The story has ended but how did it begin? How did we plan the storyline and decide who did what and when? Did we always agree? We thought we might ask each other some questions and see whether the answers were interesting. 

James: So Olivia, how did it begin?

Olivia:  A lot like this is beginning!   We started with a document – my original snippet of a post and your response.  And we just kept going back and forth, adding to it.   We did talk a little bit about whether or not to do more planning, lay out a plot or structure.  But we agreed it would be fun to just dive in and see where the story took us,  

What were your thoughts as we began? 

J: I had no idea it was beginning!  I’d only relatively recently discovered (and devoured) your blog when I saw your snippet. On the spur of the moment, I imagined MG’s reaction to the introduction and posted it as a comment. I certainly had no expectations but, as they say, one thing led to another and the first part was written.

How did it feel to be expressing Delilah without knowing how MG would react?

O: I loved it.  When you first made that comment on my post, it was completely unexpected.  I was intrigued, but Delilah really sat up and paid attention.  She totally saw it as an invitation to engage. That “not knowing how he would react” is a big part of the submissive experience.  It was always exciting to know you had responded.  I would run over to the document to see what MG had said or done.  

You’ve mentioned before that Delilah sometimes surprised you with her responses.  What was that like for you?

J: The first time was a (very welcome) wake-up call; I quickly realised I was literally not in control of the narrative and that what MG said and did would elicit genuine responses and reactions from a flesh and blood sub, not just a character in a story. When reactions were unexpected I couldn’t just rewrite them, I had to put myself in MG’s shoes and deal with them on the spot. Sometimes that meant MG changing his plan, sometimes he had to try to reassure Delilah and lead her back to what he had in mind. I enjoyed that challenge!

Sometimes MG took a while to reveal his plans which seemed to provoke a range of emotions in Delilah. How did you feel when we were building those scenes?

O:  I have to laugh – I felt a lot like Delilah did!  That feeling of being led is so exciting.  Following a bit cautiously, but stepping deeper into feeling safe about where we were going – and then being unsure – some trepidation – where is he taking me?  Where are we going?  It was as if Delilah was prey – but fully participating in her capture.  I know, those are clashing analogies – being led and being hunted down.  And they’re both thrilling, at least for a submissive.  It took me (Olivia) a while to realize that I could let Delilah react however she felt without running interference.  

I’m curious about what that was like for you – MG reassuring Delilah and leading where he wanted her to go.  Did you have a plan?

J: I always have a plan… but sometimes it doesn’t survive as circumstances change!

When MG was planning the joint demonstration it was always his intention that Delilah be his sub but he wanted her to propose herself for the role. That plan worked well!

In the final part of the story MG had planned from the start to collar Delilah but wanted to be sure she was ready. The preparation went well, even if Delilah seemed a little confused. But when she saw the collar her reaction was unexpected (but totally understandable) and required immediate improvisation in the form of reassurance and explanation before Delilah felt safe and sure enough to accept. I loved that because it felt so much more real than a demure ‘Yes Sir’.

How early did Delilah realise she might want to be MG’s sub (rather than perhaps just a play partner)?

O:  Hmmm, I’m not sure that Delilah consciously decided that at all.  I think that once her pleasure in submission had been awakened, she became more and more wrapped up in her interactions with MG.  For new submissives, there really is a kind of sub-frenzy that happens.  In between moments of “omg, what am I doing,” she is flooded with all the feel-good neurotransmitters and hormones, and logical thought is somewhat blocked. I know that at the beginning, MG explained to her the different levels of involvement that she might have with a Dom.  But I don’t think she thought about that again once she’d decided to ask him to be a Dom with her.

At what point did MG decide he wanted to collar her?  How did he come to that decision?  

J: That’s a good question, let me think… At the beginning he was intrigued by the introduction and certainly had hopes, perhaps just to play a little, but no expectations. He was surprised and delighted by Delilah’s thinly-veiled curiosity and subsequent enthusiasm during their first meeting, noting how easily she embraced obedience. During subsequent meetings he appreciated not only her developing submission but also her company and wondered if (and hoped!) a longer term relationship might be possible. But it was after Delilah subbed for him at the demonstration that he decided he very much wanted to help her through (or avoid) any future sub drops and to keep her close. His (obviously totally altruistic!) solution was to see if he could collar her. 

Did Delilah have any inkling that she might be collared? Did she think about it at all?

O:  No, Delilah wasn’t thinking about it and didn’t have any idea that MG was thinking about collaring her.  She was really caught up in the day to day, or even moment to moment, experiences she was having.  If she had been thinking about being collared, or hoping for it, she wouldn’t have hesitated to say yes when she opened the package (that MG so altruistically offered!)   Part of the beauty of a D/s relationship – particularly that sub frenzy  – is it puts you really firmly in the present moment.  That’s not to say that Delilah wouldn’t have started thinking about it and wanting it at some point.  But she hadn’t had enough experience in the community to really understand it and to start to long for it.  

In writing Delilah, I channeled my own early experiences of D/s a lot.  What was it like for you to take on this dominant role?  

J: I realised early on that you were drawing on experience and I found it very helpful knowing that Delilah’s reactions were ‘real’. That and our offline discussions (Dear reader, that translates as gentle corrections 😉) made it so much easier, and fun, to develop MG’s relationship with Delilah.

Did you ask a question? Oh yes… I’m a Top but I’d never considered myself a Dom before and I’d had no real experience as such. So when you suggested, after my off the cuff comment, that we write together I hesitated. I didn’t want to write something that didn’t resonate with at least some of the community – I’ve read stories in the past about humiliation and spanking which have no emotional context and seem almost mechanically formulaic; I didn’t want to be that author and I hope I’m not.

What was it like? Daunting at first but it became easier as it flowed, largely because of our connection – thank you Olivia!

Hmmm. What should I ask you next?

O: Great question.  I don’t know!

J: I guess that’s it then!