[Wids]

As some of your characters know from in-character chatter, Tristella has planned to author "Tristella's Tortures," a series of books in which Tristella uses her knowledge, expertise and eloquence to teach others about the various ancient methods of subjecting other people to pain, fear and misery. As she has related several times, the idea of penning the series came when she first visited Sweet Petal's torture chamber, skimmed over its bookshelves and realized, "I can do better."

But the problem here is that I'm stumped over which step to take next. Right now, the books are nothing but blank books with titled covers. So the first step has been taken, but that second step's being a real pickle.

As it is with any book series, the first book is very important for both the author and the readers; it serves to introduce the readers to the series while setting the tone and framework for the entire series. Do a lackluster job with Book 1 and the readers won't come back for Books 2 and beyond. Do a stellar job with Book 1 and Books 2 and beyond will practically write themselves. So considering that each book is, in essence, Tristella and me writing an essay--however short or long--about a certain type of torture technique and all its variations, I'd really like to make that first book count.

But even villains (and their players) can have standards. There are some torture devices in human history that are so invasive and "squicky" that even I won't touch them. So don't expect any books about any exceptionally nasty doodads like the Pear of Anguish or the Judas Cradle. Why not? Just send your kids to another room and hit Google. You'll get the idea.

So, with all that jazz aside, which of these methods and/or devices should be turned into a colorful and informative little book first?

Striking, Caning and Flagellation - Simple but effective, the art of hitting other people where it hurts has been around since the dawn of civilization. Even a common oaf can do it, though a master of rods, paddles and lashes can do vastly more.

Pillories and Cages - Sometimes, the best pain for the job is not physical, but psychological. And the psychological pain which an exposed, helpless and humiliated victim may suffer before a mob of his or her own peers can be terrible indeed.

Presses - From mere weights piled on a victim's chest to thumbscrews, torture boots and iron crowns, these methods and devices involve the slow crushing of either a part of the body or the entire body as a whole.

Spikes - This book covers devices which use spikes and barbs--often many small ones--to inflict pain and, in some cases, disfigurement. From torture chairs to knee splitters to the notorious Iron Maiden, such uses of spikes are myriad.

Burning and Branding - Some people find fire so terrifying that they'll confess to anything at the mere threat of its caress. For those who resist, branding offers a very painful and enduring reminder of one's crimes, while roasting the victim--partly or wholly--can be as swift or as slow as the torturer wishes.

Water Tortures - Typically playing on the victim's reflexive panic to the threat of drowning, water tortures--including the various forms of dripping, dunking and waterboarding--leave no physical marks yet can inflict lasting emotional scars.

Bastinado and Other Foot Tortures - The feet rank high among the body's most sensitive parts, and they offer many options to the torturer who wishes to inflict overwhelming torment while leaving few--if any--telltale marks. That some torture chairs have included stiff brushes for tickling the soles of the feet is testament to how useful this part of the body can be.

Suspension - The body was not designed to hang or bend in certain ways, and these methods prey on such limits. These methods--which may sometimes be combined with other torture techniques--include strappado, squassation, picquet and inverted hanging.

The Rack - The most infamous torture device that ever was, the Rack comes in almost as many forms as its victims. Though almost never fatal, the Rack's use can easily cause great agony, dislocation, permanent crippling and even dismemberment.

(Your suggestions go here.) - Have I overlooked something that you might like to see included in the Tristella's Tortures series? Let me know!

There should be some reasonable considerations with any suggestions, of course. For example, denailing (the method of forcefully separating fingernails or toenails from their nailbeds and even tearing them free) is a simple technique capable of inflicting considerable pain, and a skilled torturer can do it without inflicting permanent damage or telltale marks (after the nails have had time to grow back, anyway). But is there really enough substance to denailing to fill an entire book? In light of that consideration, denailing would probably be a poor choice for a book in the series.

I think that just about wraps it up. Now's your chance to put those poll clickies to good use and help me get over this pesky writer's block. Some of your characters are waiting for Tristella to start rolling out her new series, so this is one surefire way for them to get their copies in a timely manner. They might even be able to go to the front of the line whenever Tristella's first book signing comes around. ;)

So vote for your choice and explain why your choice should go first. I'll be tallying the votes in about a week and going from there, so thanks in advance.

[BigbysBackhand]

Flaying is also a good choice, the art of removing the victims skin as if they were an animal either one digit at a time or a whole body... when done to the fingers or toes its not fatal and can be done up to 20 times with the eventual rotting off of the digit due to exposure...nasty stuff.

[Creldest]

Isolation in a noiseless room is an excellent psychological torture, as your mind is always your own worst enemy, especially when it can't use its senses to make sense of things. Unfortunately, it has the side effect of insanity, so maybe not the absolute best choice for everyone.

[Wids]

Flaying is another possibility, as are isolation, sensory deprivation and sleep deprivation. I'm not sure if any one of those would be enough to substantiate a small essay, but I suppose there could always be a catch-all "Miscellany" book at the end of the series. ;)

Flaying does remind me of how some of these books could overlap in parts. One old way to remove the skin rather painfully (while also adding the convenient side effect of cauterization to slow the victim's bleeding and eventual death) is to use red-hot knives or pincers; would this also fall under the "Burning and Branding" category? And the Foot Tortures include bastinado (whipping, thrashing or clubbing the soles of the feet), roasting (sometimes in the Torture Chair or so-called Spanish Chair) and forcing a barefoot victim to stand on or walk across hot coals or hot iron plates; would these techniques also fall under either "Striking, Caning and Flagellation" or "Burning and Branding" as well?

The voting's coming along nicely, I see. We already have one vote for tried-and-true whipping and beating (easy to set up and elegant in its simplicity), one for the Rack (arguably the king of the medieval torture chamber) and one for the water tortures (which include the dripping torture and the so-called Chinese water torture, which can also couple well with isolation and sensory deprivation; strap the victim down from head to toe in a dark and silent room, hang a big bucket of water with a tiny hole in the bottom over his face and see how long it takes him to go nuts). So there are three people who could stand to enlighten us with the reasoning behind their choices. Lend me your words, peeps. :)

[Misty's Daughter]

I say water torture because water is a rather unique substance that can elicit many different responses from humans. I would love to see more in-depth writing on the topic of its use in torture, as I feel it is something often overlooked when we consider the word 'anguish'.

Besides, there's no panic entirely akin to that experienced when trapped under the water's surface by current and bodies alike at an amusement park. *embarrassed smile*

[Wids]

Let's see...I've had my head held underwater when my chunky little sister sat on my shoulders and expected me to keep her afloat in the pool's deep end. I've been temporarily trapped under a hot tub cover, trying to push it off from beneath. And there was that one time when my innertube WTF-pwned me by flipping on the Meramec with my legs sticking through the hole; I actually sucked in half a lungful of river water that time. Yes, that fear of drowning can be a real bloody terror. "Most peaceful way to die," my butt cleft. o.O

Umberlee should be a Greater Deity just because of how powerful and universal that palpable dread is, dangit.

We keep hearing the stories about water tortures, too. Stories like how some guy in Evilbadistan was waterboarded 20 years ago and he still curls up into a cringing fetal ball everytime it rains. Pretty wicked psychological scars there, huh?

What I'd really like to know is why waterboarding has been around since the Spanish Inquisition (if not before), but we didn't get around to naming it "waterboarding" until the past half-century or so. What were people calling it before that? :-/

[kta]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_by_dr...l_of_water

KTA

[Wids]

Hmm. I don't see anything about waterboarding in that article, but there is a dunking variant or two. Barrels on ropes. I like that dunking idea. I've heard of the dunking chair, but this is the first time I've heard about barrels being used.

And those various trials by ordeal were rather peculiar ways of determining innocence or guilt, weren't they? "Here. Hold this red-hot iron rod. If you don't get any burns on your hand, you're free to go." "Oh, just hang me now, will you?"

Speaking of which, how did the hunt for Uzan go? :)

[Misty's Daughter]

Ohmygoodness! can you fit in torture using insects?

[Wids]

They tortured Uzan with insects? o.O