Behind the Paddle
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Behind the Paddle
E131: Electric Play – The Spark Between Fear and Pleasure
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Today's episode is all about electric play a form of BDSM that's often misunderstood and surrounded by myths. Some people imagine it's dangerous, others think it's just a gimmick, and many have never even heard of it. So today, we're going to separate fact from fiction. We'll explore why some people enjoy electric sensation, how consent and communication are central to the experience, and why education and risk awareness matter so much. Whether you're simply curious, part of the kink community, or just interested in understanding different forms of human intimacy, this episode is about learning without judgment.
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Hello and welcome back to a behind the paddle podcast with me, Paulson Victoria. Would you willingly let someone electrocute you for pleasure? It's a strange question, isn't it? For most people, electricity is something we're taught to fear from a very young age. We learn not to stick forks into plug sockets, not to touch exposed wires, and to be careful around anything carrying a current. So why would anyone willingly invite electricity into one of the most intimate parts of their life? It sounds dangerous. And it kind of sounds painful. To some people, it even sounds completely insane. Especially to the electricians I've met. But here's the interesting part. Electric play has become one of the fastest growing forms of sensation play within the BDSM community. It's discussed at workshops. I even had an electric play workshop myself where I taught people how to safely use electrics and different types of electric boxes. Sold by specialist retailers and enjoyed by people from all walks of life. So today I want to answer one very simple question. Okay, maybe a few questions. Why? Why do people enjoy it? What does it actually feel like? Is it really as dangerous as people imagine? And why do experienced practitioners spend far more time talking about communication and consent than they do about electricity itself? I'm Paulson Victoria, a professional dominatrix of nine years. I am also a lifestyler, which means that I practice BDSM in everyday life as well. I don't just get paid for it. I have been in the BDSM community for more than ten years. I am a Switch, so that means I can do I am both roles, so I am dominant and submissive, and I'm also a little, a brat, and a pet. So today's episode is all about electric play. We have spoken about the subject before, in fact, it was the first ever episode on this podcast. This episode is a wee little recap because that episode I think was two years ago. Oof, time flies. Now before we begin, I want to make something very clear. This episode is educational. It's designed to help you understand electric play, why people enjoy it, and why safety and communication are so important within the BDSM community. It isn't a step-by-step guide, and if you're curious about electric play, the most important thing you can do is continue learning from reproble educators, communicate openly with your partner and understand the risks involved before considering any activity at all. Because despite what some people believe, with anything BDSM, it's about trust, communication and honesty. And of course you have RAC Risk Aware Consensual Kink. You have Safe, Sane Consensual. Safe, sane, informed, consensual kink. And finally we have prick personal responsibility informed consensual kink. Now all of those are basically the backbone to anything BDSM. They are basically saying we understand the risks, we have the knowledge, we have talked about what could go wrong, what could be the worst scenario, what we know what is going to happen essentially. And that you are both taking responsibility for what is gonna happen or what could happen. So let me share how I first knew about electric play. Now this isn't a great story, but it taught me a lot, especially looking back. Oh my first experience the very first experience I had with electric play wasn't in a carefully planned scene with someone I knew well. It happened in a swingers club. Yeah, a swingers club. These days it is usual to see kink events at swinger clubs. So I was seventeen, eighteen, around that age, no older. A staff member approached me and asked whether I'd like to try an Easter device. I was young, curious, probably a little bit too trusting, and I agreed. At first I thought how bad could it be? I'm also pretty sure I had alcohol, and so I was quite intoxicated as well. Unfortunately, it wasn't the best introduction. The person demonstrating the equipment became a little you could say over enthusiastic to say the least. Experimenting with features and raising the intensity far beyond what I was comfortable with. To put it plainly, the ESTEM pads were placed on my ovaries, and he then did the unthinkable, which you should not do, especially if someone has never tried Easter. The ESTEM that he had, I actually have one of the versions upstairs where you can do voice control. And of course, the louder you are the higher current runs through. And so he yelled into the machine, which was pure agony. But being so young and not wanting to disappoint everyone, including my friends who had brought me to the event, I gritted my teeth and painfully grinned. I'm pretty sure I ended up tapping out at some point, feeling very lightheaded, whispering to my friends, trying not to cry how much it hurt. I remember thinking afterwards, I'm never trying that again. No. I'm never ever doing that p that that thing again, especially with that person. That person that I later saw a few years later, actually, um about ten years later, uh just under at another kink event where they were helping out with one of the events and I actually confronted them and they played off like they didn't know who I was when I actually had um messages from prior year on Fet Life, so they knew exactly who I was and why I didn't want to speak to them, but I think for my own mindset, I really wanted to confront them and that really laid something to rest in me, and I'm very happy I did that. Even though it was met with pure denial, I was very, very happy. So first impressions matter. That experience really shaped my opinion for quite a while. Whenever somebody mentioned electric play, all I could think about was that moment, the discomfort, the shock, the feeling that I hadn't really been listened to. There was no them checking up on me, there was no instincts of learned behaviour of how to look after somebody within kink. They weren't concerned about my breathing, they weren't concerned about my stiffness, they weren't concerned about any of that. And I never got any aftercare or anything, it was more like a party trick for him. So it wasn't nice, it wasn't nice at all. And that wasn't my first introduction to Kink in general, that was just electric play. Fast forward a few years from that young teenager who I once was, I found myself in a relationship with someone who generally generally enjoyed electric play, but this time everything was different. There was no pressure, no showing off, no trying to prove anything. Instead there was a conversation. We talked beforehand, we discussed boundaries, we checked in with each other. They explained what they enjoyed. They personally loved be loved playing with electrics in their private area. Haha Nope, not doing it there again. Let's try on the five first and go from there, I said. I told them my previous experience, and they too were just completely horrified. Honestly anyone I told was horrified too. When you do any form of BDSM, you need to be able to trust that person a hundred percent. If you don't, then do not proceed with the scene. Communication changed everything for me. I often say that consent isn't just saying yes, it's having a conversation. Electric play reinforced that lesson more than almost anything else I've experienced. Every few moments there would be check-ins. Also, having a traffic light system is handy. So my traffic light system is it's probably a little bit different, especially because I do professional work and that's quite different from lifestyle in a number of ways. But with my traffic lights, green is everything is great, loving it, keep going. Amber, it might mean you're getting near your limit or it's a little bit too hard, a little bit too rough, and then red, you do not like it. And if you want to stop, then you say stop. I definitely wouldn't do a scene without some sort of traffic light system. You could also ask questions um being the top or the dominant, the person who is electrifying the other one. How does that feel? Do you want more? Do you want less? Do you want to stop? Very simple questions, but they are quite effective. And those questions don't ruin the mood. If anything, they make me relax and they make the person asking them extra sexy. Care is sexy. So attractive. That's something I wish more people understood about BDSM. The communication isn't separate from the scene. Communication is part of the scene. My biggest lesson, if somebody asked me today what did Electric Play teach you, I'd say it taught me about trust, about vulnerability, about slowing down, about actually listening to another person. And perhaps most importantly, it reminded me not to judge something before I understand it. Because if you'd asked me years ago whether I'd ever enjoy electric play, I would have laughed. Now I understand why so many people find it fascinating. It honestly is one of my favourite kinks, to the point I have three shelves full of electric kinky gadgets. And we're gonna be talking about that further in the podcast, but I'd like to talk about some myths and potentially why electric play gets a bad reputation. So myth one, electric play is just about getting electrocuted. This is probably one of the biggest misconceptions of them all. Now, sometimes for it's different with each person. If you use pads with an Eastern machine, it can just feel like it's just tingling. But you can get other toys you can zap the person. We'll be talking about that a little bit more later. Now, the initial images running through my head when I hear this is the first scene I did where I bought an electric pocket pussy. So yeah, it's not just about getting electrocuted, it's also about the company you have around you, the lighting, the setting, the ideas with what's going to happen next. Oh, so much. But I also love hearing people talk and teach about electricity, the education and the beauty behind it all. I love how artistic electrocuting somebody can be, which sounds quite bizarre, but it it depends how you also set up the electrics. It sounds really pretty, the moans or the screams of somebody being electrocuted, because you have so many different toys as well, because you can have electric strap-ons, you can have electric rope, you can have electric whip whips or canes or pinwheels. You can even electrify yourself. It can be just so much fun dominating a person with electrics and seeing them wriggle round and enjoying themselves as well. And being the sub or the bottom, the person who is being electrocuted, you c you get those chemicals in your head, the dopamine, the serotonin, um the adrenaline, all that. If if you enjoy electrics, absolutely. Fear can turn into excitement very quickly. So myth two people who enjoy electric just like pain. No or at least not necessarily. Pain can certainly be a part of some people's experience, but it isn't a reason everyone enjoys it. Some people love the tingling sensations, others enjoy muscle contractions. Trust me, seeing a man's ass cheeks clap just with the muscle contractions is hilarious. It's great. I personally love teaching, which yeah. I I love that I wrote this out and I'm like going off of the script which I wrote and I'm re I'm getting ahead of myself. Some enjoy the anticipation. Others love the psychological side of surrendering control to someone they trust. I've spoken to people who describe electric play as relaxing. I've spoken to others who describe it as exciting. No, genuinely there was this one I remember at one of my play parties which I used to host, there was this one woman who um I'm still friends with her to this day, but she could be electrocuted by the violet wand, which we're going to talk about more later, for hours on end, and she would just let out this low moan or high yelp, depending on where he touched her, with the electricity. And I found that really, really interesting. That somebody can just carry on for hours. Like it got to the point where we were like, hey, you guys need to wrap it up because other people want to use this room. So yeah, I mean I've met people who laugh throughout an entire scene of electrics. Ooh, ooh, yeah. I've got so many memories with electrics and just kink in general. I really am getting ahead of myself when um it comes to just me writing words on a page and me speaking them. It's terrible. Which reminds me at one of my play parties, there were two guests who wanted to have a competition. Who could take the highest amount of electricity going up level by level? It was so fun seeing two brats being competitive, and I've met people who become incredibly quiet because they're completely absorbed in the experience of being electrocuted. No two people describe it in exactly the same way, and that's one of the reasons I find it so fascinating. Myth free. If it's expensive, it must be safe. Oh boy. Buying specialist equipment doesn't replace understanding it. Collecting kink equipment like it's canned food before the apocalypse is my specialty. Kink equipment is expensive in the market because people know that there is a want for it. It is like goth, alternative clothing, where the price is usually marked higher because there is a want for it. It is a niche in a way where there is only so many people who want a certain thing. And one thing I noticed very quickly when speaking with experienced members of the community was how often they recommended buying from reputable manufacturers and specialist retailers rather than treating electric play equipment like a bargain gadget. That advice came up repeatedly throughout the original discussion um back a few years ago when the first episode of Behind the Puddle came out. Just please do not buy toys from Timu or any dodgy sites like that. I mean, even Amazon. I once went to a meetup where play was happening and they were gloating. People who the there was people who were performing electric play, but they were gloating about getting things from Timu, and that to me just screams unsafe. Especially because they were dragging a pinwheel and other electrifiable objects across a head of a person. I I'm yeah, that's no confidence in the information that comes with it and confidence that the people behind the product understand the responsibility involved. Electricity is one Area where most people agree that cutting corners simply is not worth it. You need to have confidence in the equipment. Myth 4. The higher the setting, the better the experience. Now this one couldn't be further from the truth. One of the biggest lessons I've learned is that BDSM isn't about proving yourself. It's not a competition. There are no medals for using the highest setting. Well, depending on your dynamic. In fact, some of the most memorable scenes I've experienced have been the quietest, the slowest, the gentlest. Because the focus wasn't on intensity, it was a connection. Plus, I love to toy with my toys. Go at the pace you feel comfortable with. From the inside, it's often one of the most carefully negotiated experiences people have. Okay, let's talk about different bodies and how they can each feel electricity differently. Your body is unique. One of the things I find most interesting about electric play is how personal it is. Two people can experience the exact same device in completely different ways. Some people barely notice a setting that somebody else finds overwhelming. Body hair can change the experience too. Hydration can change the experience. Different parts of the body feel completely different. Even your stress levels, tiredness, or how relaxed you can influence how a sensation is perceived. That's why comparing yourself to someone else rarely makes sense. It's not a competition. You just gotta explore. One person's perfect experience might be another person's absolute nightmare. And that's perfectly okay. Okay, so I like to go deeper into why experiences can vary so much. When your skin is completely dry, it acts as a relatively strong natural insulator, offering high resistance to electrical current. However, sweat dramatically lowers this resistance, allowing electricity to flow through your body, making it easier to be shocked. Body hair. Hair creates a physical barrier that lifts the electrode away from the skin, drastically increasing electrical resistance and causing uneven current distribution. When an electrode cannot make full, flat contact with the skin, the electrical current is forced to travel through the few tiny patches that do not touch or through the hair follicle themselves. This causes a few significant issues, hot spots. So, for example, if you are wanking somebody off and they have an electric pad on the penis, make sure that that pad is still flat because if that comes up at any point they're going to get shocked, and it is not going to be nice, and it's going to pull that person absolutely out of it. Um, and it's the same with if you're using an electric strap on and you pull the toy all the way out, and the toy's still on, the electricity is still trying to make contact with the skin. So the electricity is gonna jump and it's gonna do the same thing, it's gonna give a sharp sensation of stinging, biting, it's gonna be fucking horrible. So it's very important if you ever pull out uh a toy from an intimate area, make sure that toy is turned off first completely. You do not want it to jump, it's gonna hurt. So reduced effectiveness. You may find yourself turning up the device's intensity because the hair is blocking the signal, only to get a painful zap when it finally breaks through. So again, electricity's jumping, it it's gonna hurt you. Well, the person who you're electrocute in. So hair traps the air and oils, which ruins the gel pads quickly and makes them peel off permanently. I'll be honest, like it's it really is a pain when I play with somebody who does have hair in um the areas where I do want to put the pads because it's it's gonna be impossible for it to proper stick down and not hurt them and permanently stay there until you know I I want to remove the pads. What you could do is use conductive gel. You can just buy bog standard Amazon electric um tens machine pad gel. That works. You can absolutely do that. It doesn't have to be some expensive electric BDSM conductive gel. Applying a small amount of um the gel can help bridge the gap between the skin and the pad. But again, do you want to risk the dump of electricity? It really depends. Different body areas have different sensitivity. The human body's sensory landscape is highly non-uniform, which is a critical safety and experimental factor when engaging in electric play. Because nerve density, skin thickness, and moisture levels vary wildly across different anatomical zones. A current setting that feels like a gentle, pleasant tickle on your arm can feel like a piercing intensity, painful shock on more sensitive tissue. So here's a breakdown of how nerve density impacts electric play across different areas of the body along with vital safety boundaries. So high density zones, extreme sensitivity. Usually are the genitals, private areas, nipples and fingertips. These areas have the highest concentration of specialized sensory nerve endings and thinner skin barrier layers. The impact of that is that electric currents are felt intensely and instantly. You must always start with the absolute lowest setting when moving a pad or a toy, whatever you're using, um, around these regions. Unless you want to be really mean, but that depends on the dynamic. So medium density zones. So you've got like the inner thighs are really good, the lower abdomen, the lower back. These areas have moderate nerve density. They are excellent for broader pulsating sensations or building up intensity before targeting primary um zones. Lower density zones, so you've got like the upper arms, the outer thigh, the well the outer thighs, and the upper back. The skin is much thicker and nerve endings are spaced further apart. These areas require higher current settings to achieve the same perceived intensity as sensitive zones. But again, everybody is different, so do not take what I'm saying as gospel. It really depends, and we're gonna go further into that soon. So the vital like no-go zones, like do not do this. Because electric current flows the path of least resistance between two points, the electrodes, placement is everything. Certain nerve pathways and anatomical structures must never have a current pass through them, regardless of how mild it feels. So across the neck, you know, where the heart is, never place pads in a way that causes the current to travel through your heart. So, say one pad on the front of the chest and one on the back, or one on each breast. This can disrupt the heart's natural electrical rhythm. And of course, if you have any history of irregular heartbeats, this can be very, very dangerous. The neck. Avoid the front and sides of the neck. Stimulating these nerves can cause a sudden and dangerous drop in blood pressure and heart rate. Avoid placing one pad on a foot and another on a hand, as a current will um traverse the entire length of the body, uh crossing vital organs. So above the neck, do not apply currents to the head, temples, or brain. I feel like it's I feel like it's quite simple why the hell you would not want any currents on the head or the temples or the brain. So they're the no-go areas. Let's go back into people's nervous systems differ. So, as we know, electric play interacts directly with this complex nervous system wiring, meaning what feels like a gentle tickle to one person can feel intensely painful or distressing to another. Because the brain because the brain constructs their sensation of pain and pleasure differently based on individual nerve density, emotional state, and central sensalization, customized communication and careful boundaries are absolutely mandatory. So your brain can actually interrupt the signal. Sensation isn't just electricity reaching the nerves, the brain has to interpret those nerve signals. Attention, anticipation, previous experiences, and expectations can all change how intense something seems. Stress and anxiety can amplify sensation. When someone is tense or apprehensive, their nervous system may be more alert to potentially unpleasant sensations. Conversely, feeling comfortable and relaxed can change how the same stimulus is perceived. Fatigue and general physical state matter. Sensory thresholds aren't perfectly consistent throughout the day. Sleep, fatigue, temperature, sweating and other temporary psychological changes. Physiological changes can contribute to an experience being different on different occasions. And on another note, when a receptive unchanging stimulus is constantly present, your nervous system stops registering it as a priority, allowing it to fade into the background. However, the moment the pattern breaks or changes, your brain treats it as new information, instantly drawing your attention back to it. So that takes me to numbness or a fading sensation can happen, but it's important not to interpret it as meaning the body can safely tolerate more electric play. One explanation is sensory adaption. If sensory nerves receive a relatively constant repetitive stimulus, the nervous system can gradually give that information less attention. Something that felt very noticeable initially made therefore seem weaker after a while even though the electrical output hasn't changed. This is similar in principle to becoming less conscious of a persistent smell, background noise, or feeling of clothing against your skin. For me, I'm covered in tattoos. I've got over 24 tattoos and my whole back is done. Um after about what, two hours? Maybe even less than that, my body regulates in a way, I want to say, where I get the numbness or just the feeling of oh, this isn't that bad. Because it's been going on for so long. So that that's what it feels like for me that like I can relate being electrocuted and that going on for so long and going numb to how it feels for me getting a tattoo after a good while because it's just constant the pain and my body has um understood that is adapted. There can also be temporary changes in nerve responsiveness, repeated electrical um stimulation can alter how readily sensory nerve fibers respond. So the subjective sensation may diminish. At the same time, skin conditions can change, so sweating, movement of the electrodes slash contact points, pressure and temperature can alter electrical resistance and where current is concentrated. But you have to remember if you think I can't feel it as strongly anymore, that doesn't necessarily mean less current is affecting the tissue. So this is also why turning the intensity up simply because someone has become accustomed to the current level can be risky. Perception isn't a reliable meter of, you know, electrical exposure. Someone can feel less while the underlying electrical um stimulus hasn't decreased and increasing it can, you know, get the feeling back can unintentionally produce substantially greater stimulation. But in my time doing this, I've also known electric play can be highly dangerous or life-threatening for individuals with specific medical conditions because electricity directly alters the body's natural nerves, cardiovascular and muscular systems, and several diagnoses serve as absolute or strict um just no-nos, really. And if you do do it, please be very, very careful. I personally would not practice or play with anybody who has any of these. So you've got some cardiovascular conditions where the heart relies on its own um delicate electoral conduction system. External you know currents can disrupt this rhythm or interfere with medical hardware leading to cardiac arrest. So, say if somebody has a pacemaker or implantable cardiovicular uh defibrillators, which are called ICDs, um, uncontrolled high blood pressure as well. The sudden electrical stimulation can cause rapid spikes in blood pressure and heart rate. Um I do remember doing electric play on somebody at a electric play workshop, and I think they themselves really wanted to try it, but I think I can't remember exactly the condition they had, but they realized they would um be really fatigued afterwards, I think it was. And just relax afterwards. Um we have deep vein uh thrombosis DVT um or plebitis, I'm sure I've said that wrong. Passing current passing current through or near areas with blood clots can dislodge a thrombus, potentially causing a fatal pulmonary embolism or stroke. So also if somebody has epilepsy or seizure disorders, um if somebody has a peripheral neuropathy or impaired sensations, so diagnoses that cause numbness, like advanced diabetes, um I I that does prevent a person from accurately feeling if the current is too high. So that's you know that's very dangerous. And you know, you can have the risk of severe tissue burns and nerve damage without you know even realizing it. Um obviously if you're pregnant, don't do it. Just in general. Um, if you have open wounds, eczema, or severe dermatitis, um you should never put um electrodes, um overbroken skin or inflamed skin. Yeah, I remember doing electrically with someone who told me they had a I believe it was a chronic condition that affected how their body responded to things. I can't remember the exact diagnosis, but I remember them explaining that their skin or sensation was different and that certain activities could leave them incredibly tired afterwards. There are chronic conditions that can affect things like skin uh fragility, sensation pain, fatigue, or how somebody responds to physical stress and sometimes the effects aren't necessarily obvious while you're playing. Someone might feel okay in the moment but find that an activity takes much more out of them afterwards. It also connects to what I was saying about numbness and getting used to sensation. If somebody stops feeling a setting as strongly that isn't automatically an invitation to turn it up as we've discussed, the nervous system may simply be adapting to the repeated sensation and somebody with altered sensation might have an even harder time using how strong does this feel as a reliable guide. So this is where communication and knowing your own body becomes really important. If somebody tells you my skin is fragile, I have reduced sensation, I fatigue very easily or simply my condition means we need to be more cautious listen to them BDSM is all about listening, communication you've got to trust that person and you've got to be able to communicate and talk. Very very important. So fear can be excitement psychologists have known for years that fear and excitement create remarkably similar psychological responses. This is something we are actually going to talk in a future episode about fear play. That episode will be coming to you in October for the lovely scary Halloween episodes. Your heart rate increases your breathing changes adrenaline is released your senses become sharper. That's why some people love roller coasters it's why horror films exist it's why people jump out of airplanes for fun. The body doesn't always distinguish between fear and excitement as clearly as we think it does. Within consensual BDSM scenes that feeling of uncertainty becomes incredibly exciting because it's happening in an environment built on trust. You're choosing to experience something unusual with someone who you believe has good intentions with you. You're choosing to step out of your comfort zone and importantly you know that you can stop that really can change everything. Consent transforms what otherwise could be frightening into something that many people experience as exciting, intimate and deeply connecting I'm sure you're thinking okay I understand a little bit better why people enjoy electric play but what are these machines actually doing? Well that's a really good question because when people hear the words like flux, to be or violet wand, it might sound like they're talking about something from a science fiction film. In reality they're simply different tools designed to create different experiences. Just like you wouldn't compare a paddle to a flogger or at least I hope you wouldn't you can't really compare these machines directly which is why I have three different electric machines. Each has its own personality each creates different sensations and each has developed a loyal following within the BDSM community. So let's start with the machine many people first hear about this machine is the machine that one of my previous partners had who I spoke about in this current episode about my new experience my next experience with electrics he had just um an Eastern machine so one that you would get from um Amazon or Boots um or just one like the doctors electro stimulation is usually used with a TENS machine quite a normal non-BDSM TENS machine and you'll see those at hospitals and like if you've ever had physiotherapy or if you've used a TENS machine for like muscle pain or period cramps. A small E stimulation is a small machine that works by sending carefully controlled electrical pulses between two contact pads. Those contact points are usually adhesive electric pads although there are specialized accessories designed explicitly for adult use which we'll go into more later. The electric pulses stimulate nerves and muscles creating sensations that can range from barely noticeable to extremely intense but usually when it comes to a shop bought like just from a normal retailer like Boots or a pharmacy um over the counterplace um usually it doesn't hurt that much compared to a BDSM one I think. I mean that's my opinion so you just have the normal vanilla tens machine which you can use at the doctor's or use for period pain um you know the one you can buy in boots or just at a pharmacy usually then you have the one which I have the rest of these I do have I just wanted to mention um just a normal TENS machine. They are usually the cheapest option you can usually get them for like 20 quid off of Amazon or something like that. So I would definitely say if you're wanting to try Electrics go buy a TENS machine because it is going to be the cheapest option and if you don't like it then you don't like it and it's only been 20 quid so we're now gonna talk about the Electric Flux. The Flux is probably one of the most recognizable portable Eastern units available today. It's compact cheaper than the others on my list aside from the Tens machine it's also rechargeable I think it's a USB C or maybe a little bit smaller than that but it's great and it's easy to transport and because of that it's become increasingly popular with people who enjoy scenes that aren't confined to one place. One thing that really makes the flux stand out is how interactive it can be. Unlike some machines that simply repeat the same the same stimulation pattern over and over again the flux can respond to external audio and that's just one of the many features it has so for example that means music can influence the sensations from uh from being created think about that for a moment your favorite song suddenly becomes part of a scene a slow piano piece creates one experience an upbeat dance track creates another and just imagine how it would be listening to like Screamo music and rock and roll while you're electrocuting somebody that's that sounds fun you can really just play about with predicament play as well so that if the subject makes a noise then they electrocute themselves it's not really up to you. It's their fault another reason the flux has become so popular is that it's relatively straightforward to navigate compared with some larger systems. Its controls are simple enough that people can spend more time focusing on the experience itself rather than scrolling through endless menus. The Electrostim flux goes for about £250 something around that it may be more depending on where you shop but usually about 250 that is for that specific one of the Electrostim flux and it does feature 99 levels of adjustable uh intensity what I love about it is that it's dual independent channels that support up to two bipolar or four unipolar accessories which is really really cool so you can have like four things on the go or two things on it it's really really cool. Um usually I'd have two pads and then a main toy so it offers six primary modes so wave pulse flick tilt microphone and line in so you can actually plug in like music and things like that um with over 40 total pattern variations it's really really really cool I love it it's just totally my baby so then we have the East M Systems 2B this was I think it was the device that the guy had with my first horrible experience but it was like much fucking bigger so the East M Systems 2B is designed for people who want an enormous amount of control over the experience. Within the BDSM community the 2B has developed something of a honestly kind of legendary reputation not because it's necessarily the strongest machine but because it's incredibly flexible as well. Instead of offering only a handful of sensations it allows people to explore a wide range of pulse patterns and adjustments that means the experience can be tailored much more precisely to the individual so we have the dual isolated cables so two completely independent output channels with separate intensity controls allowing safe use of multiple bipolar electrodes it's got 17 adjustable program options including pulse continuous split modes tickle and wave functions so true stereo audio processing via a 3 point MM stereo lining and adjustable sensitivity internal microphone to sync stimulation to music or sound um the display's pretty cool as well because it's it's a nice um black lit um blue like screen and this one you would run it from like the actual cable um rather than it being portable like the Electrostin flux so it would have to be plugged in which makes it much more powerful than the flux in general and what's really great about it is um mine broke uh not that long ago and there is a lifetime manufacturer guarantee on it and I got mine back within like a month it was amazing um yeah it was really really good I was really surprised and happy the fact that they were open to um checking it out and fixing it. And that was second hand as well so it was really really nice of them. Um now we come to the final one in my lovely toy box violet wands oh we have one of the most in iconic pieces of BDSM equipment the violet wand even if you've never seen one in person you've probably seen something very similar in films or heard of it historically so it's got it uses glass electrodes rather than pads so usually has purple light but you can get ones old Victorian ones which have red lights um a distinctive crackling sound it almost looks like something for a Victorian scientist would have kept in the laboratory Wait actually early twentieth century electrotherapy medical devices called violet rays were based on Nikola Tesla's high frequency coil technology marketed in the nineteen twenties through the nineteen forties as patent medicine cure alls for everything from boldness to rheumatism. They were later adopted by the Fetch community around 1995 for erotic sensation play huh the more you know now you can get the proper Victorian old one um of a violet wand I have one but they can be tricky to repair there are specialist repair people in the UK you've just gotta find them but they might be pricey which is why I haven't got my Victorian one fixed but I do have a BDSM one uh BDSM branded one which it it works okay every now and again I do need to tweak it inside because it becomes a bit loose but it's not like dangerous loose or anything like that. It's not gonna electrocute me. So the first thing most people notice isn't actually the sensation. It's usually the purple light are one reason why violet ones are so visibly striking during demonstrations. They're very theatrical they create suspense and sometimes that anticipation becomes the most amazing exciting sensation itself as I said about fear and adrenaline and fun the violet wand it's so so fun because you can tease somebody with it you can get different glass attachments which also create different um feelings some spread sensation across a large area others feel much more focused some are designed simply to glide across the skin while others create a completely different visual effect. With mine I have a conductor pad where if I hold it or my subject then electricity flows through the holder if they touch another person or metal then they will receive a shock too it's so much fun and with a conductor pad you can explore so much more more than just pads. One thing that surprised me when I started learning about electric flay was just how many different accessories actually existed. Now many people might just imagine two sticky pads connected to wires and yes those adhesive electrodes are probably the most recognizable option but they're they're far from the only ones. There are accessories designed to change how the sensations are delivered and different contact points can create noticeably different experiences like we've spoken about. That's one of the reasons people often spend years exploring electric play not because they're chasing strongest strongest stimulation but because they're curious about different sensations. It's very similar to impact play owning one paddle doesn't mean you've experienced everything owning one electric device certainly doesn't either. As I've said you can get um electric dildos you can get electric strap-ons you can get electric uh plugs and probes you can get electric uh cock and ball rings you can get electric um wristcuffs uh what else ooh I have electric sounding devices as well they go down the urethra um you can get electric floggers rope canes I've got I just don't have electric rope I need to get electric rope naturally electric pinwheels uh electric pocket pussies I have one of those when you're playing with like a paddle or a cane you do need like long exposure to it because I've noticed when you hit somebody with the electric cane or paddle they don't really feel it unless it stays on their skin for like a good second or so um you can also get a this thing called um it's got a few names so like one like a prick stick or an electric wand which is a stabby device basically um my one which I have was made by kink.com if anybody knows what kink.com is or the upper floor you just like yes so great but yeah I very very much um like the stick the proddy stick um that that's just so fun especially if you include like fair play and you've got so many different types and forms of different play which you can do with all these electrics it honestly is so endless the amount of fun which you can have so somebody who I'd definitely check out would be Joanne's reviews they do they're just so amazing with their electric reviews they have like a whole blog and they even have an Easter shop and they're currently building an Easter university oh my god they have so many guides and information about electrics they are absolutely amazing definitely go check them out they are on FetLife um yeah Joanne's reviews I I'm pretty sure we mentioned them in the first electric episode as well they're really really really cool so I think that's it for this podcast episode thank you so much for listening to me today whether you're part of the VDSM community or completely new to Kink or simply curious about about why people enjoy things that might seem unusual from the outside I hope today that today's topic has given you a different perspective and maybe you'd like to try it. If you've enjoyed this episode I'd really appreciate it if you followed behind the paddle. Leave a review wherever you listen and share it with somebody who enjoys f thinking about BDSM talking about it wants to explore or all the other many many topics which we talk about. If there is a topic you'd like for me to explore in a future episode I'd love to hear from you. You can find Behind the paddle on Instagram I'm not that social on the Behind the Puddle Instagram but through there you'll be able to find my like personal one which you're more than welcome to add um Fetlife as well behind the paddle podcast and yeah until next time bye