To my readers......

SITE UPDATE NOTICE

Thanks for visiting mitchmen, home of Mitchell's Gay Art

The Caps and Collars/ Flat Cap Gang story at Google Groups is on a summer break until July. (see Group News for link)

Message updated 25th June 2023

Friday 27 January 2023

Mitchell - Army Buddies In Tentacle Trap

Naked soldiers in the jungle are captured by tentacles and probed behind
Mitchell - Tentacle Trap (after Kurosilver*)

Broadbent and Davies had been wandering in the jungle for days. Separated from the rest of their Platoon after the surprise attack on their camp, they had watched the other survivors being stripped of their uniforms and ferried away in lorries. At first they wanted to follow and rescue them but the trail soon went cold and without weapons there was little they could do. But if they made their way back to their own lines, they would have to explain how they had escaped capture and why they had been away from the camp together, without their weapons and dressed only in their jockstraps.

These worries receded as they became preoccupied with just finding food and a safe place at night. They marched during the day but it was hard, tiring and dangerous in the hot, humid jungle. Several times they had to hide from enemy patrols. At night, it was good to have each other.

On the 7th day - or was it the 8th? they came into a particularly lush part of the jungle. For once the humidity was low. Birds were singing, blue sky could be seen overhead and a scenic waterfall of cool water cascaded down allowing them to replenish their water supplies. They washed out their jocks and fell asleep by the water in the idyllic, sunny glade. 

It was late in the day when they were wakened by voices. Realising it was the enemy they fled into what looked like the deepest part of the jungle. The voices quickly faded behind them and they knew they were safe from them then, but in their haste they had left everything behind including their jocks. They couldn't go back and it would soon be dark, they had to find a place to sleep. 

As they toiled though the jungle, progress became more and more difficult with foliage draping over the trail and sometimes blocking it altogether. Undergrown caught at their ankles and brushed their thighs. A gloomy twilight began to descend and the jungle seemed to be closing in around them.

"Drat it!" Davies heard Broadbent exclaim behind him, "my ankle's caught in something again". Davies turned and saw his buddy crouching down to disentangle the offending growth. "God it's tough, this tendril could trap a small animal". Davies smiled at his discomfort but not for long. 

"Shit! It's alive!" Broadbent exclaimed, "it's crawling up my leg!" 

"It can't be" Davies scoffed, "it's just a plant".

"Well it's growing bloody quick then" Broadbent replied in alarm "it's twining round my knee now and  getting bigger, I swear it is".

"Let me see" said Davies impatiently but as he stepped towards his buddy he found his own foot was snagged on something too and trying to free himself found exactly the same thing was happening to him. In fact a fat tendril was already sliding between his thighs and encircling one. He tried to prise it away but it was too strong and when he tried to pull his leg out of it's grip he found he could not. Another tendril caught at his wrist, pulling it behind his back. 

He looked over at Broadbent and saw his arms were already immobilised and the tendrils were sliding and twining round his groin, inducing an erection despite his obvious fear. For some reason that excited Davies too and that sensation was heightened as he felt a slender tendril winding round his own balls. He felt it getting tighter and tighter lacing his own terror with sexual excitement. 

"It's pushing into my ass!" Broadbent shouted out in horror and Davies too felt one touching his ring, then pushing it open. It seemed to be coated with some slippery substance which made it's invasion irresistible. He felt it's smooth surface sliding in, getting bigger and bigger.

"What are we going to do?" Broadbent  was wailing.
But Davies had no answer for his buddy.
The tentacles were engulfing his torso.
The night noises of the jungle resounded around them

~

*I freely acknowledge that this picture is extensively based on an original by Kurosilver.
It's also part of my long standing unfinished tale of 'The Lost Patrol'
For more pictures by Mitchell click on the 'mitchpix' label below 
or visit the Gallery Tab at the top of the blog

Tuesday 24 January 2023

An Important Announcement About Royale Studio Posts

vintage Army uniform tight shorts boots spanking beating CP domination humiliation
Royale Studio - Corporal Punishment (from The Arrest, ERTR-1)

Listen Up Boys!

I have been concerned for some time now about the conflict which is developing between the original purpose of the mitchmen blog (which was to showcase my own art and my interests in erotic art and photography generally) and my recent project to publish my entire collection of pictures by Royale Studio and it's associate Hussar to serve as an open archive for posterity. As time has gone on, the Royale project has grown in scale, partly due to the inclusion of model profiles such as the recent series of articles about Peter George. I am aware, however, that many visitors to this blog come here primarily for the art and are less interested in vintage British photography and it's significance with respect to Pride . 

Striking a balance between fetish art and the Royale posts has become harder and harder because the amount of material I have accumulated about Royale has grown significantly since I published my original articles about them back in 2010. Recently I have started systematically researching what was published about them in the old beefcake magazines and this has substantially swollen the total even further, including the discovery of storyettes which I didn't know existed. I currently have a backlog of 4 or 5 articles and hundreds of images which I am holding back to avoid swamping this blog with Royale stuff. In addition I am already having to revisit the new articles to update and correct them, which does not fit into the flow of this blog very well.

I could just dump all my material onto Drive but I think the supporting articles I write help me to organise my thoughts and give useful insights into the pictures themselves. Unfortunately one of the adverse consequences of the publishing constraint at mitchmen is that I am induced to write bigger and bigger articles. Bigger articles take disproportionately longer to produce and are not very digestible for the reader. 

To resolve this conflict I am proposing to open a new blog dedicated to Royale. The existing material at this blog will be replicated there but I will probably retain what's already here and continue to post new spicy trailers to direct interested readers to the new blog. 

My hope is that I can publish smaller articles more frequently at the new blog and update them as required without adversely affecting this one. I can also create a skeleton framework of the entire archive to be gradually fleshed out over time. For visitors, I hope it will provide a better organised, simpler access point to the material.

I'm sticking with blogger as the platform for now because I know it well. It's not ideal for what I want to do, but I'm not aware of a platform that is free or cheap that would be any better. To be honest, I'm not really sure at the moment what features I will really want in the final analysis but I have some new ideas which I can try out more easily in a dedicated blog. In fact my experimentations have already led me to create two new blogs which are interlinked, one being a photo gallery essentially, the other providing indexing and background information on the Studio. 

 The Royale Studio blog provides the main entry point with indexes and general material.
 The Royale Studio Gallery contains all the published sets and can be accessed directly for browsing
 or else via the indexes and links at the Royale Studio blog. 

PLEASE NOTE: The Gallery blog has some interesting new features which are explained in 
'How the Archive is Organised'. I'm keen that people explore them and give me feedback.

It's long been rumoured that Google will ditch blogger eventually but I can't really anticipate that scenario. Thanks to Yahoo, I'm accustomed to picking up my possessions and moving on and if the project is a success it will probably need a more permanent home later. The Adonis Male site is a possible alternative platform but I don't know that it is any more permanent. 

You are invited to visit the new blog to see how it is developing
Be warned that some links may not work properly at present. 
However, I welcome comments about any aspect of it.
I suggest you start by going to:

Saturday 21 January 2023

Art by Anteros

naked footballers in forest of brambles
Anteros - Careful They're Sharp! 

 At his best Anteros has produced dark, atmospheric pieces with sci-fi fantasy settings.
This one seems to be an unusual take on gay cruising but these woods are more like the hostile wilderness used to trap and protect beautiful captives in children's tales. The denizens resemble members of an American Football Team looking for dirty sex, but they don't look very inviting, Instead the caution they advise in the wording of the title, comes across like an unpleasant challenge, a dare with ambiguous meanings, rather than an expression of genuine concern. In fact there's something altogether other-worldly about them. 

Not a place for beginners to start their cruising education I would suggest.


Anteros - In Space No-one Can Hear You Moan

There's a similar irony in the humorous twist given to the title of this piece, inspired by 'Alien'. This Space Trooper is trapped on a grille and tormented by creatures emerging from the hell-like depths below. It seems likely that any sexual pleasure will prove to be a fleeting moment in a journey to an altogether more grisly fate. 

Although his gun (or blaster or whatever) still lies by his side, suggesting an interrupted military manoeuvre, we can also see his wrists have been handcuffed behind his back and virtually all his clothes have been taken from him. It suggests this is no accident of fate, but a deliberate punishment inflicted on him by an unseen, malevolent captor. 

I suppose you can't rule out a practical joke, a birthday treat,
but you sense these creatures play for keeps, so it's likely to backfire.


Anteros - Tentacles

A similar sense of lurking danger pervades this piece, which I think is rather wonderful. The unusual viewpoint provides a very sexy view of the man's hairy body and also seems to highlight the pleasurable comfort of reclining in this deep luxurious bed of living tendrils.
But at the same time the close-up give us that classic horror feeling that there's something else,
something unseen here, something which ain't quite right.

The picture is entitled simply 'Tentacles' but I imagine it originally had a more interesting title. It conjures up the vision of a traveller in a distant world succumbing to the sensual delights of the local flora (or maybe it's fauna, who knows?). Unusually, for a tentacle encounter, there doesn't seem any attempt to restrain him and there's no evidence that his clothes have been ripped off his body by these creatures, that he simply got undressed for them. For once the being toying with him isn't just intent on prodding and poking him but seems to be indulging some sensual need of it's own, inducing him, seducing him, to recline into it's bed of living organisms for some sort of mutual intimacy. 

Despite that, I can't help thinking that he's terribly vulnerable in this position. 
Will this creature eventually call on him to satisfy it's carnivorous needs?


Man trapped and aroused by tentacles
Anteros - Lust At The Water's Edge

This picture seems to supply a chilling answer to that question, having an alternative, blunt title of 'Earth Tentacles and Skulls', It suggests this rather attractive man being overwhelmed and seduced by a tentacled being is destined to remain here for ever. 

Perhaps it's a misunderstood being, it's actually not intent on digesting him but enjoys human male charms so much that it's simply unwilling to let him go. Perhaps it's physiology allows it to experience it's own orgasmic pleasure differently to men, continuing as long as it wants instead of ending prematurely in an uncontrolled crescendo. Because of that our hapless wanderer is destined to perish in an eternal amorous, draining embrace.

Despite the reference to water's edge in the title there isn't any water to be seen, but I guess it's a reference to the primordial soup from which new creatures continue to emerge to take their place in nature's order. Is this to be mankind's first predator?

These picture feature various tentacle formats ranging from the smooth, translucent, jelly-like variety to the hard-ridged, duct-like ones just above. The bramble-like ones in picture 1, would have an embrace that doesn't bear thinking about.


Anteros - Arena

This image is a much simpler concept, an expression of man-on-man domination, but Anteros' skill with earthy colours and dark, suggestive atmospheres elevates the interest. The setting of an empty Arena suggests a private argument being settled in a traditional, ritualistic, but apparently bloodless way. Both men are wearing slave collars but subtle scars and tattoos give the victor the intimidating, edge of an experienced man. The submissive kneeling stance of the loser seem to be acknowledging that much. The top appears to be wearing a chastity device which means that neither man will gain much satisfaction by normal standards, but it is human nature to make the most of what you've got.

The background setting here is not dissimilar to Oztangles' temples, with slightly more sophisticated constructs and use of colour and light perhaps. That characteristic points back to a common rendering heritage that is very obvious in Anteros' older work of which I show a sample below.


Anteros - Medical Lab 1

This might have been a Milking Factory in another life but instead seems to be a space age, laser hair removal clinic, with punters patiently waiting their turn, naked in luxurious armchairs.
It seems to be staffed by medics who don't bother with professional boundaries.
Well we can't all be 'Angels' can we?


Anteros - Breeder Aliens

It would be wrong of me to omit from this brief survey the artist's preoccupation with devils and aliens of similar cast. The 'Breeder Aliens' series is one of the most impressive manifestations of this interest. It's a simple tale of Space Troopers who foolishly go on a mission dressed in space armour and very little else. They fall into the hands of highly developed aliens of the demonic, reptilian kind and suffer the inevitable homoerotic consequences. It's not really my cup of tea but vividly imagined and marvellously executed. 

There's a whole crop of out and out devilry and temptation in many other pictures by him.

Links for more pictures

Wednesday 18 January 2023

Vintage Bondage - 'Mikey' by Loquillo

wrists tied behind back in multi-rope retraint


A beautiful, neat, shoulder and arm harness is the foundation of Mikey's restraint.
Connecting strands make a striking cross shape across his back.
It lifts the wrists but prevents the upper arms from moving outwards.
The noose-like construction stiffens them. 


gagged athlete helpless in shibari restraint

This crossed ankle restraint coupled with tightly folded knees
is a satisfying complementary pairing for the body harness.

Mikey's crossed wrists and ankles neatly bracket his peachy bottom thus < - >
His butt cheeks are also framed by a clever re-arrangement of his jockstrap bands.

The sight is enticing for on-lookers, but reassuringly for the prisoner, access is limited. 
Topped-off with a gag it's an excellent, decorative, parking arrangement.


tight thigh to ankle restraint upper body harness


The simple knee fold variant without crossed ankles is more comfortable for him
but lays his centre piece wide open for the man in control.


anxious man in bondage with open legs tightly tied


That wary backwards look is amply justified 


tied tight arms and legs show bubble butt


This 'in line' leg arrangement also features crossed ankles to create a closer, tighter restraint.
It inhibits general wriggle and also limits use of the feet for leverage or to stand and escape.


Sexy ass show in jockstrap Upper body arm restraint by ropetopsfbay


Mike's jock strap bands point the way home.
 The tight coupling of the upper thighs is both functional and erotic.

The double loops just above and below the knee look a little untidy
but is a foundation for the next step.....


Tight arm and leg restraint


...... as this restraint readily evolves into the classic hog-tie
Legs are pulled tight by linking the ankle ties to the thigh loops.
Those double knee loops now add an elegant detail
and their thickness creates uncomfortable leverage of the knee,.


Painful shibari restraint


Poor Mikey!
He's been allowed to sit up here, but in a crossed legs position is imposed.
In this position, you can see the tight rope wrapping of his torso
 and just below, new, gift wrapped temptations come into view .
Another noose-like construct imposes a bowing stance on his upper body
The linked ties to his crossed ankles can be adjusted to vary the discomfort.

 
Bound and gagged in jockstrap

Don't move, I won't be long!


shibari arm - upper body harness


A pause in the proceedings allows a modicum of respite for Mikey.


Mikey tied up and gagged seated on a chair in jockstrap




Congratulations Mikey! You've got the job!




What do I do now?

~

Images by ropemaster Loquillo, 
this series has the virtue of showing the captive's face.
see more at ropetopsfbay, also his tumblr gallery

Originally published in Bound and Gagged No 102 (2004)


The mitchmen, 'Vintage Bondage' Series:

There's also some retro stuff in my Muscles and Rope series, notably No 11 (Steve Landless by Zeus), No 15 (Robert Black at CanAm & Beau Hopkins at Zeus), No 19 (Can-Am) and No 20 (Rocco De Vega, Zeus). 

Or simply click on the 'bondage' label at the foot of this post!



 

Sunday 15 January 2023

Most viewed post of all time (MPP3, 2022) is IFNB!

Muscle worship by cum soaked fan

Above, art by this year's winner, IFNB.
An autograph hunting fan laps up his hero's generous gesture. 

~

According to my Blogger 'hit stats', out of all the mitchmen articles published to date, 
those registering the most total hits since publication are as shown below.


Table 1 mitchmen Articles With Most Hits Since Publication to end 2022

Posn
(last yr)
Title of Post
(& link)
Year of
Pub'n
Cum
Hits
2022 Hits
1 (2)
2018
44,570
8,964
2 (3)
2017
43,879
9,847
3 (1)
2012 
41,771
3,166
4 (5)
2008
34,305
3,347
5 (4)
2010
33,058
2,073
6 (6)
2018
23,391
2,374
7 (7)
2009
22,133
1,277
8 (10)
2018
22,042
4,555
9 (8)
2016
20,871
1,451
10 (9)
2010
19,077
966
11 (11)
2009
18,517
3,830
12 (12)
2010
14,034
912
13 (13)
2009
 13,475
1,074
14 (-)
2020
13,314
6,189
15 (14)
2015
13,020
1,451
16 (15)
2019
12,891
2,041
17 (18)
2018
11,628
1,820
18 (19)
2009
11,468
 1,964
19 (17)
2009
11,400
1,199
20 (-)
2008
11,077
6,027

Stats compiled 31/12/22
 


This year Priapus of Milet – 1 surrendered the No 1 position after a three year run, overtaken both by '2021's article of the year', IFNB – A Fantasy World of Bodybuilder Morphs and by The Milking Factory which was 2022's top article. Both these articles dramatically outscored the rest of the pack. 

I am pleasantly surprised by the enormous, sustained interest in the IFNB article which must be partly due to the disappearance of the original IFNB blog (for reasons only it's author will know). The mitchmen follow-up article, 'IFNB Revisited' also posted a significant rise of 68 places in 2022 to 96. I hope to publish more images from my IFNB collection in 2023.

The Milking Factory is still challenging strongly at No 2 and at the present rate will grab the number 1 spot next year. It is still accompanied by Milking Factories - 3 (6th) and Milking Factories-4 (16th) which continued to consolidate their own scores in 2022. I posted a couple of splendid additions to this series in 2022 - Jakarta's Milking Parlour and Penguin Frontier's Milk Outlet. These may also make their presence known in the year to come.

The other notable development this year is the arrival of  The Art of Amalaric 1 - A Slave To Passion in 14th position having risen 26 places since last time with a hit score which, if repeated, will propel it much further up the table next year, although not enough to worry the top 5 for a while. As lead article in the Amalaric series, it attracts most of the hits, others in the series are still lagging some way behind. 

The other new arrival was A-Z of Fetish Artists - Brick. It's a surprise to me that this talented artist wasn't present in the the top 20 already. His rise of 46 places was partly fuelled by a referral by my friend Metalbond who had the privilege of hosting the release of Brick's wonderful new pictures in 2022. These demonstrate great advances in the artist's technical and erotic skills.
 
Brick is the latest of mitchmen's all-time greats to join this table. The Priapus of Milet article, relegated to No 3 this year, now heads a trio of long established artists who have been ever-present near the top of this table for many years now. The continued interest in  A-Z of Fetish Artists – Mike Carcel (a former winner) and A-Z of Fetish Artists – Cavelo, both of whom are both relatively inactive now (I believe) shows that their technical and erotic qualities continue to attract new fans. The destruction of Yahoo! Groups seems to have taken down the fan clubs for these artists with it, but if anyone knows better please let me know via the comments facility. These two swopped places in their long-running private tussle but there's still barely a sheet of Bronco between them and it's a big gap below them down to 6th place so no-one is likely to catch them soon. 

Their nearest challenger (apart from Amalaric - 1) is the Homoeros Gallery Guide which posted another good count in 2022 and climbed two places to cement it's place in the top 10. Homoeros – 6 (Art of The Cross) achieved a similar feat towards the foot of the table. I think this artist's alluring crucifixion imagery is the basis of his popularity, largely transforming a bdsm genre that has tended to be cautiously academic in the past (for obvious reasons).

Homoeros is one of a tight bunch of six articles chasing the top 5 in 6th to 11th positions. Four of them feature classic and vintage bdsm artists - Jotto, Etienne and Malex who were joined this year by A-Z of Fetish Artists - Franco which unexpectedly posted a particularly strong performance for which I have no explanation although his popularity is entirely deserved. There's another group of veterans further down - Martin of Holland, The Hun, Kalabro, Julius and newcomer Brick of course who displaced another one, Heredia, from the chart. They all turned in substantial scores during the year, a heart-warming tribute to the 'old school'.
 
Last but not least, hanging on to 15th position (much to my delight), was my own 'A Christmas Criminal'. It is by far the most successful of my own works at mitchmen, my next best, 'Last Chance Saloon' languishes at 85. 'Criminal' matched the performance of other mid-table articles, but like them is menaced by newcomers coming up below.

This year we lost from the top 20, A-Z of Fetish Artists - Heredia, 2009 which was only a tokenistic selection of that artist's age-sensitive art and My Initiation, 2012, a uniquely sexy image to bdsm fans which actually increased it's hit rate in the year but was ultimately ousted by the two high-flyers of 2022 - Amalaric and Brick 

The leading outsider threatening the present residents for next year is The Art of BrosFate – 3  at 24 (up 4 places) and Homoeros - 1 Beefcake Boys at 26. These two have a decent chance of scrambling into the top 20 next year.

 ~
 
 The entry level to this all-time top 20 is now 11,077 about 1,700 more on last year. That increase alone exceeded all but the top 4 scores of the 2022 new posts. It's also sobering to reflect that the cumulative total is more than five and a half times the score of the 2022, New Post winner, New 'Slave Academy' Pictures by Brick illustrating the long slog is needed to join this elite. Last year's winner  Come and Get It! rose 149 places to 76 this time but is still only half way to matching that entry bar (which will probably be higher by the time it get's there).  

All of the older articles which still make up the bulk of this table were originally posted when the levels of visitors to mitchmen were much lower than they are now, which makes it all the more remarkable that so many are still holding off the 'new order'. Their on-going scores are probably helped by the mitchmen 'Index of Artists' page which reached 77,515 hits at the end of 2022 (19% up from last time). This growth was less than last year but is really quite remarkable in a year in which overall visits to the blog were a tad down. It would have earned it top spot in this ranking if I counted it as a post.


mitchmen blog was first published in 2008 and ten of the fifteen years since then are now represented in this survey, the missing years between 2008 and 2022 are shown below

Average hit rates

The total cumulative hits method I use for assessing the all-time popularity table above is obviously biased towards older articles which have had longer to accumulate their hits. However, the higher traffic counts in recent years are eroding that advantage more and more, enabling the best of the newer articles to contest the top positions quite quickly. That effect is evident in the table below based on average hits per year since publication, which gives a more balanced view of long-term popularity.
 
In this list I have left out the 2022 posts because they don't even have a full year yet and their initial surge (if you'll pardon that expression) produces ridiculous hit rates that are unlikely to be sustained. They are covered by a table of their own (MPP1). 
 

Table 2
Articles with the Highest Average Hits per year Since Publication
 
Article
Published
Ave Hits per year
Position
(& last year)
'Total Hits' position
2018
9254
1 (1)
1
2017
7477
2 (2)
2
2020

5657
3 (5)
14
Homoeros Gallery Guide
2018
5443
4 (4)
8
Milking Factories - 3
2018
5076
5 (3)
6
2012
3900
6 (7)
3
2021
3722
7 (-)
76
2020
3560
8 (6)
 24
Etienne - Index of articles at mitchmen
2016
3393
9 (8)
9
2019
3256
10 (9)
16
The Art of Roa 1 - The Conquered Hero
2021
3230
11 (-)
128
2020
2945
12 (10)
34
2008
2742
 13 (13)
4
2018
2661
 14 (11)
17
2010
 2643
15 (12)
5
2020

2425
16 (15)
 67
2020
2213
17 (14)
82
2018

2203

18 (17)
26
2019
2034
19 (18)
45
Another Milking Factory No2
2018
2023
20 (-)
28

In this table, the top 2 articles kept their positions but 'The Milking Factory' was one of only three articles that raised it's lifetime hit rate this year. The others declined as would be expected from the natural effect of aging which was reinforced this year by the overall fall in blog visits. The other exceptions were Art of Amalaric-1 which jumped over Homoeros into third position and Cavelo which stubbornly held on to 14th. The Cavelo article has a long tail of low scores on account of it's age and it's current annual hit scores comfortably exceed it's long term average so it's position in this table seems assured for the immediate future.

The 'Milking Factory' collection increased it's presence in the top 20 to 5 articles this year with No 2 in the series entering in 20th position. Nos 3,4 and 5 all lost ground but only slightly. The other big group in the top 20, the 'Art of Amalaric' series, showed a similar pattern with the leading article strengthening it's position and the others suffering small drops, however The Art of Amalaric – 7 Institutional Slavery slipped out of the top 20 altogether.

The highest placed new entry was The Royale Studio archive notice 'Come and Get it!' which came in at No 7. It benefits from the fact that I republish it whenever I add new material to the Royale archive. As a result it's 2022 score was more than in 2021. This article is the only one based on photography in these tables unless you count Amalaric's photo-manips. Two others from last year were knocked out by the new arrivals.  A New Life For Our Air Force Boys (2017) and IFNB is most popular new post of 2018. dropped to 21st and 22nd places.

Another 2021 article, 'Art of Roa No 1' entered the chart at No 11, a good performance that was foreshadowed when it finished second to 'Come and Get It!' in 2021's New Post poll  but it's early days yet for both these articles.

The rest of the table did not change very much but most articles were shuffled downwards by Amalaric's jump and the new arrivals taking up their positions. Two notable exceptions were the 'old-timers' Priapus of Milet who bucked the trend by rising one position to 6th on the back of a slightly improved hit rate in 2022 and Cavelo who held onto his 14th position with a similar strong showing. The other member of the pre-2017 'big three', MCarcel, dropped three places after showing a more significant decline.

 The cut-off point for joining the 'hit rate' table dropped a tiny amount this year, from 2092 to2023 hits per year. Only two articles in the 2022 New Posts table beat that total this year and then only marginally so. They face a major challenge if they are to join this company next year. Although this method tends to benefit popular, newer articles in the short term, their score decays more quickly than the older ones if they don't keep up their initial post-publication surge.

 ~

The articles I post to this blog are very much based on my own interests and fancies but the results of this survey do help me plan future offerings. My readers preferences doesn't always match my own (where are Les, JoeT and Link?). Nevertheless it's gratifying to see such interest in the great artists who often have a fairly low visibility on the web.

Remember, this comparison is only made for entertainment, since I don't really know how accurate Google's stats are, they don't seem to add up to the overall hits at the blog and I suspect they don't count the activity of people who just browse through the blog roll.

Thanks to all of you for your continuing interest and support.
 
This annual set of articles is made up of 3 charts
MPP1 - Most Popular New Post of the Year 
MPP2 - Most Popular Post during the Year (All articles )
MPP3 - Most Popular Post of All Time (i.e. cumulative performance)
that's this article!
 
Charts and reviews for earlier years can be accessed by clicking the 'MPP' label

Thursday 12 January 2023

Platoon 69 by Jero

captured marine tied to bed ready for sexual toys tied by ropes to bed frame in vest and camo pants
Jero - Interrogation 

 Deep in the Jungle, in an abandoned military outpost, Sergeant Baxter was evaluating his position. He had led his platoon into a trap and now the rebels wanted to find out exactly what his mission had been. 

The muscular soldier had little fear of torture, he and his men had been too well trained to succumb to mere pain. But his interrogator seemed to have something quite different in mind. From an old wooden box on the floor, he had produced a collection of strange devices - brightly coloured balls, shiny tubes and plastic rods. His captor was already fondling a strange pink object in his lap. Baxter's superiors had warned him of the enemy's capacity for fiendish tricks and torments and now he realised that was exactly what faced him now. 

He tested the ropes that secured him to the bedframe. His captor clearly knew his stuff, it would take hours to get free. The frame itself gave not an inch when he tested his strength against it and was obviously bolted to the floor. There would be no easy escape for him this time. But even in his hour of danger he thought about his men hoping they would not suffer with him.


Marine captive restrained in wrist ankle irons sitting on floor stripped of uniform wears jockstrap and boots
Jero - Soldier's Difficulty

A short distance away Canelli was doing his own calculations. The farm boy from Nebraska was a strong man and had fought his attackers bravely before succumbing to overwhelming numbers. Now they were taking no chances with him. Curious about his exceptional muscularity, they had stripped his uniform from him, leaving him only the minimal dignity of wearing his military jockstrap and his boots. They circled around him touching his body and joking in their own language. 

For a few moments he remained unrestrained and thought about bolting, but the thought of running through the jungle like that, half-naked and with no protection, was daunting. Before he could decide to take the chance his wrists and ankles had been clamped in the loops of a heavy iron bar that forced him to sit and made any movement virtually impossible. They had amused themselves with him a little longer and then left him sitting on the floor, alone in the small room. Already the confined position was making his joints and muscles ache. The sun had risen now and already the cell was heating up. Sweat was trickling down his body but the day, which might be his last, had scarcely begun.


captured soldier suspended in chains and fetters bare top naked chest camo pants
Jero - Strung Up

Suarez hadn't even realised it was day yet. Suspended by chains in a dark, airless cell he'd been sweating all through the long, humid night. Picked off at the back of the column he'd been hustled away before his comrades knew he'd gone. They'd stripped off his shirt and used his hairy, muscled torso as a punchbag. He'd told them nothing yet, they hadn't even asked, they were just softening him up. An hour ago they'd left his bruised body hanging, stewing in the suffocating air of his prison. 
But they'd be back. He had no doubt of that.


Captured soldier marine stripped to jockstrap and boots clamped spread wide in lab torture machine brain-washing
Jero - Mind Melting

At that very moment private Scott was was learning the true capabilities of their enemy. When the remnants of the captured platoon had shuffled into the dilapidated camp, they'd quickly picked out  blond construction worker from Chicago as a prime example of enemy manhood, the sort of trophy captive who could be used against the politicians who had sent these men here and their public whose support kept them here. 

When they stripped the gentle giant of his clothes they were not at all disappointed, the humiliation and subjugation of such a fine physique would be all the more painful for the enemy on those distant shores. The rebel's own scientists would be delighted with such a fine specimen. He'd proved a good fighter but already he had shown blind obedience to command by stripping off his uniform as soon as they demanded it. Marched naked through the compound to the research lab he'd offered no resistance as they strapped him to the experimental platform. 

Scott faced his fate with calm bravery. He understood his duty was to resist these men as long as he could. When they took his clothes from him he felt as if he'd lost the protection of the Army. He was surrounded by enemies and when they strapped him down he no longer was able to protect himself. 

They'd left him like that to await the scientist whom he had little doubt had ways and means to test him. As though to underline his isolation and vulnerability the square-jawed guard left with him had idly explored his jock pouch while they waited. His fingers had induced pleasurable sensations in Scott that seemed a mockery of his sense of duty and patriotism.

When the scientist eventually arrived he did not bother with such frivolities but quickly switched on his equipment and as the room filled with humming sounds he sandwiched Scott's head between two massive ear pads and went to his control panel. Within seconds the strong man's mind was filled with confusing, nightmare thoughts and sensations that obliterated fear and rational thoughts alike. 

He remembered no more


Soldier marine prisoner stripped of uniform naked wearing jockstrap boots
Jero - Military Captive

Like all his comrades Corporal Hunt had been stripped of his clothes and exposed to the ogling of his captors, their fingers stroking his underpants. They'd been warned to expect that as a technique to break them down and had told him that his hairy, burly physique would be a novelty to them. So he was surprised when they simply clamped heavy manacles on his wrists and just left him like that. 

As the hours went by he could tell that his colleagues were suffering badly. Was his mild treatment just a way of weakening him? They even came and fed him and his guard remarked that the commanding officer wanted him 'well prepared'. This puzzling remark added to Hunt's confusion and he had many hours to ponder it as the day went by and still they made no attempt to coerce or torment him. 

Instead,  as day darkened into night, they returned and washed him from head to foot, making him stand in a small tin bath with soapy water cascading down his body and swilling round his ankles.  He braced himself for the worst, this was all too ritualistic, something was not right. 

Afterwards they led him through the camp and the soldiers sitting around and eating their supper stared strangly, almost as if they knew..... Finally he was taken into a hut that was comfortably furnished. A meal was set on the table and he looked at it hungrily. "Welcome Corporal Hunt" a voice said, "You are every bit as handsome as my men told me". Hunt turned and saw the speaker was clearly an officer. 

"Sir!" Hunt barked, remembering his etiquette and getting a nod in return. 

The Officer invited him to sit at the table, clipping his manacles to the surface so he could eat his food, but do very little else with them. Hunt's stomach stirred uneasily. "We will eat" the Officer said to him "and then you will join me in my bed where I will find out how much your army taught you". Angered by the trickery, Hunt's palms slammed down on the table loudly but the officer just smiled. "Something tells me you will be, shall we say, an interesting subject. Of course, I'm not averse to teaching you myself, if your devotion to bodily enhancement which, if I may say so,  has produced such pleasing results, has caused you to neglect the simpler pleasures of the flesh". 

In the silence that followed, the night sounds of the jungle filtered in through the mosquito net draped over the open window. To Hunt it felt like something was crawling inside his camouflage underwear. The Officer took a bit out of a chicken drumstick and then went on, "If you please me, I will spare you the agony that has befallen your comrades. If you please me and also give me information, I may even spare them too - from from further brutal interrogation at least, but probably not bed duties - not until they are recovered enough to carry them out to my satisfaction, of course."

At that moment, a blood curdling cry came in through the window.

Soldier spread-eagled tied to trees torn ripped vest sweating fisted bare ass naked
Jero - Mercenary Soldier Captured

Outside, beyond the perimeter of the camp Sergeant Baxter's interrogation was reaching a climax of sorts. It wasn't his first one that day, during which he had experienced the full range of toys available to his captors and been taught to give them the results they wanted. In the process, his camo pants had been ripped away and his vest shredded into holes. Now, outside in the humid jungle night his interrogation had properly begun with an experienced and uninhibited hand probing him deeply. To prevent any evasion they had strung him between two trees and a heavy weight had been slung from his aching balls. 

Baxter had spilt much that day, but not yet the beans, not yet the full information his interrogators wanted. But they were not unduly concerned, for them the journey was as important as the destination.

~

Art by Jero, see also Abduction Art by Jero for links
Fictional narrative by Mitchell of mitchmen (clock 'stories' label for more)