Death is an extremely romanticized concept, no doubt about it. It is often referred to as the "ultimate sacrifice" in reference to a soldier giving his life for his country or the act of a parent protecting their child. It is the one thing we can give and never take back. It is more than our love, more than our power, it is the entirety of who we are - everything we were, and everything we were ever going to be.

For those of us that have been to that place where we actually believed we were going to die, it is a place of revelation and insight. A powerful frame of mind, and significant whether you look at it from a religious standpoint of from a purely biological one.

The fantasy, as others have touched on, I suspect is rooted in the notion of an all encompassing control over another human being in a permanent and irrevocable way. Or perhaps it's simply holding the infinite in your hands for awhile. Anyone that has held a life as it has passed on, whether it was an animal or another human being, I do not think can help but pause and feel the power of life in its emotional and soulful form coupled with its intense physical frailty. It's a heady cocktail when that all comes together in the final few moments.

The experience stirs something, and in some people I guess what it stirs up is synonymous with sexual gratification. I like breath play myself (note to damyanti: I also HATE when people touch my neck or face so it is a significant sign of trust for me), but to me BDSM is not crushing the will of someone else, it is capturing and turning another's power to your will and combining the two for the benefit of both. It's not a single moment of instantaneous gratification, but the drawn out interactions of pleasure over time.

Hence, snuff and Amber? Not my thing and I worry for those that consider it a worthy sacrifice just because their Master wants it. Frankly, it's harder to live for someone than it is to die for them, so unless death is in defense of another's life or an ideal that transcends your single life, then I think it's a little bit of a style without substance issue.

My couple of cents, anyway. Okay, maybe three cents worth...