Very well put, rachel, I see it the same way.
I had no idea there were different perceptions of "topping from the bottom".
Frankly, I am horrified that any sub should consider it out of place to voice feelings/likes/dislikes of any sort with her dom.
Equally crazy in my eyes is the idea that a sub should not speak up if she is afraid of, or terribly uncomfortable, with anything.
I also agree to the statement that doms are not able to read minds (even though some are so good in judging their subīs reactions that they manage to get rather close to a mind-reading effect).
So I will just describe what I see as topping from the bottom, and how I go about it.
I usually do it when I am underplayed. To clarify: My dom does not feel like playing when he is stressed. I am the complete opposite. Far from providing only some superficial sexual gratification, a scene reduces my stress levels and frees my mind of things that bother me. If I am not played with for too long a period of time, I become moody, everything is getting on my nerves, I get extremely short-tempered, and this can go on to a level that makes it hard even for myself to "be in my skin".
Now, as we all know, hard times usually affect a couple equally (at least, if you are together in r/l). It happens that I go unplayed with longer than is comfortable or durable for me. It is in such situations that I try and get my dom play with me.
And here is where rachelīs statement kicks in. My dom and I have been together close to 11 years now. This means he knows me very well, he knows what I like best, he knows what I hate, and he knows what will get the desired effect out of me.
My favourite toy is the single tail. Now if I either tease him or simply say that I am underplayed and feel absolutely horrible, he could simply take my favourite toy and beat the crap out of me.
While I would probably enjoy this for the moment, it would also create a loss of respect on my side, because he allowed me to manipulate him into simply doing what I want at that moment.
Hence, what he does in such situations, is give me something. Something that - if he is stressed - does not take much of an effort for him, but serves the purpose. Sometimes it is something that he likes very much, while I donīt. Much of it goes into the humiliation zone (like a rim job). Some of it is simply plain painful (like dragging me around on my nipples while scolding me for being a nuisance).
While these things might not be what I consider my preferrable actions, they always work out in setting my mind back into a relaxed state, and give me the feeling I am taken care of/being cared about.
It might sound sick, but I have to admit the more un-welcome, painful, and humiliating the action in question feels to me during the scene, the more calm and relaxed I am when it is over.
If, however, I feel that he is in no state to give his heart to a scene, but I need some stress reduction nevertheless, I simply ask for a few hard face slaps, which he does not mind to give, and which do the job perfectly.
As for general talk about likes and dislikes: We usually cover those well in advance of any scene, so they donīt become a problem in the middle of a scene.
It has not happened yet that I was put through an experience that was really too much for me.
If, however, a certain thing happened during a scene that seems overpowering/too hard/too uncomfortable for me, I bring that up during the "after-talk". Though none of those were ever physical/had to do with pain - they usually originate in actions that go into my humiliation zone.
I hope this makes some sense.