I was recently talking to someone I consider a mentee. We’ve known each other for twelve years, even though we’ve never met in person (though we’ve talked on the phone and done video chats). She is a bottom in a domestic discipline relationship; she’s now married, and he spanks her, and she also has a disciplinarian who spanks her as needed.

This person has some issues that I will not go into, because it’s private. Suffice it to say she’s dealing with some shit, just like we all are. We were talking about said shit recently and it reminded me of the best spanking threat I’ve ever given. See, last year my mentee was pregnant with her first child, and we were talking about how to safely spank her (the mentee, not the child) while pregnant. Shortly thereafter she did something extremely bad (not naughty, which has a more fun connotation — she was in legit trouble) and her husband dealt with the problem. Then she talked to me, and I told her:

If you ever, ever do that again, I will drive up there and spank you so hard that when your baby comes out she’ll have a red bottom.

We both laughed quite a lot over that, although the threat remains the best I’ve ever given.

Amusingly, I’ve never actually spanked this person; we just talk, and I lecture her from time to time (she has consented to this type of relationship with me), and we talk through what she’s going through because she knows that, no matter how much she misbehaves, I’m always going to be on her side. I might not agree with what she did, but I’ll always be there for her.

I don’t threaten to spank her very often, because if you overuse a threat without making good on it, it loses its power. Fortunately, she knows that I will absolutely drive to where she is, talk to her husband, and then spank her thoroughly, should the need arise. She is terrified of me ever actually spanking her. I don’t think it’s necessarily because of how much it will hurt — because it will hurt, make no mistake — but because she’ll know I’m disappointed in the fact that I had to do it in the first place. Though, I mean, the last time I gave someone a real punishment spanking she had a bruise from the very first paddle swat. When I punish someone, they know it. Instantly.

Here’s hoping that I never have to spank my mentee. I’m sure I will someday, but if I never have to, I’ll consider it a success as well.