I saw this article on the Independent that talked about Porn and Video Game Addiction – and how it’s leading to a masculinity crisis. No, really. That’s the premise of the article.
This is all sorts of wrong. But first, the basics.
Super secret identity and communities
As Snake and I were lying in bed this morning, he made a comment about his PA still healing a little and I laughed and said he didn’t really have anyone here to talk to about it unfortunately. Then he laughed and said he really couldn’t talk to people he knows about a lot of things in our lives. And so my brain went on…
Like all of us, we have a normal muggle life. It takes up most of our days and nights. We have a business, we have friends, we have kids, we have Snake’s father and stepmother, etc., etc., etc. Amazingly, excluding the usual jokes and innuendos, we don’t discuss sex with them.
FLR in Daily Life
It can be tough to sustain any number of these lifestyle changes that we collectively write about in the “kink” world. I look around and it’s impossible not to see the blog carnage from those who start, then get swept up in life.
I think one of the things that we turn to some of these “activities” for (certainly chastity and FLR) is to reclaim our life a bit. We can all get so stuck in life that we run out of time. It seems that one of the first things to be sacrificed is our love life, our partner. We are in this together, so let’s stay busy on life to get through it… – but this can lead to giving up time and attention that relationships need.
By the end of the month I might have a new zombie plan…
I hate to run. I’ve never been one of those people who got a runner’s high. In fact, I was the 4.0 gpa student in high school that almost blew it with a P.E. grade because of running.
It isn’t that I’m not active. I wear a pedometer every day and get my 10,000 steps in. We do swing and country western dancing at least three days a week for two to three hours. If you think it’s easy, try doing swing for an hour or two solid. It’s serious cardio.
Continue reading “By the end of the month I might have a new zombie plan…”
It Was Vibrating (and not what you may think)
Friday was a mind-fuck of the first degree. Let me rewind a bit…
At bath-time, I drew her bath, did the usual bath bomb, kindle, drink, etc. Nothing unusual really. It was later at night, but it was Friday so…
As she was settling in, my instructions were pretty clear. “Cage on, fully clean.” We haven’t come up with a euphemism yet for for “um, yeah. Butt stuff. Make it so.” Perhaps we’ll start with that.
Continue reading “It Was Vibrating (and not what you may think)”
Do you ever wonder? Are we alone? (Random Thoughts)
Not in a space alien way (although that finger on E.T. is suspicious), but in a kink-way.
Do you ever find yourself people-watching and wonder “hey, I wonder if they do fun kinky stuff?”
I find myself wondering this a lot more than I probably should. For us, we’ve had inklings about being a bit more on the fringes all along, but never embraced and really explored “this whole thing.*” So I look around and see these people who seem vanilla and sigh. Honestly, there are times when I’d love to stand up on a table and just yell,
“Wake up people! There is so much to experience and do and so much you can bring into your sensual life!”
Continue reading “Do you ever wonder? Are we alone? (Random Thoughts)”
Pushing his (subby) buttons
I thought I’d give my side of Snake’s post yesterday about learning what pushes his subby buttons. He mentioned his morning inspection, which is really more teasing than inspection, and the fantasy stories that he writes for me. I think last weekend was really what put him in his mental space this past week.
Submissive Buttons
I am continuing to learn about what pushes my buttons in this new(er to us) lifestyle. I wrote before about the “subbie” energy and how, I believe, you pull it from the things that happen, and the relationship, rather than have it necessarily instilled in you by your Domme. I do think it’s comes from a whole range of things and I’m finding that it’s also a combination of things that really pushes things over the top. Do I love it when I’m pushed by Charmer to do things that I wouldn’t be otherwise doing? You bet. No question.
But I also love it when there are a bunch of little things that constantly keep pecking at the relationship.
An “off” week at the Snake household…
We’ve just had an out-of-sorts week this week. It started off with a misstep, which caused a misunderstanding, which moved on to a full-scale argument. We rarely argue. We bicker. A lot. We regularly call each other rude names in public and freak other people out who don’t know that this is our silliness. We annoy each other like every married couple, but usually nothing really sticks.
Snake has a really slow fuse. I am explosive but then it’s over in 30 seconds. Our daughter is just like me and he is always amazed when we go from screaming at each other to giggling in no time flat. It’s just who we are. And our differences usually keep things calm because he just rolls his eyes at my rants and all is good. I’m his sounding board so he rarely gets too angry. When we start having hurt feelings and miscommunication, all bets are off.
Our Version of Dominance and Submission
There has been a lot of blogging lately about how subs can be made to feel submissive. Several people have talked about more discipline, several have talked about more verbal commands and Snake made his feelings known last week.
There are so many posts on what makes a Domme. If you do x, you aren’t really a Domme. If you don’t do x, you aren’t really a Domme. It’s the fantasy version of the woman in black leather holding handcuffs and a whip. It’s not reality. Sure, there is probably leather, handcuffs and whips in many of our arsenals. But I think those are tools, not the actual domination.
Submission, and Demanding More From Your Dominant Partner
There have been a few different posts by other bloggers lately talking about their desire to re-acquire that submissive feelings and attitude they crave. The blogs are extremely popular and are amazing resources. I have HUGE respect for these blogs and mean no ill-intent at all in this post. This is just my take and my thoughts on the topic.
I read these posts with great interest. I have to admit, I also read them and reacted one way initially, another way after having thought about it some more, and then have settled into a pretty surprising realization in yet another direction since. Talk about food for thought.
It’s has even lead to several discussions between Charmer and myself about this.
On the face of it, it seems like they’re demanding how they want their Dominant to act toward them. In my opinion, they’re essentially topping from the bottom on how they want the Dominant to act.
The general gist of the posts was talking about how their Domme (the lead posters are both male subs) needs to step up her declarations of power over them. They were saying that those displays of power (telling them what to do, being more clear on their dominance, etc.) were what they needed from the relationship so they could feel that submissive feeling.
For me, this is the wrong approach to getting this feeling of being the /s/ in the relationship. I have found that when I look for the guidance, for things like “orders” or more stringent interactions, while they’re there, it’s not where I draw my submissive energy from in the relationship.
I try really hard to draw my energy from her feelings, not her actions. If I’m doing everything I can to help out, to give her what she needs, etc, she’ll be in a great place. If I respond to requests quickly, always open doors, do all of those things (chivalry, helping, doing my part, taking things off her plate of stuff to be done), she’ll be happy with the help, happy with the situation. THAT drives my subbie buttons.
It’s not really her standing over me demanding things. It’s a feeling of knowing what I can do to help her. To do things for her. A perfect example is baths. I draw her bath, get her a drink, her kindle, make sure she has bath bombs, towels, etc. She gets time to read and I get time to get the bedroom ready for bed time. I draw a lot of /s/ energy from that, knowing that I just know how to help her.
I don’t think it’s the responsibility of the dominant partner to find things to demand. To find things to force their dominance on you about. I think it’s their place to indicate what they need, to deal with it if it’s not done (or done to their liking), and to make decisions, choose direction, etc. Those are FLR and D/s things that are clearly in their wheelhouse. But I don’t think they have to constantly be looking for ways to flex their muscles just to generate /s/ feelings for the submissive partner. I think that’s unrealistic.
Again, this is just my experience, but it’s important to draw energy from their feelings, not their actions. How do they feel? How do they like how you’re doing things, how things are set up? You can draw incredible energy from that and I think that’s a much better place to get the energy.
I saw a post a while ago where one person was coaching another just getting rolling with D/s dynamics. The important take-away was one quote that “it’s not about you.” (paraphrased) – it’s not about the submissive partner, me. It IS about the dominant partner, in my case, her. I have to keep that in mind, and keep that as my goal. Then, when I succeed at that goal, I get the reward of the wonderful submissive warm and fuzzies.
Update on the PA – 3 weeks in
The Prince Albert saga is heading toward normalcy now, but thought I’d pass along an update on my learnings. When I was considering this, it seems like you see a few different types of posts:
- I really, really, really want to get a PA, but I’m terrified of getting my junk pierced. Does it hurt?
- Typically in response to the one above, “No, go for it. It’s great!”
- Posts about the terror of getting it done. Often, these are linked to videos were you would think the entire lower body of the individual was being lopped off at once and re-attached during the piercing process. Not a good representation of the process, and alarmist, to say the least.
- Posts about the day after – “It was a bloodbath” was my favorite in this genre.
- Not much thereafter really.
So I wanted to try give some more information. When first pierced, I was given a 10g 7/8″ ring. Freakishly larger than I expected. As I mentioned, it was explained that this was just a starter. You can bet your sweet…. piercing it is. It’s large enough, actually, to cause issues, at least for me. The torque on the ring twisted it all around and caused more irritation than the basic piercing process. But, It wasn’t my call. Besides, let’s be real. When I was getting the piercing done, he could have told me he was going to thread a small, rusted, bent fishhook through and I wouldn’t have objected. I was too terrified. All for naught, but it’s the truth.
Quick side note, just to cover my back side. Never pierce your penis with a small, rusted, bent fishhook. It won’t end well. Oh, and while we’re at it, don’t put lead solder through your piercing to “keep it open” or stretch it. Yes, I’ve seen posts about this, believe it or not. These things are bad for you. Very bad idea. See a piercer, get medical implant grade metals, make sure it’s sterilized, etc.
Quick status. We’re now approaching 4 weeks in. Be sure to read the other posts about the PA experience, it’s been an interesting ride at times, but generally very straightforward. I’d agree with the second bullet above, “go for it.” It’s really cool and you’ll like it. A lot.
At about 2 1/2 weeks in, I finally decided I’d had enough with the big ring. But the piercer used a tool-required captured ball ring. This means you need to go back to the piercer to get it changed out (a good idea) or have the tools (in my mind, a better idea, so you can deal later) to do it yourself. There are a number of places that sell the funky tools – basically reverse pliers – you can even find them on Amazon (not an affiliate link/nor endorsement). They make removing the ball possible and even easy.
Original ring out, I had purchased an 8g and 6g ring (Titanium) from an online retailer and put in the 8g ring. Went in without a hitch and even had the presence of mind to buy one that didn’t require tools to put the ball back in (snap-in captured ball ring is what they call it). I also changed the ring size, down from 7/8 to 5/8. Seems like the most common sizes are 5/8 and 3/4. The right size depends on a) you, and b) the type of jewelry you’re putting in.
If you’re putting in a ring, you can be pretty close to the distance between your piercing and the urethra opening. I don’t have a curved barbell yet, but my understanding from reading and such is that you should likely go one size up (so 5/8 to 3/4 for example) for the distance between the end-cap balls. This is because the barbell “settles in” to your urethra differently than the ring does. It needs a bit more room. Feel free to add a comment if you have more experience with this, and I’ll update too as I try different things.
The other variable I’ve seen is the sizing on the end-cap balls. Don’t go small. You don’t have to put beach balls on there, but you don’t want tiny balls either. <Giggle. SSC> Yes, I realize how you’re probably reading this, but bear with me. If they’re too small, they can slip into the urethra and that’s “unpleasant.”
I’m now sitting in a 8g, itching to go to 6g when the stars align. The 8g is SO much more comfortable. The correctly sized ring is as well. It was an amazing difference with it in. At this point, from all I can tell, things are healed fully and just settling in. To me, the difference is *any* kind of pain or discomfort suggests healing – and that’s gone. It used to be uncomfortable with pressure on the ring, or moving it, etc. Not bad, just … odd. Now, it’s no longer the case at all. I call that healed. The settling in comes from now trying to get accustomed to a new chastity device (my next project) and letting my body tell me when it’s cool to go to the next gauge size.
The new Steelheart is incredibly well made, and I’m looking forward to the PA attachment it has. In the little experimenting I’ve done thus-far, it’s very comfortable and, yes, looks great too. I know, “patience young grasshopper.”
I’m so good at being patient waiting. I mean, it’s not like I have to constantly remind myself that I really don’t want to push this, that it needs to move along at its own pace. Oh yeah, I do have to keep remembering that. A good friend (DualDrew) let me know that I needed to wait about 6 weeks before really judging. Seems about right. But the payoff is that it looks really cool, feels great and soon, perhaps, Charmer will let me experience the other fun side of things… But that’s a different post.
Feel free to ask question, post ideas, post your own experiences. Of course everyone is different. But I keep hearing my piercer in my head:
It’s a really simple piercing. If all guys knew how simple it was, and how great it made sex afterward, I can guarantee you *everyone* would have one.
That’s pretty cool. Still waiting for my “welcome to the PA club membership card” though.
Not that anyone is asking me…
Most of you read our blog for our chastity and piercings escapades. Fair warning, this is just pure rant… 🙂
I am rather opinionated. 🙂 Usually only my family and close friends get to (are forced to?) listen to my rants. Believe me, there are plenty of them. The news gives me constant fodder for giving my opinions. The Internet is another great source. I don’t usually share most of these opinions online because I hate the “me too” posts.
Our business is web-based so Snake and I spend a lot of time online. We have had many years of experiencing the Internet in all of its good and bad parts. In general, I think it has opened up pieces of the world to people and made it a better place. I also think that it has given people the impression that they should opine on other people’s lives when it doesn’t affect them.
When I was in high school eons ago, I had a good friend who was bisexual. It didn’t matter to me. He was my friend. He was so confused by the mixed messages that he got that he was constantly flipping from being gay to being straight. He told me he had to pick one. When I asked him why he told me that it wasn’t right to be attracted to both sexes. At 17 I was the first person in his life who told him that it was ok.
I’ve been arguing for equal rights and gay marriage for over 30 years. Yes, you can do the math. 🙂 I could never understand why it was even an argument.
Snake and I are heterosexual and in a monogamous relationship. This is who we are. We are the “normal” couple. “Aren’t they cute? You two look like you are still so in love.” We are very much in love but I think most of our Muggle friends would drop their teeth if they ever looked in our toy box or realized that Snake wears a collar under his shirt daily. And, of course, is usually locked away.
I’ve given you some history to let you know that this isn’t a “revelation.” I was raised that unless you were paying someone’s bills, you didn’t get much say in how they lived. My marriage is strong. Opening up the gates to other people getting married won’t affect mine. But it affects so many other people and the attitudes affect even more.
Our daughter started questioning her sexuality at 12. Not a surprise to either one of us. She was president of the LGBT chapter at her high school. She has never hidden who she is. She has had relationships with men and women. She hates the label “bisexual” and refers to herself as queer. I don’t label her as anything besides my wonderful and sometimes infuriating daughter. She truly is an amazing person. She is accepting of other people and their beliefs. And yet, she has had so many ignorant and mean comments thrown her way.
Apparently, according to the masses, she just wants more people to screw (she’s actually been told this). She wants a monopoly on potential dates. She can’t be trusted because she will have sex with anyone. If someone asks her out, she has to be attracted to him/her because she is attracted to everyone. Women don’t want to date her because she’s been near a dick. Men have told her that she just hasn’t met the right man. She’s too pretty for…I could go on for pages. And most of these people don’t even know her or have any reason to care.
There have been a lot of nasty comments as responses to a number of blogs lately. I’m not going to be specific. The bottom line is that it isn’t right to push your beliefs on other people. The comments are on sex blogs. The people making the comments know what blog they are on. If you are offended by it, don’t read it. No one is forcing you to read them. But, before you decide to rip into someone, maybe think about the fact that these are human beings with feelings and have a right to live their own lives as they see fit. They aren’t being deceitful, they aren’t being promiscuous and they aren’t forcing you to join in.
They are also someone’s son or daughter. And maybe, one day, it will be you having to console your child when people are cruel because of the way they were born.
The female perspective on life and PAs
I know Snake is frustrated about the healing time of his PA. It has been three weeks today and he is mentally raring to go. He wore the Steelheart for a couple of days after it arrived because, after all, it is new and shiny. He also isn’t completely healed, has a larger than necessary ring and ended up with a small cut that needs to heal. So, he is free for the last couple of days and being very impatient. He has decided that it needs to be done so his body just needs to get with the program. I can’t blame him. I’m the person who feels personally offended by my body if it succumbs to a cold.
While part of his frustration is lack of teasing that he is used to, I think a bigger part is that he wants to let me have whatever I want. We might have gone through a dry period before we started all of our FLR and D/s activities, but now that is over. Thankfully.
We have a private blog that we write to each other daily and there is an orgasm log on it. He started the count on January 27th of this year and so far he has amassed 8. Those are real ones and don’t include the 5 ruined ones. Using those numbers, Snake averages about one every week and a half. He did have one two weeks ago so he isn’t completely chaste, but it has been a while. Enough of a while that when I decided to play this morning during his inspection, he was more than ready. However, due to a punishment, he owes me a few more orgasms before he can come.
We’ve had a really busy and tiring couple of weeks and given the choice between sleeping and playing, well, sleep won. Snake was starting to get worried that things were sliding back. It really had nothing to do with not being horny. So, he was quite happy when I told him yesterday that we didn’t have plans and that I was ready for some attention. A nice bubble bath and then time to up my count on the orgasm log. And even if Snake is still healing there, he still upped my count by 19. Not too shabby. My count is 185 since the end of January so I guess my average is about 18 per week. I still think we need to work on that, Snake. 🙂
So, while he is frustrated and feeling like things will never be back to normal, my job is to give him some outlet for his frustration and remind him that this is a journey. Life will occasionally get in the way, the PA will take some time to heal but we are still moving forward and having a lot of fun.
The New Phonebooks Are Here!
It’s like that Steve Martin movie, “the new phonebooks are here, the new phonebooks are here!”
Except in my case, it’s “the new chastity cage is here, the new chastity cage is here!”
The new Steelheart arrives from Steelworxx and it’s really an amazing piece of, well, almost art. It’s very sleek, the quality and fit/finish are excellent.
This is my third device. I’ve used the CB6000s, the Mature Metal Queen’s Keep, and now this Steelheart. I went to the Steelheart because of the new PA piercing, and their support of it with the “PA Fixing” piece.
I wore the CB6000s for about 90 days before it split… twice. Just thinking about getting caught up in a splitting cage was enough to give someone nightmares. I could just see waking up and looking down and, well, you get the idea. Enough of that.
The Queen’s Keep is another excellent piece. It’s exactly the same as the Jail Bird in my estimation, with the only difference being the added band at the base of the tube for the Queen’s Keep. You can see them here if you’re interested. Really great devices and I wore the Queen’s keep for almost exactly a year, 24x7x365 except for times when it just didn’t work (travel, play time, etc.). It worked out really well in all respects. My only issue was one of pulling to one side (my left) based on how you normally “dress.” It tended to pull at the skin around the base ring a bit if I didn’t get it just right. Certainly not an issue with the device. In fact, I think it came largely from my “settling in” to wearing a device full time.
I mention all of this as background. The Steelheart (SH) only arrived a day or two ago and I’ve been wearing it up until last night. (wow, long-term chastity, I know, I know.) Frustratingly, last night the PA fought back and I ended up removing the SH to allow for more healing time, which I apparently need for the PA. I am pretty certain the *incredibly massive and oversized starter ring* they gave me on the PA was to blame.
So, I’m wild and free again for a few days, then we’ll go back at it. My initial thoughts on the SH are:
- Holy cow, this is comfortable to wear!
- Um, well, er, bathroom runs are “different” now – with only one small hole in the end of the tube, liquid necessarily exiting the tube can get backed up, which is an odd thing. If you’re in a more relaxed (more flaccid) state than normal, it can REALLY back up and get things pretty wet. I don’t think I necessarily go more than others do in terms of volume, so it may be a technique thing I have to learn. We’ll see. I know you’ll be riveted to know that I’ll keep you posted.
- I LOVE an integrated lock.
- I miss the “click” of the padlock though. That was always fun.
- It’s weird to look down and see… chrome. Not a cage, but chrome. Cool.
I’m looking forward to more time in and more information about longer-term fit and wearing. All I need are my tools to get this starter ring out and swapped and I’ll be good to go I think. Let me know if you have any additional feedback on the device, tips, PA thoughts, etc.
Why Do I Analyze So Much?
One of the things Charmer and I do to help in the communications area is to journal to each other every weekday. We have a private blog that we write posts on to each other. Mine are due by noon and hers include feedback and responses to mine, plus her own thoughts. It’s been an excellent tool, in a private, passworded forum.
One thing is abundantly clear. I overthink. And then I overthink some more. If you read my posts, you’d see that I’m constantly in a place where I’m asking things like
- Why does FLR feel “right?”
- Why does the chastity device cause goodsubbie feelings?
- …and why does that feel “right?”
- Why do I want to do X, Y or Z?
- Is liking the /s/ mentality a weakness? Strength? Is it OK?
- Why would someone do that?
- Why does this feel “right”
- What is causing such a strong draw to understand this thing or that thing?
- EGAD!
It’s constant. From my feelings about D/s to how the FLR works to play time, I’m the one constantly trying to figure out the WHY or the feelings behind it. So much so that I’ve taken to exclaiming “(GAH!)” every time I write “the way I feel about this is…” It’s actually getting kind of comical. Charmer is left to remind me over and over “Does it matter why? Just let it be and go with it!” Not that she doesn’t care, not at all, just that I need to learn that some things just… are.
For example, if you’ve seen the Submissive Guy comics, I love ’em. They show how the character loves the dynamic of the relationship. It’s the whole point of the comics, really. Leave it to me to constantly question “but WHY does it (being the /s/ in this whole thing) feel right?” Of course I usually follow up with “Is that normal?” Then, for some reason I have to sit and analyze and think through and come up with my thoughts on why this-or-that may be happening.
Charmer? Not a chance. “Oh, I like when we try this or make these changes or add this to the FLR or that cage or…”
I see this on some other blogs too – one person is constantly in analysis mode, the other is just “eh, whatever.”
I think this may be one of the biggest impediments to FLR for people. We spend so much time fighting a tendency that we may have toward incorporating a female led relationship that we don’t give ourselves the chance to just let it be. I don’t know if it’s society that puts that pressure on, or our own thoughts and feelings (GAH!) or what it is, but it’s a pretty big leap, at least for me, to take.
In the last 16 or so months, I’ve worked quite hard to settle into the new dynamic. Every time I just go with it, it rolls along almost magically. It’s peaceful, it’s “right.” Then, when I realize it’s happening, I have to sit back and try to figure out why it would make such a difference in my mind and in our relationship. I can’t just let it be. I have yet to figure out the why. But that’s OK.
I love taking care of Charmer, making sure she has what she needs and letting her manage the house, our lives and such. She’s amazing at the juggling act it requires on the homefront. From family to our own hobbies to us. I feel like it’s my job to facilitate that and make that as doable as possible. When we’re both firing on all cylinders, there’s nothing quite like it.
And lately, as this all settles into place quite nicely, this happens much more often than not. That’s a pretty amazing place to be.
Now if I can just figure out why it took so long to figure out we needed this change. Any why we like it so much. And why it works so well…
Player Substitution
Snake has been completely overwhelmed by work this week. His Muggle life is very busy on a regular basis since we own our own business, but this week has included an event that just pushed everything even more. Adding to our usual dance classes, stuff around the house and his father trying to make him feel guilty and he just hasn’t had time to post. So I thought I’d give everyone a quick update.
His PA is healing so well that he is making me jealous. When I got my belly button pierced, it got infected and it was six months before I was supposed to change the jewelry. In my daily inspection of the PA, I can see that it is really already healed. Excluding a couple of times that the ring got turned sideways, he hasn’t had any discomfort in over a week. And today is the two week mark.
His Steelheart has shipped and should be here very soon. We figured out that he has been in some sort of chastity device since December 2013 with just a few breaks for trips. He’s really noticing the “off” feeling of being free while he’s been healing and is definitely looking forward to getting locked up again. I told him that he had to strip when he was home and no one else was around to try to get some of the subby feelings back. It has helped but it just isn’t the same. But, even when he is locked up again, I decided the clothes-free zone will continue. It gives me more opportunities to play…
Watching his dad work his way through getting older, we have decided that we will never get old. We might get older, but we will continue to try new things and be adventurous. We know that his stepmom quilts a lot and loves to bake. We have no idea what his dad does all day. Other than nap. And apparently wait for Snake to come for lunch once a week. Snake cancelled on them, for one of the first times ever, due to work. Snake could just feel the waves of disappointment from them.
They are snowbirds and we are their winter home. After Snake’s mom died, his dad married someone he had known since high school. She had stayed there and he had a house here. They decided to split their time in the different climates. During the “summer” half, they have friends who are all retired. They can go to each other’s houses and eat pie and chat every night. We have jobs and other commitments. It makes them feel ignored because sitting in a circle and eating pie while talking constantly is not our thing and not possible with life and responsibilities we have.
We also won’t go to church with them. His father never went until he remarried but now has decided that his greatest failure was not instilling this in his children. Snake is one of the most moral people I have ever met. We’re just not religious. Church has become their thing. I respect that. He just doesn’t respect that it isn’t ours. Our daughter went to visit them about a year and a half ago. They took her to their church where the entire sermon was about how young people need to go to church and be part of that community. She was the only person under 50 in the place. It certainly wasn’t directed at her. 🙂
I often wonder how Snake came from his family. He is more liberal than when we first met but his parents were prudes. I came from the family where just about anything was ok as long as you paid your own way and didn’t hurt anyone. Snake’s mother redacted the book “Airport” before he could read it because “the sex scenes didn’t add anything to the plot.” My mother let me read anything and just told me to ask questions if I didn’t understand something. Snake’s dad gave him a talk about STDs and told him to “keep it zipped.” My mom took me to get on the pill. It’s a wonder I didn’t fry Snake’s brain more than I did when we started dating.
You can just imagine the reactions that our daughter has gotten from his family at large to her piercings, tattoos and sexual “phase” (she’s bi, must be a “phase” according to them). You would think we had raised the next Hannibal at the beginning. 🙂 I think there is hope for them, though. They have started spending time with her alone and I think they have realized that she is really epic. I just don’t think Snake will be sharing news of his PA anytime soon.
I guess all of that is really to say that I have an amazing husband. He takes care of his parents, he takes care of his children, he takes care of me and he takes care of his employees. We are best friends, business partners and kinky lovers. The more we push, the more we want to do. And we’ll leave the getting old and naps to other people.
For the Win
Just to put it out there–I am competitive. I can hear Snake snorting while he reads this because if there is an overly competitive person in this relationship, it is me.
I’ve never been sporty so I’ve always had to find other outlets. School was easy. I became Valedictorian to win. If Snake and I have ridiculous arguments, they are usually having to do with winning. In college, the game Othello almost ended our relationship several times because I could never win that stupid game. Even now, my family tries to ply me with alcohol for a chance to win You Don’t Know Jack.
Snake and I took up dancing as an empty nest social activity. We wanted to learn to dance so we could go out and feel comfortable. No, we don’t want to compete. Yeah, right. Less than four months in I had started plotting competitions and shows. And, of course, it isn’t just one dance. It is six different ones and a group piece. I never do things slowly.
The point of all of this is the sexual side of things. I am constantly competing with myself. I edged him x number of times last week so I want more this week. If I can ruin one orgasm, can I ruin three? (Yes, I can.) It’s always more, better, faster, longer with me.
Not that Snake is without his own competitiveness. If I have fewer orgasms in one session, he always wants to know if he did something wrong or could do something better. And he pushes his limits with me as well.
Before he decided to get his PA, Snake did enough research to become an expert on everything except how he himself would react. It was planned for the end of the week so he wouldn’t have problems at work and a Steelheart was ordered so it would arrive about the end of his healing period. Everyone said it would be about four weeks to heal. So, of course, he had to do better than that. 🙂
As he has written, he had very little pain or bleeding. It also wasn’t tender at all. So, on Friday, I thought I’d play a little. He tried to distract me, but that never works when I’m on a mission. To his surprise and my glee, it not only didn’t hurt but felt really good. Good enough that he got his orgasm about three weeks earlier than he thought he would.
Not that he should get his hopes up that anything has really changed for his chastity. But, Friday night, I won.
Well, I didn’t die.
I suppose there’s that.
Just an update on the healing process for the PA – I have been liking waking up with the lovely morning wood, but have had a couple of rather odd experiences. One related directly to that, the other, well, you’ll see.
On the healing front, things have been… sensitive. It’s almost like a very bruised type of feeling, but I attribute it not to the piercing process itself, but the ring torquing things around. I mentioned that the ring is larger than I expected, and I suspect it sits funny during the normal course of the day. In this time getting used to that, it can make things pretty sensitive (like a deep itch or bruise) and at times a bit like pinching.
I don’t have any worries about something being wrong; truly just think things are healing (no redness, no infection, no other issues). But it’s annoying at times.
The other night though… wow. I woke up to the sensation of my penis being wrenched around. It was the first night that I’d messed up and ended up sleeping on my stomach. I woke up to this pain that was pretty sharp. Of course, you don’t think very clearly when you’re asleep, so my mind immediately went to “OMIGOD, I’m going to have that bifurcated penis thing the piercer was joking around about! I’m going to die from this piercing!”
As I came awake, I grabbed my crotch, exclaiming and panicking. Of course Charmer was consoling me too – and wondering what had just happened. It hurt. Pretty badly!
I grabbed hold of things, headed to the bathroom to see the damage. I had clearly caught the ring on something or torn something, so needed to see what I had to do now.
When I got to the bathroom and looked…
Nothing.
Not one damn thing.
Not even a red spot.
WTF? I was in serious pain here. Then, as my brain fog started to lift, I realized that it actually didn’t hurt much any more. I must have just put pressure on it wrong. My brain registered it as “the world is ending!” and proceeded to wake me (and Charmer) up out of our slumber.
I couldn’t believe it. I was embarrassed, aggravated and wide awake, as was Charmer. Sigh.
Things are good, the healing is coming right along. Of course Charmer is taking every opportunity to point out that “Gee, it’s too bad you’re healing, we’ll just have to hold off on your play time, but that doesn’t mean *I* can’t play!”
Right you are, Charmer. Right you are.
Walk with Pride, Man, Walk with Pride!
There’s an old joke that goes something like this…
A player, new to the game of baseball is having the ins and outs explained to him while watching a game.
As batters come up, they swing, miss, some hit of course. But a bit later, the batter is up.
Pitch… ball.
Pitch… ball.
Pitch… ball
As the last pitch is ready to go, the person helping the newbie explains “If this last one is a ball too, the batter gets to go to first. He’ll get walked.” The newbie looks at the person helping them, thinks for a minute, then goes back to watching.
Pitch… ball.
With that, the person explain says “He gets to walk, he’s got four balls!”
The newbie stands up and start cheering madly. He yells to the runner… “Walk with PRIDE my man, WALK WITH PRIDE!”
Now, I won’t claim to have four balls. But I will say that the new PA has a tendency to introduce new swagger. It’s a great feeling that I went through with something that was more than a little scary, but is awesome.
The latest update is that things are fine. No bleeding, no … nothing. Just getting used to having a ring there and trying to imagine what things will be like going forward… in a good way. But that’s for another post.
PA – Prince Albert Piercing Experience – Day 2 and 3
One thing that I have not seen mentioned anywhere at all, and that surprised me when I had this done a couple days ago, was the initial jewelry size. The 10g ring wasn’t unusual, but the circumference of the ring was surprising. It’s big. Very big.
In talking with a few other people that had it done, they experienced the same thing (whether they had a ring or a barbell). The initial jewelry is oversized so you can determine what works for your own anatomy.
So, don’t be surprised if the ring is a 7/8″ diameter or something close to that. It looks abnormally large. The thinking behind this is that you need to find out how your body reacts to the ring and piercing and find out how much your stuff changes when you get an erection. This all comes in to determine the final sizing of the ring or barbell.
Day 2
As a general status update, Day 2 had some bleeding, but nothing big deal. I used a maxi-pad… one. it stopped bleeding later in the day. The blood wasn’t a big deal at all, but would have been a pain without the pad. I have a new-found respect for the periods that ladies have to put up with. I mean, those pads work great, but getting them in and positioned … just not something I’ve ever had to deal with.
A little pinchy-type sore (see above for the big ring stuff, that I think is a big cause of this). But nothing at all that was a big deal. I would describe it as an itch-level annoyance. I can see some very, very slight puffiness, but I can certainly understand that given the piercing that was done less than 24 hours prior.
Day 3
No bleeding at all. Puffiness has gone down, but not gone. It’s a bit more annoying today with the bigger ring. I may go back to the piercer early in the week to try to get the ring swapped out. I’d like to go down perhaps to a 1/2″ or so. I don’t know the options and I don’t know their suggestions/recommendations or issues swapping it out so quickly. We’ll see what they suggest.
I’ve had no stinging when peeing – something you see people talk about quite a bit. I’m not sure why I haven’t had it, but it just hasn’t been there at all. I’m feeling really good about how it’s healing and settling in.
Also getting over the shock that I went through with it finally and have it! So cool.
PA – Prince Albert Piercing – Day Of
Today was the day. I went to get my Prince Albert (PA) piercing and boy was it different from what I expected!
First, I was really freaked out about going into a shop, dropping my pants and getting poked. I mean, who does that?!?
The shop we (Charmer came with me) went to was selected after a lot (believe me, obsessive that I am) of research and reading reviews, talking with people, etc. It was spotless. I was worried that I wouldn’t follow through, so I made a specific appointment with them. I figured it would be harder to break. 🙂
We showed up and the shop is immaculate. The people are very, very nice and knowledgable, they answered any question I had straight-up without flinching. Let’s face it, they’ve probably heard all of the possible questions 100 times before. But they were really cool about it and took the ring we agreed to back to the autoclave and to get the room ready.
The piercer has been doing this for a looooooong time, and was completely aware of what was going through my head. He explained how it would all start and just that it would be fine. Good gawd, you’d think I was having a major life-threatening surgery or something with the questions in my head. I mean, with what you see online –
– make sure they sterilize with an autoclave (they do/did)
– ask about aftercare (I did, but they had already covered it)
– ask about experience (they offered it in advance)
– look for how clean the room is – it was immaculate
– look at their tools and needles – are they wrapped and sealed? Yup.
I had all of these checks running around in my head from horror stories you read and hear about. I was feeling pretty good that I knew what to expect.
Then it happened.
“Drop your shorts to your knees and have a seat…”
Alrighty then! I guess we’re really going to do this. Now, I’m not one to just drop my shorts willy-nilly. Let alone in a store. But there I am, piercer and assistant, Charmer and me, just hangin’ out.
I sat back in the chair and then it was lowered back to laying down. I was concentrating hard… on closing my damn eyes! Then he wanted to show me what he was going to do. “This is the receiver tube…” Great. Move along now. I don’t need to see the needle and other goodies. Thank you.
He put in the receiving tube. It wasn’t a big deal at all. It was a little pressure, a little “zing” and it was in place. No problem. He was teaching his assistant too, so a little dialog about “see, you can see where it is here, and line it up exactly with the mark we made…” went on. No problem. Then he tugged on the receiving tube just a small bit. That was it. It was over. He told me it was done, that he was putting in the ring.
I felt the ring slide in and adjust, then he was done. No searing pain. No pain at all really. Just shock. I honestly had no idea he had even done it.
The ring is in, a couple of drops of blood so far and doesn’t even sting to pee. Amazing.
Afterward we got a great discussion about what to expect, what changes there will likely be, when we can play around again, etc. We also talked about sizing, about what to keep an eye out for. Super simple. No sweat.
We left and got lunch – to talk about it and watch me be stupid giddy with relief, adrenaline and excitement that I did it. I went through with it and I couldn’t be more excited.
Some questions:
Can you get a PA if you’re a grower?
Yep. I can vouch for that.
What if you “turtle” when you go in there? Won’t they laugh?
It’s OK. What would YOU do if someone came at you with a needle. Of course you may turtle. They even told me ahead of time. It’s not a big deal.
What if I get an erection?
It’s OK. They can mark things easily and wait for you to calm down.
Does it hurt?
Seriously…. no. In my case, there was a small stinging sensation as the receiving tube went in. A bit of pressure when he pierced. A small sting when he put in the jewelry. I got snagged by my cat a day or so ago – it hurt more than this did.
Doesn’t it bleed like a mother?
Not in my case. One thing he did that I thought was really smart, he pierced at a size smaller than the jewelry, then stretched up around the jewelry. It made it seal better to the jewelry and kept the bleeding from happening. I’ve had a couple spots, but…
What does it feel like?
Too soon to tell, but so far, it’s not a bad feeling at all! I’ll keep you posted.
Does it burn to pee?
Not so far, not at all. I understand this is unusual to NOT have the stinging for a day or three.
Why would you do this at your age (50ish)?
‘Cuz it rocks. And because it’s something I wanted to do, simple. SO glad I did.
I’ll keep you posted on healing and other goodies.
Weird, The Cage Is…
I think the influence of the cage is strange.
I’ve not had it on for a few days because of travel and circumstance. To say that it’s… different, is putting it mildly. I’m sure it’s psychological. I mean, how can NOT having a stainless steel cage on me make a difference in my mindset, if it’s not that?
I find that, now that I’ve had it on for the last year or so, I do miss it. I’ve read about others experiencing this. It’s not a lack of sub-mindset, but it is different. I know Thumper has talked about it over the years many times. I never really understood how it could be, but it most certainly is. There’s a difference in me, and Charmer sees it too.
But it’s stronger than that. It’s like the O-control has softer corners and edges. It’s still very much there, but it’s a “because I will it” not a “because she’s controlling it actively.” Weird.
I find myself thinking through many aspects of this whole thing – the differences in life, the mental state (heh, always question my mental state), the “why” of it all. Charmer is always amazed that I spend so much time wondering why it all works. She’s much more of a “hey, it works, that’s great!” I’m more of a “yeah, but why? It makes no sense!”
What’s odd is in talking with different people on Twitter and reading other blogs, there is often one of the people in the mix that thinks things through – and in male-sub relationships, it seems to predominantly be the male. It’s strange to think (see, analyzing again) that “it’s a guy thing” – I mean, what would that be about? Just not sure. I think there is much to learn.
But, then again, that’s what makes all of this so amazing!
Surprising Conversations
This week I’ll be getting a PA done (Prince Albert piercing) and am really looking forward to it. OK, so I’m not looking forward to the act of getting it done, but I’m looking forward to having it… But I had to laugh at a conversation with Charmer this morning –
Me, to her: “When you head to the store this week can you pick me up a box of maxi-pads?”
Now THERE is a conversation I never anticipated having. I’ve seen in many places that the pads work wonders to absorb as you heal from the piercing. I’ll let you know how it all goes – but we both thought it was funny.
The conversations have certainly changed in our life. Since we started this change to our life, conversations include everything from new things to try to why certain reactions happen. We’ve talked more about us, more about who we are as a couple, as individuals and what’s important to each. It’s made for some very frank conversations, which is pretty amazing after being together for so long. It’s pretty magical to be able to go through this morphing process into whatever is next.
I currently have a MM Queen’s Keep device (have used a CB6000s as well) and am awaiting my shiny new Steelworxx device, complete with the PA fixing. It should be here roughly coinciding with heal time on the PA. Fingers crossed.
I’ll keep you posted on the whole PA thing. I hope my experience encourages others who are considering it. I know when you ask questions on Twitter, Reddit, etc. that the answers are almost always positive (after you get past people raving crazily about how you are CRAZY to consider it). I hope to bring my experiences with it here to the blog and provide another sampling to consider.
My biggest thing is the actual act of getting it done. I can take the rest. I just can’t imagine rolling up to the piercing shop, flopping out my junk and saying “yes, yes. Stick the needle right there…” Egad.
All I can say is thank goodness I don’t have to figure out “wings on the pads.” Sigh.
Of Birthdays and Anniversaries
Not sure what it is about birthdays and anniversaries that make you stop and take stock. It’s our anniversary time of year and it’s hard to overstate just how much of a year of change this has been.
On the personal front, many changes. But on the “lifestyle” front, so many things have started to impact our lives in such amazing, positive ways. The last year has been one of growing and learning and exploring. What a rush it’s been.
For me, I’ve learned that there is so much to this D/s and FLR lifestyle. While they are definitely intertwined, they are separate areas. We’ve managed to start putting many, many things in place. And I love it. I never really thought about it before. I just would never have considered the feelings of “right” that I’ve discovered in working with Charmer in so many areas.
I love the excuse it all brings to do things for her. I suppose it’s “serving” her, but I stumble over the term. For me, it’s just a race to see if I can find new ways to make her life, our life, easier. I’m not saying that I have put on an apron and danced around the house as I gleefully dust the shelves.
What I am saying is that I actively look for ways to be involved. I look for ways to take things off her plate and share the workload. I look for ways to make things easier for her. And it not only helps her, but I have this newly discovered “warm feeling inside” in doing these things. It sounds corny, I do realize that. I guess I really like the control I have over all of these things.
In my “other” life – you know, the one that pays the bills – I’m very much the “Alpha” and have both a lot of control and none. As anyone will attest that has significant responsibilities for people, products, business and sales, you feel in control, but in many cases, you’re trying to control the chaos for a particular income.
With the subbie, warm feelings inside (puke) side of me with Charmer, I’ve found that I can control and really do well at managing things in our personal lives so she doesn’t have to do them. Yep. I do dust, laundry, deal with things around the house. She does too – but now the individual work load is shifted. And it’s good. Very good.
It flips my subbie buttons.
And that’s something that’s come to really be clearer in the last year (going back to how I started this post), my subbie buttons exist! I had no real idea. I had glimmers, but nothing that I’d ever considered. I’ve learned so much, but I also know for sure that I have so much more to learn.
It’s so not just about the bedroom sub stuff (though, I have to tell you, um, wow), but rather about the whole of what we’re experiencing together.
– A chastity cage for me – amazing and conversation-inducing. It works on many levels to bring new attention to your love life. I’ll have more on this as we go forward. But to me, it makes no sense the level of impact it has had on our lives. 24×7, been using for more than a year at this point. LOVE it. It’s not for everyone, but… wow.
– Power exchange – goes with the first item. Kink, I suppose. We’re lovin’ it. (Sorry McD)
– FLR – so much – more to come, but learning and enjoying
– New friends and confidants! Wow. NEVER thought this would be a side-effect.
Anyway, all of this to say that we’re off having a rather intense, kinky celebration of our anniversary. Will be on-again, off-again on twitter and the like, but hope you take some time to do some personal thinking about all you’ve done in the last year… and what you’ll do looking forward.