to relax. Wouldn't he have given me a "sleep" trigger to go back into trance? I *was* quite relaxed...did I actually end up forgetting part of the trance?

But then when I chatted with Lex about it later, he confirmed that, no, there was no sleep trigger in there. And I was so excited, too... ;-)

Anyways, if you try the files, I'm curious how well they worked. Feel free to let me know in the comments here, if you don't mind sharing.

A few days later, Enchanter and I did the webcam thing. It was kind of awkward at first, because I'm not all that used to 'camming, and talking to my computer screen took some adjusting.

I was kind of nervous, mainly because I wasn't sure how well or how much of it was going to work, and I didn't want Enchanter to get all disheartened when a trance with only the third or so person he's put under ends up not working out the greatest. And at first, it almost seemed like disappointment was going to be inevitable. Firstly, I was a little distracted...I'd forgotten he was in a different time zone, and thought I had a whole hour still when he IMed me. It was also a little humid in my apartment, which was distracting...and the fan I brought into the room to help ended up being a little distracting in its own right, though less so.

Then the first couple attempts at induction sputtered out in different ways, which had me quickly dreading that this was just not going to work at all. It ranged from having a hard time hearing some of what he was saying due to quiet laptop speakers and/or a quiet mic, to having one of the bulbs in the room actually going out just near the beginning of another attempt. He changed up the induction each time, to try out different things (and perhaps so it wouldn't seem too predictable). The first time or two, I wasn't sure if the induction was really working all that well even. But at one point the induction got far enough along that when I could no longer make out most of what he was saying, because he'd started speaking more softly, it took me a few minutes to snap out of it enough to let him know I'd just missed most of what he'd said those last few minutes.

But eventually it did work. And it worked well enough that even though we were only planning to have hypno fun on some day during the weekend, when our schedules aligned, we ended up doing one right the next Monday as well. Thing is, I had so much thrown at me in those two days of trances, I'm having a hard time remembering everything that happened, let alone in what order or even which day it happened on. I probably should've blogged about it right afterwards, rather than several weeks after the fact. ;-) So I'm probably going to forget to mention a few things...maybe he'll comment below to add anything I've missed.

- The first one attempted was a frozen in place trigger. Even this got off to a rocky start, when he exclaimed "freeze!," both of us not remembering until just a few moments after I'd frozen that this was not, in fact, the trigger word. He then said the actual trigger word, so either way I was still frozen, but suddenly I started to question the entire time how much of it was actually working, and how much was me just wanting it to work so badly that I went along with it.

At one point when he'd frozen me again later, I started contemplating out loud about this, because while I couldn't muster the will to try and break out of it like I used to back in the day, it also felt like it maybe had more to do with my not wanting it to not work. I think he was slightly amused by this, because while I was babbling, I was still, from his perspective, stuck in place. Contemplating whether I'm actually stuck in place, while looking down at my unmoving hands.

Likewise, I had a similarly questioning attitude when he had my wrists suddenly come together as though by some invisible bond, and when he put me on mute (but not out loud that time, clearly).

- He also did a variation on a freeze, where while I was under he told me that when I awoke, my arms would feel very stiff and feel (or even look) plastic, like a mannequin's arms. When I awoke, I could move my arms at my shoulders, could not bend my elbows or wrists, etc. This got kind of weird because i was leaning in some sort of relaxed state while I was under, and when I sat up I found I could not rest my hands back in my lap...they were locked in a position that they hovered just above my lap unless I leaned forward or something.

Also, they did feel very weird. I can't really describe in what way. They just felt...weird. Kind of numb, maybe. And to be honest with you, while they didn't look shiny or plastic or anything, they did for some reason look kind of "fake" to me, in some indescribable way.

- He had a trigger that would put me on loop until he released me. Basically, I'd repeat the last few seconds of movement (and speech, if I'd been talking) over and over like a broken record until he stopped me. I insisted, as usual, that I was merely playing along because I wanted it to work. Even though, to be honest, loop is one I didn't cared if it worked or not, because it's kind of an annoying interruption when I'm trying to talk, actually. Yet I would dutifully go through with it each time, even if I ended up losing my train of thought as a result. "Er, what was I saying just then?"

- A unique trigger I'd never experienced, he set one where I would begin to wind down gradually over the course of a minute or two, as though I had a wind-up key, until I finally slumped over and stopped. The interesting thing about this trigger is that, unlike the others, it is not instantaneous. So instead of wondering the entire time whether it actually worked or if I'm just playing along, it ends up being an active resistance thing. "Nope, it's not gonna happen this time. Nice...try though. What...do you...mean? I...am...not...winding.....down.....ugh.....*laughs* I....really......am.......wind...ing........***" And then I'd slump over and be unable to move or speak until he gave the trigger to wind me back up. He enjoyed doing this one to me many times during conversations in between putting me back into trance. And every time I would be completely convinced it wasn't going to work, but would start slowing down, even trying to fight it.

Theoretically, it shouldn't have felt all the different from just a freeze trigger, but for some reason it was different. I felt all sort of hollow or something, weirdly, because that wasn't something he mentioned in trance or anything. It just felt like I was this hollow, empty shell until I was wound up and could move again. Just kind of a strange sensation.

- One thing I definitely didn't question the effectiveness of was the sleep trigger. I would seriously go out like a light. Even if I was in mid-sentence, which he did do once. He'd given me some "obey" kind of trigger, where if he said something and then said "obey" I'd have to do it. So at one point I was sipping from a cup of water, and just as I was putting it down, he started telling me to put it down...and I assume was going to follow that with "obey." I could be wrong. But so I start saying to him "Ha...see, that's just how good you are! I start listening to your commands even before you--" "Sleep!" (Or whatever the trigger phrase was, I've forgotten already.) My head was slumped down before I even realized what happened.

- We had been talking earlier about this trigger Lex mentioned on his blog, which is a "cut strings" trigger. Basically, when the trigger is said, the person suddenly goes completely limp, as though they'd ben were a puppet whose invisible strings had just all been cut, and just lays there like a ragdoll. So when Enchanter decided to throw that in, it didn't entirely surprise me...and I'd been quite curious what that might be like, actually. However, he kind of changed it up by adding that he can mention a particular limb, like a hand, and suddenly I will feel a string attach to it and slowly start to rise.

It ended up working so well, I nearly fell out of my chair when I went limp. I imagine it must've looked hilarious from his side of the screen, seeing me go from sitting up to suddenly falling right out of view of the camera. Then he "attaches a string" to my head, and I slowly start to rise back into view. It was very silly.

Incidentally, I think the idea of experiencing such a trigger in-person, where someone could move me about and reposition me while as limp as a ragdoll would be super hot.

- At one point he managed to place in an invisible hypnotic medieval stock. It was pretty uncomfortable. Which is silly, because it wasn't even there. I could move a little bit, but for whatever reason I kept my wrists and neck in place, while leaning forward as if locked into one of those stand-up ones.

- Another interesting variation on a freeze-related trigger, he did one that was intended to remove all my body's will to move, except for when he tells it to do something. Theoretically, it was meant to make it so that I could still talk and hold a conversation, but could not get my body to budge on its own, instead it only listening to his commands and not mine. I didn't realize this at the time however, and because of the way it was worded in trance, it ended up just removing all my will. Like, completely. I just kinda sat there, dazed. He ordered me around into different poses a little bit, but when he asked how it felt, I could barely get out the single word "interesting."

Later he redid the trigger, rewording it to make it work closer to how he'd intended. So he was ordering me around, and I could speak freely...but for whatever reason, I was now sort of lost for words. No snappy or sarcastic remarks. I think this was during the Monday one, so maybe I was just feeling tired from work.

But this time, I think he was trying to test my reactions a little more. He had me standing at first, but because I couldn't step back far enough, he then had me kneel. Then he had me close my eyes, so I was essentially blindfolded...in a weird way, because they're my eyes after all, and I could totally have opened them if I'd wanted to. Then he had me cup my breasts. And then instructed my body to start pleasuring one of my breasts. I wonder if he was almost disappointed that I didn't seem a little more embarrassed about it, since I can be fairly un-bashful l when it comes to my bewbs. Depending on how comfortable I am with someone. The only frustrating thing, is that the exact moment that nipple was finally warmed up and it was starting to feel really good, he made me stop. Like, I was just about to go "ooo," and then it stopped. And I couldn't seem to muster up enough will to get my hand to move back and continue. So mean (and I'm not sure he even realized it).

While I was trying to explain to him that it'd just started feeling nice, he put me on mute. So I'm kneeling there, unable to see, and I can move my mouth but no words are coming out. The only thing that would've made it hotter is if he'd decided to take that moment to swivel over to his other computer for awhile to browse or chat or whatever, while I'm just sitting there, trying to shout at my screen. Which he did do at one point while I was wound down (so unable to even move my mouth), but it would've been perfect here to just let me stew a bit, lol.

- On the other hand, when he tried to add a suggestion that I would end every sentence by calling him Sir, it completely didn't work at all. Not really sure why. But it was pretty near the end of that particular session, and I think I was starting to get tired.

- Despite it not working so well for me when I listened to Lex's hypno vid, Enchanter decided to try and do the time-stop trigger, where I would supposedly be completely unaware any time had passed, etc. And this time, it was weird. Like, I was very aware that time had passed and that he had said things...but I couldn't really recall how much time or what he'd said. It seemed just...hazy. Out of focus. I almost wasn't sure how long ago it'd happened, so I wouldn't even bring it up...like when a conversation moves onto another topic, and you've thought of something on the previous topic but you don't want to add this random thought just then. When he actually asked me about it, I told him that I could remember...kinda...sorta. But I also wasn't trying *too* hard to remember, because I was excited that it was even working just a little bit.

The question you might be wondering then, is why did this work better for Enchanter than it did for Lex? Why did any of these suggestions seem to work so much better? Was it the difference between a recording and a live trance? Was it some other factor?

While it could be just that doing a trance live while being able to see a subject gives you some visual cues as to how the subject is doing, thus allowing you to lengthen or shorten the induction, I actually felt that Lex's video induction worked really well. I was way comfortable, and theoretically it could've/should've worked better than it did. I think in actuality, the main factor is that often the more trust you have built up, the better a trance might work. At least in my case, because sometimes it can be difficult for me to fully relax for an induction, but the more I feel I know someone, the more I'm able to relax.

It's not that I don't trust Lex...in fact I do feel I can trust him quite a bit from reading his blog and seeing his videos where he's tranced others. The difference is, Enchanter has been such a long-time friend, who I've chatted with so much about so many things, that I have a giant amount of additional trust built up there. I mean, I've known him since even before I started this blog. We've talked about all this control fetish stuff for so long, I feel he has a better idea of my likes and dislikes than most.

And I think that's all I have to say for now. Enchanter did manage to get some of the triggers to work in IM as well...but it's just not the same as being face to face (even if only via webcam), y'know what I mean?

More updates as they occur. ;-)