So Which Is Better?

Which is preferable?

A - A dog tied to a tree or post in the yard.  He doesn't pull against his leash, but you know that if you just let him run around on his own, he'd be gone down the street in a moment.  He's a great dog, but you can't trust him to control himself and be responsible about his territory.  You wouldn't want him to get into shit by digging through the neighbors trash or, God forbid, hurt himself somehow by running around.  So restrained he stays.  You also need to dole out his food to him in rations and ensure he's drinking enough.  He always eats what he's served, but you are fairly sure that if his meals weren't scheduled, he would either over or under eat.  So you continue to portion his food for him.

B - Different dog.  This one can be off of his leash at all times.  You give him more freedom, he has the ability to act independently, but he makes the conscious choice to obey and stay within the yard - no matter how tempting it is to chase a car, play with the kids, or go after a squirrel.  You feel comfortable letting him outside and allowing him to do whatever he is supposed to be doing unsupervised - trusting that he will take care of himself without going against the rules he has been trained to follow.  You can leave food and water out for him freely, knowing that he will take what he needs neither too often nor not often enough.  This dog can be trusted because of the work you've put in with him.

I don't know if there is really a "right answer" here.  I know which one I would prefer as an owner.  I also know which category I'd probably fall into (although I'm not sure what Master thinks).  But think of A and B as slaves.  Which is "deeper" in slavery?

It's kind of a confusing theoretical question, at least to me.  B seems like a counter intuitive choice because this individual is given MORE freedom.  They are given choices.  They can CHOOSE to obey or not... but they (almost) always choose to obey.  But some would say that having self control - or ANY control - runs perpendicular to the idea of slavery and that a "slave" given control and volition is not really a slave at all.

Alternatively, A needs to be told what to do.  A will (almost) always do what they're told to do, but they still need to be told.   That has the disadvantage of being time consuming and potentially frustrating.  A has no control over his or her self.  For an owner (master, dom, whatever) that likes to micromanage, this could be a better ideal anyway.  But this individual has not learned to obey.  As such, they are not allowed options.

So I'll bring it back to the audience.  Again, I have an opinion.  Maybe my bias showed through in my writing.  But I'm not REALLY sure.  What do you think?  Which is "more" slave-like?  Or is there an answer at all...?

*~zelda...

The Lesser Being

Opening note: I'm doing fine and everything I'm babbling about here has been resolved, but I wanted to get the thoughts out.  This post is probably more disjointed than usual.

I hate Freud.  Let me just toss that out there.  He's full of shit and... I just deleted a bunch of junk here.  Now isn't the time or place.  Suffice it to say that I do not buy into any of Freud's Fraud's bullshit.  That said, Master had a bit of a freudian slip last night.  We were bantering a bit about gender, power dynamics, social schemas, etc. when this little bomb drops out of his mouth:

"Well, as you're in the lesser role- I MEAN SUBMISSIVE..."

Now, some of you are going to laugh at me and chuckle about how un-twue I am.  That's fine.  I never claimed to be twue or perfect or a role model.  I've said repeatedly: submission is not in my nature.

But that little "slip" felt like a slap to the face.  Strangely, he retracted it almost immediately, saying that it wasn't the right word, wasn't what he was trying to convey.  But still... lesser.

It shouldn't bother me, right?  I'm a slave, that's what some (most?) would say we are.  However, it seems to rub Master's philosophies the wrong way for whatever reason.  He claims that he doesn't, and wouldn't want to, think of me as being any less valuable or less of a human being than he is.  He's even said he thinks of me as an equal... but how?  It's lost on me too.  It's true for me too though - regardless of what people say, I do not believe that Master is inherently "better" than I am just because he is an owner and I am property.

There are many things he is better at/with than I am.  Computer science is his expertise, I will never match him there.  He is a patient man, much more than I.  He has great self-control, which I only have in certain contexts.  He is (and likely always will be) stronger and faster than I am.

There are more, of course.  Those are just the ones that strike my fancy at the moment.  However.... he isn't inherently better than I am because of those things.  Nor is he inherently better than I am because he owns me.  I don't think his will is any stronger than mine.  The reason our dynamic works is not that he has more mental strength than I do, but rather that I am more willing to bend.  I see nothing wrong with this.  Can he force me to do something I really don't want to do? Yes.  Because eventually, I'll agree to do it.  I don't see it as a weakness on my part.  I just prefer pleasing him to getting my way.  And really... what better manipulation tool could you ask for?  It came built into me, too.

Frequently, I fail to understand this notion of "Master knows best".  ... I'm sorry.  No.  They probably do not ALWAYS know best.  They are people too, fellow slaves, subs, and bottoms.  You don't take on a slave and suddenly develop the magical ability to never fail and never be wrong.  They do fail sometimes (just like us).  They are wrong sometimes (just like us).

One aspect of submission that really shows one's colors is being able (and willing) to experience their failures and wrongs with them.  To trust them and go where they lead you, regardless of the fact that they may be incorrect.  This is... a unique and difficult aspect of submission.  Recognizing that one's Master is NOT perfect and that they may not be congenitally "better than you" just because of their status as owner - and following with blind faith anyway.  It is easy to trust a god who will "always know best", "always have his slaves best interest at heart", and "never make a false step".  There are people out there who do think this of their masters.  The difficulty is in trusting another human, even knowing that there will be times that they harm you or lead you astray.

(May I take a moment to note that it is very easy to always have someone's best interest at heart and STILL royally fuck up on the occasion?  It happens, man.)

Anyway, I have never believed that my Master possessed any kind of magical power that domination gave him that I lacked.  Perhaps that is because I am a very dominant individual outside of your relationship.  The whole... "less than" thing is so confusing.  He says he thinks of me as an equal, yet I don't have equal say.  I find it difficult to wrap my head around because logically, "slave" and "equal" just... don't add up.  Or maybe they do.  ...But I'll trust him on it.  Because that's what I'm here for and because I believe in him.

My difficulty in accepting and understanding "lesser" (even though it wasn't what he meant to say, he was very kind about indulging me and allowing me to converse about it) lead to another question from him.  I noted my ongoing struggles with slavery and submission and he essentially asked me: how is this hard?


Another slap to the face, I tell you! >.>  You've been doing this for years, he says.  Why is it still difficult?  And then I was faced with the daunting task of explaining to this man, who had never bent to anyone else's whims but his own, why it was hard.  A part of me got a bit nasty about it.  Knowing that surely this man would utterly fail at submission and how dare he have to audacity to ask me "how it is even difficult".  I really would like to see him try it.  We'd see how "simple" it became then.

In a way, we were both right.  But that's why I put up the bits from "Your Woman" last night.  I often feel like I'm not good enough.  It isn't that I am disobedient, because I am not.  It isn't that he pushes me too hard, because he doesn't.  It isn't that... it isn't anything.  It's honestly just something that will probably remain difficult for me to swallow.  I will keep trying.  I'll never fucking give up.  But just... true acceptance of the concept of slavery is......  It's hard.  It just is.

Your life is not your own.  Your choices aren't yours.  I don't want to liken it to becoming "nothing"... but sometimes it seems that way when you wake up in the morning and realize that even if you are allowed a few freedoms here or there, it's all illusory and those little choices that you take for granted can disappear as quickly as a thought passes through His synapses.  And people ask me why I have difficulty... I don't think anyone has an easy time all the time.  If you say you do, I will say right here and now - I think you are a lying.  Some times are easier than others.  Other times, you... I can't explain it.

I'm sure this is all making me sound ridiculous and like a failure.  I should be able to offer him more.  Part of me does celebrate it, and the majority of the time, I'm very happy.  But it is a truly, truly humbling thing to think about.

And I don't think that most people could deal with having their egos taken away like this as if it were as simple as breathing.  Sometimes in the beginning it seems that way.  It really does.  And sometimes, later on, you look up at the pinprick of light above you and realize how far down into the pit you've fallen.

*~zelda...

Long, Hard, and Wonderful

No.  This has very little to do with penises.  The title refers to this weekend.

I had a very hard time on Saturday.  Details aren't important.  But I was put in my place.  It was my fault and frankly, I'm ashamed of how I acted.  By the end of it, I literally had to be forced to lie down and held tightly while I fought, struggled, and cried.

How ladylike.  How becoming.  (The sarcasm ends there.)

I haven't had an episode like that in a long time.  I felt awful.  At the time it was suffocating, painful, and crushing.  I wanted out of that house.  I don't think I've ever really wanted to leave before, but I wanted to leave then.  Not permanently, just... to breathe.  It felt like walls were closing in on me.  A slave's fantasy, right?  Or at least, that's what people would have us think.  But I couldn't leave.  There was no where to go and no way to get there.  I'm never sure if he intends it to be that way or not... but sometimes things like that can start to feel less like a secure, loving embrace and more like a hand locked around your neck.

I didn't want out of the relationship.  I didn't want out of O/p or M/s or anything else.  Truth be told, I don't know what I wanted.  But while I was fighting against his arms around me and weeping in the name of I-don't-even-know, it sunk in that he loved me.  He had to threaten me to get me to calm down... it made me spin out again later, but it worked momentarily.  I don't want to say that what he did was wrong.  He can do whatever he wants.  Honestly, it means very much to me that he is willing to go to any lengths to put me back in my place... even when it hurts.  Even when it feels like being spurned more so than being accepted.

But when the dust settled... it was okay.  I was okay.  I wasn't dead and I wasn't alone.  I still hurt inside a bit, but that was what made it so worthwhile.  I was safe, despite being inside of myself.  I was rather deeply embarrassed.  For those of you who are here perving, yes... there was aftermath sex.  Good, steamy, blissful, sensation-play oriented sex.  But that's not what I'm talking about... for today.  It was amazing, learning that no matter how much I fight, he'll always be there - pushing me back down.  Sometimes it does feel painful and suffocating.  Hell, even he admitted he was tough on me, which almost never happens.  But mostly it's just... comforting.

I don't really know how to explain what went on.  I'm embarrassed and ashamed about it (my behavior).  Really... a lot.  I wish I could be graceful.  I wish I had poise and elegance, even in the face of harm and difficulty.  Sometimes I do... not on Saturday.  I am really, really ashamed.  I don't think I'll ever be lovely or graceful (why does he call me his "lovely" anyway?).  Yet, the sense of peace and.. owned-ness that followed may have made it worthwhile.  Maybe we needed it.

I am on a few restrictions now.  I don't think they're directly a result of what happened, but maybe indirectly.  Everything I put in my mouth now needs to be Master-approved.... indefinitely.  Just another thing to cradle me with, I suppose.... :)

*~zelda...

Yes, I'm alive

This is so infrequently updated that it's ridiculous. It's the thought that counts, right? Not really. You can't read my thoughts, so I suppose it may not count. Then again, I don't think anyone actually reads this so mayhaps it does. In any event, this post will not be well put together since I'm scatter-brained and tired from the ridiculous amount of fucking I endured last night (poor me, right? :P).

In any event, Fet. It's so full of... meh, there aren't words. I don't want to quote anything specific because this has nothing to do with specific people and I don't believe any of this is personal in any way, shape, or form. (Hint: This means if you think "WHOA IS SHE TALKING ABOUT ME???", I'm not. These are all general remarks directed at no individual in particular.) But I just wanted to mumble about it in my own special way.

So, here they are - the Red Flaggers. They flounce about, leaving a trail of red flags behind them (frequently while capitalizing RED FLAG for EMPHASIS because it's such a BIG RED FLAG). People have opinions and people have their own ideas. I respect that. I understand the fact that {some} people want to call everything that doesn't mesh with their own personal philosophy abuse. I don't attempt to change that behavior. I might speak up if I feel they've said something totally out of line, (i.e. ZOMG, ALL SLAVES ARE INSANE AND YOU NEED COUNSELING IF YOU'D CONSENT TO THAT, THERE ARE RED FLAGS EVERYWHERE, AHHHHH) if only to point out to others who are reading that the poster is misguided, but I don't expect the out-of-line one to change their red flag tossing ways.

So why do they all expect ME (us?) to change. There are many who seem to take it as a personal affront if someone doesn't respond with a "Oh you're right, I'm very abused and will now seek counseling and end my fulfilling relationship because you have said it is abusive & contains red flags. Thank you for enlightening me". But the fact is, it isn't fucking personal. Just because I (or someone else) says that in their relationship, X and Y would not fly does not mean that I'm expecting the OP or another poster to alter their life to match mine. It's simply a matter of comparison and explain to the other person that there are other ways of doing things. "This is how things work in my relationship" does not auto-translate into "You're doing it wrong". Maybe they should consider doing something different if it's really making them so unhappy...? Maybe that relationship style isn't right for them.

As an example, Master and I are monogamous. Neither of us would do well in a poly relationship. Do I run around telling everyone who is poly that their relationship is "clearly abusive" and that they are being "used" or "taken advantage of" simply because it's something I can't envision myself doing? No. I don't. I am mostly just glad for them that they have a relationship that works for them and fulfills them. I don't cry abuse and red flags about it. Nor would I run up to someone in engaged in a bedroom-only D/s relationship and tell them that they're inferior to me or that they're WRONG and need counseling to see how a 24/7 relationship would complete their lives.

But WAIT. No. Now we're just sufferers of "twue-ness". Now we're condoning abuse because we're not all hugging each other and crying about how abused we feel. Also, we must be abused and/or insane because we can't see how fucked up our own lives are. Oh and don't forget, we're all heartless cunts too. Har har.

It just gets dull after a while. I don't understand why people who don't even understand how M/s works are so ready to pass judgement on the concept and anyone involved with it. Over the past week, I have seen SO MANY misconceptions about M/s (and/or O/p. I am bad with labels so I often use M/s as a blanket term. If this is confusing/offensive, sorry) being propagated that it was ridiculous. I don't want to list them in order to avoid pointing fingers, but I can say that I did respond to at least one of them personally.

The other thing that makes me laugh? The occasional post that pops up about how "slaves/subs/bottoms really have all the control anyway" because they "set all the limits, can stop the 'scene' at any time, blah blah". Yea. Maybe in YOUR hunky-dory universe, that is the case. It is not really so for me. It is not so for a great many people, on and off of Fet. I actually brought up this concept to Master and he literally just kind of lol-ed in my face. Please keep in mind, I'm glad for this. I like it that way. IT IS WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR. If people DON'T like that, maybe they shouldn't have signed up for it. I know, people make mistakes. So why don't they exercise their super-awesome bottom control power and leave to find something that actually works for them?

I respect and understand the fact that other people don't live like me. I would never look down on someone who does not live 24/7, does not do M/s, or any other type of TPE. People are different. People have different shit that works for them. Really, I'm cool with it. So why is everyone else so ready and willing to condemn the entire concept of M/s and all the people involved in it? It doesn't really bother me to have shit like "you need counseling" thrown in my face, but I just get irritated when I'm extending a courtesy to someone else and it isn't returned. I'm fine with people living differently. Other people might try being fine with that too, but apparently that's too much to ask.

Blah. /end fetlife rant. Apologies for my rambles.

*~zelda...