But I can say that there is effectively a difference between horizontal and vertical for my breasts ; in vertical, my arms , by their positions, are pulling my breasts to the back and the breasts'weight to the down !
So, it results a kind of opposed tractions which procure to me , indeed a suffering, but also a great pleasure ; perhaps it's due to my great sensisivity , I cant exactely explain ...
very interesting description, Messa. I hadn't considered crucifixion as applying different forces to the breasts, and the feelings that those opposed forces may bring. I would love to hear more.
I think you strike at the heart of the experience, though, a suffering but also a great pleasure.
I have always imagined that the victim lying horizontally on the cross itself before being raised up, or on the rough filthy earth with their arms pulled along the patibulum would arc their bodies up with the agony of nails being driven through their flesh & bone. This particularly if being nailed to the whole cross by their feet when the arms were already fixed. It's of course likely if just the wrists were being nailed that the knees would be drawn up into a foetal position unless held down by the execution gang. The hips arcing up high would be a great sight for the watching crowd, all this accompanied by an incontinent loss of control. All very messy!
So, horizontal crux as a prelude to the real, vertical experience. I think there is a lot of power in the image of the horizontal body, being prepared for crucifixion, the helpless resignation, or possibly defiance and struggle, all played out on the ground while the limbs are fixed to the wood. Would the body arch in agony? For some yes, for others no, I suspect. We are all different we are not equal in our flexibility or our reaction to pain. I wonder . . . .