Breaking rules carries consequences. Without consequences, rules are meaningless.
Punishment vs. Penalty
Although the dictionary lists these two words as synonyms for each other, to me, they carry slightly different nuances. A penalty is the price the slave pays for breaking a rule, even when breaking the rule is the right thing to do. The slave can choose to incur a penalty strategically, and it's not against the spirit of the game. A punishment, on the other hand, is a consequence of misbehavior. The slave should always avoid punishment, and if he's ever tempted to take the punishment, then the punishment isn't harsh enough. This isn't how these two words are always used in real life, but I'm going to stick to this distinction for the rest of this post.
Penalty makes permanent rules more realistic. Every rule has exceptions, and some exceptions are hard to foresee. It's no fun if the slave runs into a situation that forces him to either be disobedient or come out of role; allowing the slave to break the rule temporarily on the pain of penalty keeps the dynamic going. This also makes it easy for the master to create a comprehensive code of behavior, since the rules don't have to account for every little exception.
For example, say the slave is required to stay naked while indoor. Suddenly, UPS knocks on the door and wants a signature. What does the slave do? If the slave knows he's allowed to put on a robe at the cost of 10 minutes of corner time, then the choice is easy and the power dynamic stays alive. Some might even get a thrill out of the fact that, even when he's breaking a rule, he's following the rules.
Punishment, however, should be harsh. It should be a lesson to the slave that such behavior is not tolerated, and he should think twice before making the same mistake again. For maximum effect, make the punishment thematically connected to the infraction, so the slave doesn't forget why he's being punished.
Let's say our naked slave from the scenario above is heading outdoor and is now fully dressed, when he suddenly realizes he left his phone on the table. He steps into the room fully clothed to retrieve his phone. This calls for a punishment – unless there's an emergency, there's no reason why the slave couldn't have stripped naked first, then get dressed again after retrieving the phone. He saved two minutes by staying clothed, but now he's going to spend two hours repeatedly putting on clothes and stripping naked again, over and over. Haste makes waste, as they say.
Not fun, but fun
Punishing a slave can be paradoxical. On the one hand, the slave chose to be a slave, which means he enjoys suffering on some level. If the master's simply giving the slave more of what he enjoys, that's not really a punishment. On the other hand, the power dynamic should be fun for both parties. If the slave genuinely doesn't enjoy the punishment, then the dynamic doesn't work. Remember, ultimately the slave has the upper hand in a power dynamic.
So the punishment has to inflict suffering on one level, and generate satisfaction on another. There are multiple ways to make this happen:
- If the slave is into pain, then whipping, spanking, ball busting could be effective punishment. Even if the slave is into pain, pain is unpleasant on some level. Even for slaves who inflict pain on themselves for fun, there's a pain level just beyond that's suitable for punishment: enough to make the slave groan at the prospect, but not so much that it sours the mood.
- If the slave enjoys a challenge, then anything that has to do with endurance, from stress positions to time out, becomes a good option. The activity itself might be hard to bear, but the sense of accomplishment the slave gets afterward is also hard to beat.
- If the slave enjoys the submissive headspace, then making him feel even lower and more submissive could be effective. Enforced crawling, extended blindfold time, edging without relief, forbidding the slave to use any furniture, starving, bladder control are all good options. Knowing it's all temporary, the slave will be capable of pushing through what is normally beyond his limit.
- If the master and the slave have a good connection, then satisfaction for the slave comes from the "atonement" for letting down the master, and the pride of satisfying the master's sadistic nature. The punishment activity itself no longer has to carry the burden of generating satisfaction; anything that inflicts suffering will do.
Verification
If the master's in the mood, he can choose to actively participate in the punishment. Most forms of pain requires this: someone has to whip, or spank, or punch the balls of the slave. It could be fun for the master, but it takes energy and time and can be physically exhausting for the master too.
There's a category of activities that are difficult for the slave to suffer through, but easy for the master to verify. For example, stress positions can be enforced through predicament bondage. The master needs to be around in case quick release is needed, but is otherwise free to occupy himself with other tasks. For another example, blindfolds and chastity cages can be locked on, making cheating close to impossible.
More often though, verification is achieved through spot-checking. If the activity leaves a trace – writing lines, counting rice, etc. – then simply spot check a portion of the slave's work. If the activity doesn't leave a trace – for example, putting on and taking off clothes repeatedly – then the activity could be recorded and later reviewed at the master's convenience. It's easy to fast forward through the footage, and at 10x speed (even 20x), it's still not too difficult to spot mistakes.
Behavior modification
If the punishment is not intended to change the slave's behavior, it's not a punishment; it's just play. There's nothing wrong with playing, but it should be clear to the slave when he's just playing with the master, and when he's being punished.
For behavior modification, I like a system where each infraction is punished three times. Once as close to the time of infraction as possible, once at the end of the day/week, and once for the long term.
The first punishment is for immediate association. The shorter the gap is between infraction and punishment, the stronger the connection is. This first punishment doesn't have to be harsh, but it has to be easy to carry out. Slapping on the wrist, flicking fingers at the cheek or forehead, or biting the tip of the tongue are all easy and discreet options; more possibilities are available when there's privacy.
The second punishment is a lecture. Make sure the slave understands why he's being punished before, during, and after the punishment. For most infractions, a point system can be used: each infraction carries a certain number of points depending on the severity of the rule violation, and as a ritual, at the end of the day/week, points have to be paid off through a punishment activity. For example, the slave has to hold a difficult position for as many minutes as he has points; or he has to crawl around the house as many laps; or he will be spanked ten times as many times; or he has to write a hundred times as many lines.
This is also a good opportunity to come up with a punishment thematically related to the infraction. If the slave forgot to end a sentence with "sir", make him repeat what he should have said 100 times. If he forgot to kneel in the master's presence, make him kneel and stand up 100 times. If he started to eat before he was given permission, starve him for a day then make him cook dinner. He's not allowed to eat.
The third punishment is reinforcement. I prefer to take away privileges based on the slave's point count. If his 7-day moving total goes over a threshold, then he's not allowed to stand upright while indoor, or play with himself, or use furniture, or speak when not spoken to. The slave shouldn't take anything for granted; everything is a privilege. Going to the bathroom freely is a privilege. Wearing dry socks is a privilege. Not being gagged all the time is a privilege. Sleeping 8 hours uninterrupted is a privilege. The more points he has, the more privileges he loses. The constant discomfort and inconvenience reminds him to be good: all of this will go away if he just behaves perfectly for 7 days.