Punishment Vs. Play

[jeanne]

I haven't been punished (yet) but I know that the worst thing He could do is to ignore me. That would be horrible. Like firefly, I'm a masochist, so physical pain would simply be a wonderful reward, unless he pushed me past my limits. Since he hasn't begun to even approach my limits, I don't think it'll happen anytime soon!

[Hime]

I haven't been punished (yet) but I know that the worst thing He could do is to ignore me. That would be horrible. Like firefly, I'm a masochist, so physical pain would simply be a wonderful reward, unless he pushed me past my limits. Since he hasn't begun to even approach my limits, I don't think it'll happen anytime soon!

Yeah, my least-favorite (all too frequent) conversation here:

"Hey, stop back-talking me!"
"Ooh, are you going to have to punish me?"
"Yes. By withholding sex."

I hate that! grrr.

In all seriousness, there is a fine line. Knowing that I've disappointed him is really the punishment, I think -- the actual act of punishment is more like part of the forgiveness. One of the things I find most comforting about D/s is knowing that if I do something wrong, I'll be punished for it, but I will also be forgiven and taken back. That cycle is very reassuring to me.

And hey, firefly -- nice avatar!

[jeanne]

"Hey, stop back-talking me!"
"Ooh, are you going to have to punish me?"
"Yes. By withholding sex."

Gasp - that's just cruel...but effective. I don't know if withholding sex would work for us - he just likes it too much, the punishment would be as bad for him as me. Hmmm, now I have to think about what punishment would be least painful for him and most painful for me...

[cadence]

I agree pain is something I like, and to be punished in that way would be an ineffective thing.
I would think that a Master would have to look at punishments as a trial and error method. A punishment would have to be something the sub loathes, whether it would involve some sort of pain, or boring task, etc...
This is my own opinion, but even a punishment that is used often can eventually turn into something the sub starts to enjoy. So I would assume that punishments would have to be varied and more intense as time goes on.

I had a custom task created for me at the academy to get rid of bad habits I have formed over the years; seeing that I have a crabby, stubborn and defiant attitude, I was given a lot of punishments, that involved quite a bit of pain methods. Over time though the punishment became a more tolerable and enjoyable thing.
Silly me admitted that fact and the punishments had to become more difficult and painful. I was also made to do something I loathed completely and still do. So the one punishment, I will never enjoy became an effective method for doing what I supposed to do.