After BIKSS' last post about being worried that I would ever be a doormat (sorry, I love that word!) as part of my total submission, I got to thinking a few things -
1) confirming that I am indeed as strong as I believe myself to be, as I convinced him to believe I am, and as necessary to "kick him out" if I needed to.
I played some scenarios in my head, I thought about what happened during that first and only DW-Dom episode and what I said to him following it. I also dissected all that I said to BIKSS in the car about his concern, about how my protective BIKSS would jump into action and vanquish his dark side (I believe those were his exact words). And I truly believe that unless he's a psychopath and sadist and gets off on watching someone suffer for suffering's sake, he would never allow me to be hurt, not even by himself.
What happened the last time was a verbal display of his DarkWing Dom, not a physical manifestation of his evil dark side. And already I was not going to lie there and tolerate it. So I'm quite certain that given everything I know about me and about him, I'm damned well sure I won't allow things to get ugly.
Nope. I still trust him as much as I did before that conversation. Possibly 'cos I also trust myself to know when to tell him to QUIT IT if he got too far. Plus, to put this to the test, so to speak, we had an opportunity last night to get into some D/s play in bed, and let's just say that at no time did I become suspicious as to whether he would go too far. I allowed myself to enjoy the "torture" and give in to his manipulations (the man had me suffering from extreme clit stimulation and then after I came he continued to hold the Yellow Fellow inside and left the vibrations on while he fucked me with it AND spanked my bottom at the same time.) I did not abandon ALL sane thought though, there was still a little left in me - as is usually the case whenever he brings me to this lovely place where I'm merely reacting and not controlling anything anymore. I guess a good description would be to say that no matter how much into the zone I was (I'm still not entirely sure this is subspace but I suspect it could be) there is still a thread of consciousness present in case I needed to put a stop to things. (There has to be though, right? Or else what use would a safeword be? One has to be just lucid enough at all times to employ it after all.)
After he replaced the vibe with Roger and had his way with me, he held me tight, called me his good girl, and I think he said, "My girl" too, which made me beam with pride (in case you didn't know, hun, cos I was in no condition to respond).
So I'm certain the trust (for both of us) is still very much intact. Hurray. Great.
3) being convinced that what I can and will accept is still at a healthy level for us, that it hasn't changed and I'm still very decided in what I will or will not be a part of.
Definitely. You see, I was reading part II of "Teacher's Pet" which I got for free since I've earned some credit for writing reviews at Blushing Books. Part I was great fun to read. The lead up was plausible enough. It wasn't some unbelievable scene where the professor just grabbed the protagonist and started thwacking her backside or anything like that. So I was all eager to read part II and I must say it was a disappointment in that the story became totally unbelievable (yes, even for fiction) and began to look much like The Story of O.
Only not as well written and with NO consent from the sub at all.
Now I'm a firm believer in the Dominant partner building up the submissive one, supporting her, nurturing her, helping her grow to her full potential. That's the model BIKSS and I have. And the first part was based on that premise. However part II was all about him pushing her to do as he desired merely to please him. This includes suffering some embarrassment which seemed to be merely for his amusement (and totally unnecessary as far as I was concerned cos it didn't help her get over ANY fear or self-consiousness or anything like that), being made to feel anxiety and uncertainty and put in a risky position when he shipped her off to his Dom's club's leader's estate where he hinted that the other Doms may have different views of a D/s relationship as what he had set up with her. If she had been willing to be subjugated in that manner it would be entirely different. I didn't have a problem reading 'O' simply because her mindset was that of one who was happy to be treated the way her master treated her so as to please him. However this wasn't the case in this story. In fact, there was fear and worry in her mind, and the author made it clear that she was not willing to be a part of it - but that she went along anyway because of a blind belief that she ought to because she had already agreed to be his sub.
I finished reading the book feeling upset and indignant. And I was annoyed that it wasn't a physical book that I could throw in the bin. Cos that's what I would have done.
Anyway, that made me realise that I probably would NEVER allow BIKSS to push beyond my limits simply because I'm very sure of what his role is as my Dominant. Insofar as his requirements of me serve to elevate my enjoyment in the bedroom, turn me on for some crazy hot sex, or make me a better person, I will go along with it. The minute it is only for his perverse pleasure to the detriment of my psychological or emotional well-being, he can go fuck a spider. (Sorry hun, but you know that's the truth!)
So the conclusion is that we're both still quite well-adjusted and happy to be where we are, we're better for having talked about it, and sharing our fears and insecurities about TTWD and how it pertains to us as individuals as well as a couple, and ready to move on and face the world (and our future) a little more securely for having done so.