Servant-master relationships built on...

[Aka-kami]

... Torture and abuse. May it be comically (making them do something stupid and ridiculous) or in a disturbing fashion.

It kinda got me thinking. In instances like that, how would one approach to creating a story? In what way would you write it? What if you don't make use of sadism and masochism as a basis for the relationship?

I'd like to know your opinions, suggestions, ideas, just about anything you would like to say on the subject
Willing to bet my curiosity will get the better of me.

[Sapphi]

Are you asking how to make an excuse for why the servant would stay by the master despite the abuse, or how to write the scenes of that abuse? I don't exactly understand the question.

I'd like to know your opinions, suggestions, ideas, just about anything you would like to say on the subject

My opinion? Master and servant relationships are wonderful! *O*
The undying loyalty of a cute servant... the unfailing cruelty of a sadistic master... so far apart in social class... yet somehow, they know each other better than anyone else.... AHHH HHNNNNGH IT'S SO WONDERFUL *explodes*

[redeyesblackpanda]

It seems like a very interesting idea. It could be very artistic and very sick though. I'm very interested and disturbed by the potential of this sort of thing (I'm also disturbed that I'm interested ). I have to say though, this is probably a fairly difficult thing to write, because if you aren't careful, it'll just seem like it's in bad taste. I've seen these sorts of things go very, very, wrong.

Basically: Interesting but risky.

[Aka-kami]

Are you asking how to make an excuse for why the servant would stay by the master despite the abuse, or how to write the scenes of that abuse? I don't exactly understand the question.

I suppose I didn't say it very well oAo;;

I guess I'm sort of asking for both...? Haha

I have to say though, this is probably a fairly difficult thing to write, because if you aren't careful, it'll just seem like it's in bad taste. I've seen these sorts of things go very, very, wrong.

Yes, one would probably end up scarring their readers if they don't pull it off ^^;;

That's why we have comical abuse! It's a whole lot easier to write about a master who makes his/her servants cross dress and do ridiculous(ly hilarious) tasks than one who physically abuses them x_x

[Arcanum]

I think "disturbing" goes better than comically. Cheap nonsense commedy based on abuse, of all things, seem in more bad taste than anything writen disturbingly because… At least you accept abuse is disturbing, and not something to make fun of. In any case, I love sevant-master, and I adoooore disturbing relationships (in fiction, of course). You might research stockholm syndrom for any reasons why anyone wouldn't try escaping from abuse. Other reasons are: financial, fear of losing a relationship, lack of trust in others to help the victim to cope with the abuse.

[Aka-kami]

I think "disturbing" goes better than comically. Cheap nonsense commedy based on abuse, of all things, seem in more bad taste than anything writen disturbingly because… At least you accept abuse is disturbing, and not something to make fun of.

I guess this is a matter of opinion. Personally, I like to have a mixture of both (and admittedly comic portrayals do get annoying when it's overused), but I know many people who hate watching "disturbing" torture but love watching anime that make use of nonsense-comedy to torture their protagonists. o3o;;

You might research stockholm syndrom for any reasons why anyone wouldn't try escaping from abuse. Other reasons are: financial, fear of losing a relationship, lack of trust in others to help the victim to cope with the abuse.

These ideas are nice xD

Thank you for giving your input~

[redeyesblackpanda]

I think this manga has some useful examples of masochism used for comedic effect. I'd give a link to a servant-master relationship gone wrong, but it's too unpleasant for me to consider posting. (grimace emoticon)

[OokamiKasumi]

A Servant-master relationships built on...Torture and abuse. ... In instances like that, how would one approach to creating a story? In what way would you write it?

If you're interested in the actual dynamics of such a relationship and the techniques used, read:

Sweet Shame: Humbling, psychological and verbal domination
Part One: Learning to be a True Bad Man (or Woman)
http://www.leathernroses.com/generalbds ... ameone.htm
Part Two: The Art of Orchestrating an SM Scene
http://www.leathernroses.com/generalbds ... ametwo.htm

[sciencewarrior]

I would follow an old trick and start by turning the relationship upside down: the servant is the one abusing the master. Why? Well, there are many possibilities:

• The servant's power or abilities are valuable enough that the master is willing to put up with the abuse.
• An authority forced this arrangement as a punishment for the servant -- or for both!
• They formed a contract by accident, or without realizing what it really meant, and there are severe consequences if they break it. Perhaps the servant was expecting to be the master.
• The master is in love with the servant, and prefers being hated than being alone.

If master and servant have a way to get at each other, the relationship becomes a lot more dynamic (and a lot less creepy.)

[Joey]

There are actually many manga (yaoi manga, specifically >>; something along the lines of Kibshiku Aishite by Honjou Rie) that can portray BDSM/servant-master thing as comical/fluffy. Then again it's all pretty unrealistic and meant to satisfy people's porny fetishes, so yeah... >>;

[Ionait]

With master and servant, my first thoughts go to vampires and supernatural creatures that tend to be bound by blood or creation or something. I read a very good fanfic recently, somewhat disturbing, about Alucard and "Police Girl" (forget her name now!) from Hellsing.

I am not so much for writing something disturbing as the main plot of a story but if I did, I would try to make a good reason for the bad deeds to try to give my abusive character some sense of redemption somehow? Maybe there is a reason that the abuser must abuse. Maybe they don't want to but they have to.

Maybe there is a servant who loves their master, but one day they are given the task of having to abuse/torture their master in order to keep them alive. The servant hates it but it must be done. You could branch out a lot from there and the torture/abuse could be specific to a curse or something placed on the master. And maybe the curse is something passed down from an ancestor, so though the situation is horrible and sad, both characters, master and servant, are actually completely innocent!

[Sapphi]

With master and servant, my first thoughts go to vampires and supernatural creatures that tend to be bound by blood or creation or something. I read a very good fanfic recently, somewhat disturbing, about Alucard and "Police Girl" (forget her name now!) from Hellsing.

I love Hellsing, among many other reasons, for its silly authority chain: Seras "Police Girl" Victoria is the servant of Alucard, but Alucard is the servant of Integra. I guess we have to throw Walter in there somewhere too... I think why it works so well with supernatural bonds is that the reader knows it is physically impossible for the characters to get free of each other. That makes it a lot easier to suspend disbelief as far as how much abuse someone is willing to take.

I am not so much for writing something disturbing as the main plot of a story but if I did, I would try to make a good reason for the bad deeds to try to give my abusive character some sense of redemption somehow? Maybe there is a reason that the abuser must abuse. Maybe they don't want to but they have to.

For me, a sense of pity/sympathy for an abusive character is easily caused. Psychological excuses go a long way as long as they are well-written and not anvilicious. Even characters who want to abuse others can be sympathetic characters, particularly if they are aware of their own perversion but for some reason can't stop the behavior. I also respond well to humor, and I think most other people do too. GLaDOS from Portal was ridiculously abusive but she was also endearing because of her hilarious sense of humor.

[Argeus_the_Paladin]

My opinion? If my overlord is one man of torture and abuse, it's time to rally the people for this.

In all seriousness, the only way an abusive master-servant relationship can even exist is in a feudal or earlier society where the servants were literally the properties of their landowners. The social order of that day and age, religious connotations and the sheer power in the hands of the ruling class prevented them from opposing. As soon as the early modern era rolled in, that's no longer the case and we get the French Revolution .

That, or supernatural bonds where as the poster above me mentioned, where you can't start a revolution, ever. Either way, it's not my cup of tea.

[Egressus]

When the master is cruel and the servant is taking all the abuse with bowed head, you can say I'm definitely taking steps back from the shipping block. Verbal or physical is the same thing to me. The only relationship I can logically extract out of that hatred.

Comically isn't much better for me either. Unless the servant is already "broken" into the point of dissociating or grew up with the concept of no-shame, making someone do something ridiculous for the heck of it is like abuse. Sometimes I can tolerate it but only if the master isn't already a cruel bas___.

I myself probably can't write a light-hearted romance with abuse. Since I'm writing about torture already, I might as well as make it awful. Waving it off with some jokes just... doesn't sound right to me. Even if the master and servant feel a connection or possibly love each other, it's just too heavy. A solution I can offer, but I can't make it less heavy.

One thing comes to mind when I read abusive master/servant romance: Stockholm syndrome.

Yeah, I'm not really someone who takes psychological abuse lightly. I've read some amazing stories that focuses on torture, but I still cringe. I'm too much of a softie.