"I've got you this time, Brer Rabbit," said Brer Fox, jumping up and shaking off the dust. "You've sassed me for the very last time. Now I wonder what I should do with you?"
Brer Rabbit's eyes got very large. "Oh please Brer Fox, whatever you do, please don't throw me into the briar patch."
"Maybe I should roast you over a fire and eat you," mused Brer Fox. "No, that's too much trouble. Maybe I'll hang you instead."
"Roast me! Hang me! Do whatever you please," said Brer Rabbit. "Only please, Brer Fox, please don't throw me into the briar patch."
"If I'm going to hang you, I'll need some string," said Brer Fox. "And I don't have any string handy. But the stream's not far away, so maybe I'll drown you instead."
"Drown me! Roast me! Hang me! Do whatever you please," said Brer Rabbit. "Only please, Brer Fox, please don't throw me into the briar patch."
"The briar patch, eh?" said Brer Fox. "What a wonderful idea! You'll be torn into little pieces!"
Grabbing up the tar-covered rabbit, Brer Fox swung him around and around and then flung him head over heels into the briar patch. Brer Rabbit let out such a scream as he fell that all of Brer Fox's fur stood straight up. Brer Rabbit fell into the briar bushes with a crash and a mighty thump. Then there was silence.
Brer Fox cocked one ear toward the briar patch, listening for whimpers of pain. But he heard nothing. Brer Fox cocked the other ear toward the briar patch, listening for Brer Rabbit's death rattle. He heard nothing.
Then Brer Fox heard someone calling his name. He turned around and looked up the hill. Brer Rabbit was sitting on a log combing the tar out of his fur with a wood chip and looking smug.
"I was bred and born in the briar patch, Brer Fox," he called. "Born and bred in the briar patch."
And Brer Rabbit skipped away as merry as a cricket while Brer Fox ground his teeth in rage and went home.
As I often do, I'm going to take a controversial view on something, you might love it, you might hate it.... but since I live on both sides of the slash, I have views that that not many do. If nothing else, I hope that you can cock your head to the side and say "hmmmm".
I posted the end of the Brer Rabbit and Tar Baby Story (despite it's controversial reputation, it applies). I often quote Mr.Rabbit to my friends and loved ones. "Oh please don't throw me in the briar patch". As a submissive I have often loved to push boundaries and buttons, more often than not, it's for attention. Threats of spankings or punishments only fuel that behavior. Snark and sarcasm, hoping that I'll be tossed into that "briar patch". We all have real lives, shit happens and even the very strongest BDSM relationships can thin a bit. Does that change the dynamic, not if you don't want it to, it just means that you need to do check ins on where you are and adjust accordingly.
But, I digress....The briar patch, my favorite place. Threaten me with a "good time". I enjoy the game from both sides. I love being (or thinking) I'm sly and hoping for that growl in his voice when I've went just about too far. When even I question if I've been insolent. I mean, I want to be a good girl, but even bad attention is attention. I see the same behavior in my boi. I mostly just laugh and just call her out on it. She will grumble and say "fucking switches" and she's right, I can spot that stuff from a mile away, mostly because I've done it all myself.
As a submissive, hell as a person, I thrive on attention. The more attention I get from those I love, the happier I am. What I see here, so very often is the almost de rigueur posts of "Don't message my submissive, she's mine". Now, let's break this down for those in the back..... The Cage has an option/setting that disallows anyone initiating contact via Bond or email. This does not stop you from sending first messages, it stops those annoying "insta-doms" from messaging you. We are all grown ups and lets face it, this is a social media site and people are going to cast wide nets to see if they can get a bite. I rarely return messages unless they are offered in friendship. No, they didn't read your profile, no, they don't care that you have a name in your brackets.... and they didn't care about those things with the other 20 people they messages. You are not special, they are just looking for some nasty talk to get through the day. My beloved Laura calls these folks "leg humpers" and that's my favorite description of them. I've been known in a fit of boredom to lead them down a path to leave them high and dry, to me it's fun....... BUT..... I've also (in the past) ran to my Master and shared my dismay at an annoying pushy person. Not because I can't handle myself, but mostly because I like when he's protective of me. That silent thrill when he calls me "his" or when he forbids me to speak to so and so. OHHHHHH! Isn't that the very best? Be real, friends. How easy is it to ignore a message? I currently have 162 unread text messages and 11,481 unread emails.... trust me.... it's easy as can be. I chose who and how I spend my time. You can too. Now if you are just looking for that little thrill, roll with it, hop into the briar patch. I'll likely join you there from time to time. But if you are truly distressed about people messaging you on here, then change your settings and eliminate the opportunity. Years ago I had a bad experience with someone I met online. We never met in person, but I gave him my cell phone number. He would call me incessantly and if I picked it he would berate me. This was before you could block numbers so easily. This person constantly harassed me. I reached out to a friend who gave me the advice to change my number immediately. I was so livid and told him that would mean that he won, why should I have to alter my life because of him. He pointed out that my life was already altered and I was constantly distressed. He told me that by changing my number, I removed his power and his power over me. Right after that conversation I called my carrier and changed my number. Peace followed. I suffered unnecessarily due to my own stubbornness. So you don't have to, if you are being harassed, report the user and block them. They don't care about threatening messages from your Dom, it's not going to stop the behavior, and more likely they will double their efforts. Trolls enjoy the negative attention, this is Internet 101, so don't feed the trolls.
