There is no master, no motive, no ideal that we can trust to never lead us into evil, except for the love of good itself.
It is not always easy to be the driving force in a BDSM scene. Sometimes we need more than just technical skills to move the needle. This is where a little psychological insight and a touch of theater can help take our scenes to the next level.
The Overload
A great technique for creating dramatic tension in a scene is to first flood the submissive's nervous system with sensation. That might mean flogging, bondage, spanking, vibration - whatever turns them on and gets them into a 'receptive' headspace. Once the endorphins are flowing, add to the mix a deceptively simple question like, "Whom do you serve?"
This question works because there's no "correct" answer that can satisfy in the moment. Processing overwhelming physical sensation while wrestling with an abstract philosophical question becomes delightfully impossible.
The Trap
Every answer they give to this seemingly innocuous question becomes fuel for more questioning:
"You, Sir! I serve you!" is shot down as too short sighted or too presumptuous. "A canned answer that lacks substance."
"Myself, Sir! To improve myself!" Again they are chastised for being greedy, self serving or lacking commitment to something bigger than themselves.
"The House! I serve the House, Sir!" Ah yes, that Kink.com metaphor for higher ideals. This is immediately dismissed as derivative: "You watch too many movies."
The verbal sparring can go round and round, but the submissive always fights at a disadvantage. Each strike of the flogger releases more endorphins, making coherent thought increasingly difficult. The cognitive load of processing intense physical sensations while grappling with an abstract question creates a perfect storm of vulnerability.
The Third Act
Good theater demands resolution, and for this reason we never ask questions we cannot answer ourselves. To leave someone suspended in philosophical limbo after such intensity risks emotional confusion and scene failure. We must "deliver the goods" at the end, or the scene lacks closure and can lead to a mixed bag of feelings.
Everyone might have their own way to end a scene like this, but my closing answer usually comes back to the one thing that really matters in life: love. Whom do we serve? We serve the love of good itself - what Aristotle called "virtue." Not love for a person or group or idea, because all of those can go wrong. But love for goodness as a basic principle.
In our most vulnerable moments, stripped of pretense and overwhelmed by sensation, we might glimpse a basic truth: that our highest service is not to any fallible master, but to goodness itself.
The Spine
Where to get ideas for psychological BDSM games like this? Ancient myths and philosophers are a great place to mine for nuggets. Socratic questioning, Stoic exercises in mental discipline, Buddhist concepts of ego dissolution all can be adapted for erotic theater. The research is fun, but the real work is in transforming the philosophical framework into a complete experience rather than mere intellectual exercise. That is the craft of BDSM: using the body to access the mind, using the mind to touch something deeper than both.
Good luck in your own erotic theater. It is always a pleasure sharing ours.
