That done, I’ve got to confess I liked the original picture some better, finding it warmer, more interesting, and, yes, more attractive. The replacement is more seductive, technically speaking, but the one you dislike has a fascinating facial expression: part skeptical, part amused, and just a tiny bit tired-looking (or, perhaps, resigned).

I’ll admit I have something of a fetish for faces, so the bright lighting of the one you hate really works for me; the replacement, though very glamorous, is shot in that low light that seems like it has something to hide, and of course it’s not really a head shot, having, er, distracting visual elements…

Ah, well, de gustibus non disputandem. They are both lovely pics at the end of the day.

Edit: You’re welcome! Even if you did sneak the thanks in before I got the bulk of this comment posted. ;-)

And thank you, Anthony, for noticing my arms. I do spend a lot of time in the gym, and I like having a strong body. Good thing, too – that silver butt plug I was using in the last scene was HEAVY!

One thing that interested me to see was that Mistress Matisse’s arms were in a few of the pictures, and looked very muscular, in a wiry way. Guess that’s one of the benefits of an active lifestyle!

Thanks much to the both of you!

That retro office — old desk, rotary phone, mil-surplus OD metal desk lamp, antique fan on the shelf — is cobbled together I assume from stuff they found in The Armory when they moved in. It’s a great look — at once low-budget and unique. Kinda reminds me of Rachel Ray’s TV kitchen, which is furnished with the same sort of stuff my mother was bringing home from Salvation Army when I was little. Then it was old junky stuff, now it’s charming retro quasi-antiques. To quote my sister: How in the hell did she get Mom’s bowl?