Children in cages

Almost 10 days have gone by since I came back from the desert, yet I still have not fully processed all the events that happened before my duck-tape-fixed glasses.

There is one scene, in particular, that I dare not sink into the mists of faulty memory without scrutinising a bit first. The story goes as follows...

It was the middle of the afternoon, shortly before or after lunch. I was seeking some entertainment and a naked drawing workshop seemed like fun. I faintly remembered someone telling me I could model for it, and was hoping to meet this person again, though I could not remember who.

When I arrived at Loophole, as had become usual for me, quite a bit after the activity should have started, it was clear the workshop was not being carried out. Nevertheless, there was some fuzz in the dungeon so I went in to check it out. There, under the bright light of noon, a peculiar scene was taking place.

A middle-age master was playing with his young, beautiful, curly-haired, harness-clad, but bare of anything else pet. She was sticking her tongue out, on her knees, wagging her tail, and looking up sweetly.

Right next to them, quite close, three children were mimicking their games from inside the dungeon cage. A toddler wearing only his diaper was the youngest. The oldest must have been around 8 or 9. From inside the cage, they were barking, panting, scratching themselves as if they were dogs.

The father asked if they were thirsty, and poured some water over the bars into their little mouths. "More, more, more!" they insisted. The father went out of the room for a moment, leaving the oldest to become the master, who used the pet plate to pour some raw almonds for his brothers.

When their dad came back, he asked them to get out, but the youngest one was chilling in the cage and would not. At one point, the Dungeon Mistress asked if it was appropriate. To which the father replied: "The father consents".

The whole party eventually left, not before the master and his pet had begun a masturbatory game. Which the two older children mimicked by play-fighting, rolling and tumbling on the carpet-covered ground.

After this, so many questions I have not paused to analyse yet. Regarding children's sexuality and consent.

We can generally define consent as an enthusiastic, informed, voluntary, non-coerced affirmation. A willing "yes". 

We can also take into consideration that the age of consent, that under which a person is considered legally incompetent to consent to a sexual act, is highly variable depending on the jurisdiction. Most often ranging from 14 to 18 years old. And, current statute considers it's either the parent's or the State's job to look out for the children's best interest at that age; but would not say it is the minor's choice to decide whether they want to be in that situation or not.

With that in mind... I wonder.

Clearly, the kids were having a blast. Should it be the parent's choice? Their choice? The State's?

- Do we need specific [Do not put your children in dungeon cages] laws? -

Is it a sexual / erotic activity? Should it be considered as such when deciding about consent? Or can it be handled like any other type of play-time?

Well, I definitely don't think the State should handle it. Although I'm a bit weary about letting all parents have full control as well. I suppose listening and checking in with the kids is a good strategy, like during any session: "How's it going? Are you ready to come out yet? Would you like to know more about anything of what you are seeing here?" 

I do still wonder, however, how you get yourself in that situation in the first place. Although knowing children like I do, it was probably the little beasts initiative from what I can tell.

I believe the situation is as sexual or as stoic as the adults in it make it. No one from outside the family was interacting with them, except for some of us curiously watching the scene and the pet occasionally motioning pet-stuff at them in a very playful manner.

If we're going to raise our heads up to the heavens, wondering if the experience will scar them in some way in the future, my answer is that it will probably be less traumatising than our average running into mommy's room after a nightmare to find her sucking daddy's cock and have her be all flustered about it. The more we normalise sexual activities to children, the more ordinary it will be for them; regardless of the environment of sex-negativity and repression we're surrounded by.

NowHere

It's been three days since I returned to default world. Although it feels like an eternity.

But I am now ready, or as much as I may be, to put some sense into what I learned.

The soundtrack is The Family Dog. Their dome, Psychedelephant, where I first realized I was there. I had arrived. The place I had always been longing for without even knowing if it actually existed. A wondrous melting pot of love, S/M, mindfulness, nerd-talk, metaphysics, cooperation, responsibility, and sustainability. With just the right amount of irony about it all. And absolutely no commerce, advertisement or trade (except for Übertown's aggressive counterargument).

I fit right in.

No need for adjustment.

As soon as I saw the bright-blue morning sky the first day, I was overjoyed and wished I could make that second last an eternity.

The events of Saturday night probably carried a different lesson for each of us. To me, it's a take-home teaching about how much an attempt can change the course of events (or how little). As a serial self-harmer / suicidal I can't help but find it amazing that this is what I would experience during my first burn. Most interesting is how little I felt. My concern at the time was that we could not see the lighthouse go down in flames.

The intense exploration of my body (nakedness, S/M, 5-minute orgasms) paled in comparison to the emotional discoveries I made.

It is easy to trust others when they welcome you with open hearts.

Beautiful and kind people can help you turn pain into joy. All that is required is some improv and leaving all shame behind. Play, play play. Always.

Intimacy is best shared with those who will care and be responsible for the vulnerabilities it creates. It is amazing to let go of fears and fall in love, even if just for a week, when the desire is mutual. The brevity of an encounter should not dictate how deeply I let myself connect. Love, love for one second, one minute, one day.

Yet I still have some possessiveness, insecurity, and fear to learn from. The pangs of jealousy and envy arise from time to time whenever a loved one pays attention to someone else while I am not otherwise entertained. I have, however, found about the immense calming power of caring for that third person. So soon as I approached them as a sensing being, and showed them affection, the envy subsided.

I have both taken delight and found it a burden to collaborate so intently with a community whose survival depended on all of us doing our part. I (re)discovered I was much more pleased while performing the human-related tasks than the material ones. For example, trip-sitting was more satisfying than kitchen duty.

I was valued.

I was constantly reassured of my inner and outer beauty. This was important. After my recent experience with rejection due to the choice to let my body hair grow, I basked in the physical attraction I garnered at such an inclusive environment.

Moreover, confirming that my thoughts and feelings can be useful to others provided a cleanse from all the abuse back at the jungle. It's not me, it's the system -kind of thing.

I gave back.

For all I took with me, written above these lines, I gave. Many people, hopefully most of those whose paths I crossed, are taking home a piece of me. Of my love, my light.

Thank you to all the nobodies who made it possible.

May the love multiply.

Let it burn.