Photograph from Portfolio of the World's Photographs, circa 1893,
Image courtesy ClipArt.com

Presenting Yourself in a Pleasing Manner

(or How to Turn That Certain Master's Head)

Yes, we all do it. The slaves watch the Masters just as much as the Masters watch the slaves. And we all know that there are certain Masters that make us weak at the knees. arani is not talking just about those Masters who are handsome, or funny, or are appreciative of a girl's serve. What she is referring to is those Masters who have a presence about them; when they enter a room all eyes are instantly drawn to them. When they speak, all ears in the room listen. They exude power, and a sense that they are in command, not only of others, but of themselves. They don't have to work at being in command of Themselves and others; they just are.

A slave's purpose for coming to Gor is not to play with the other slaves, or to sit and look pretty. A slave's purpose is to serve, to be pleasing to the Free at all times. . . not just Who she wants to serve, or how she wants to serve. But, let's face it, girls. There are certain Masters that slaves always seem to be falling over themselves to serve. More often than not, these are the Masters that arani described; the ones whose very presence shouts power as soon as they enter a room.

arani remembers a particular Master whom she served once. He was rather quiet, He did not converse to a great deal with the other Free in the room. He called to arani and ordered her to bring Him a drink. After she brought Him the drink, He kept her at His feet for quite a long time. He did not speak to her, and only barely acknowledged her presence.

Well, this slave went all out trying to get this Master to notice her; she moved closer to Him, she played with her silks and her hair, she moved in ways designed to attract His interest. When she dared to look up at Him, He paid attention to her -- He glared at her. arani cringed, knowing she had been displeasing. Then He ordered her to refill His drink. Her heart soared. Once again, arani served her little heart out, trying to attract this Master's interest. It had become a quest for her.

As time went on and arani kept refilling this Master's drink, and kneeling quietly at His feet without even being allowed to touch Him or look at Him, she became more and more aware of this Man's power. her belly began to burn with a new intensity. she found herself moving and presenting herself in a way that she had seldom done before. Even her sisters commented on it; arani began to shine for this Master. When, finally, He touched her tenderly and gave her permission to look at Him, her heart jumped for joy. she had finally met with His approval.

arani served this Master a number of times in the days and weeks that followed. As she demonstrated her respect for Him, and her eagerness to be pleasing, He paid more and more attention to her. Before long, He called her onto His lap, and began to praise her. Then He took her to an alcove. He began to speak of wanting to own her. And arani found herself thinking it might be good to belong to this Master.

Well, things happened; arani met her current Master and was collared by Him. she has not seen that other Master for a while, and does not know if He is still around or not. she loves her Master dearly and would not wish to leave Him, but she still remembers the lesson that other Master taught her.

So, what are some things that you can do to catch the eye of that certain Master you've been noticing? Of course, the most obvious answer to that question is just to be the best slave you can be. That means perfecting your serves, and your presentation, behaving in a proper manner, and not sitting idly around while you wait for someone to call on you.

It means not sitting around like a bump on a log if you're not serving. Ask the Owner of the tavern or the first girl if you can help with any chores around the place. This shows that you're not lazy. If there are none, then there are little things you can do to call attention to yourself. That does not mean you should flood the room with movement after movement. But it doesn't hurt, every so often, to remind the Masters that you're there and are pleasing to look at.

Also, if you've served a Master and He keeps you at His feet, don't just sit there. That doesn't mean you make yourself a pest, or be irritating while he's trying to carry on a conversation. But, every so often, remind him that you're down there at His feet. Give Him little hints that you are available to provide other services, if He so desires. (Again, remembering that His desires are more important than yours.)

Now, arani cannot stress this strongly enough -- your focus should be on pleasing the Free, not on finding satisfaction for yourself or confirmation of your own assets. However, it invariably happens that, after spending some time in Gor, a slave craves to be owned by One, to devote her heart to serving One. There is nothing wrong with that, and certainly nothing wrong with being selective in who you surrender your heart, and your body, to. Now, before you are collared, is the time you should think of these things. Because afterward, it will be too late.

Here are some things you can do to call attention to yourself, and still be pleasing:

1. One of the best tools a slave can possess is a good thesaurus. Be descriptive in your serves and in your movements; don't use the same words over and over again until they sound trite.
2. Tell the Master exactly what He is looking at. Be detailed in your description. arani doesn't just talk about her long hair, she mentions "long golden locks that cascade down her arched back like a shimmering waterfall." Instead of just walking across the room, do as arani does: "pads gracefully toward the servery, her softly rounded hips swaying seductively from side to side with each step."
3. Be expressive with your eyes and your mouth. When He orders you to serve Him, look up to Him with "sparkling crystal blue eyes that shimmer with joy at the pleasure of serving Him." Or smile up at Him with your "full ruby lips that are parted slightly in anticipation of His kiss." Be creative.
4. Allow the Master to see what you are feeling. As you walk away from Him, glance over your shoulder and "feel your heart leap with joy at the pleasure of being allowed to serve such a handsome Master." Or, when you are at His feet, "look down and feel the trembling in her sensuous lips as she feels overcome by His power."
5. Remember to use all five of your senses. Incorporate not only the visual aspect, but also the sounds of the voices of the Free around the tavern or the sweet tinkling of your happy laughter as it ripples lightly through the air, the aroma of paga calling to you from the hearth or the delicate scent of dina flowers wafting up from your shining ebony tresses, the touch of the cool stones against the tender bottoms of your tiny feet as you float across the room or the silken feel of your fragile flesh as your fingers graze against His when He takes the cup, the taste of the slight sheen of perspiration on your upper lip as you strive to be pleasing or the intoxicating taste of the fruity ka-la-na as you taste it for Him.
6. Don't just kneel there at His feet; move! Play idly with the hem of your silks as you gaze intently at His boots. Reach up and twist a fine strand of brilliant auburn locks between your delicate fingertips as you glance quickly to His handsome features. Shift slightly in your kneel so that your naked pear-shaped orbs lightly graze against His strong leg. Use your imagination.

Here are some other things you can try:

1. The turning upward of your palms on your thighs as you kneel is generally recognized as an indication that you're available for sexual use. The showing of the palms is considered an exposing of one of the most vulnerable parts of a girl's anatomy.



"I noted that the palms of her hands, so soft, so vulnerable, had turned on her thighs, so that they faced up. Among slave girls this is a common way of signaling need, helplessness, a desire to please. As she probably did not know that I took it to be instinctive, or semi-instinctive, perhaps a subconscious or only partly understood, utilization of the symbolic aspects of the palm of the female's hand. One reason for thinking this is a very natural behavior is that almost all female slaves, in certain situations, will use it, even before it has been explicitly called to their attention by, say, a whip-master or a trainer." John Norman, Vagabonds of Gor, p. 209



2. Another wordless expression of a slave's love for her Master, or a plea to be used sexually, is the tying up of her hair over her right shoulder in a bondage knot.



"On Gor, the female slave, desiring her master, yet sometimes fearing to speak to him, frightened that she may be struck, has recourse upon occasion to certain devices, the meaning of which is generally established and culturally well understood. I shall mention two such devices. There is, first, the bondage knot. Most Gorean slave girls have long hair. The bondage knot is a simple looped knot tied in the girl's hair and worn at the side of her right cheek or before her right shoulder. The girl approaches the master naked and kneels, the bondage knot soft, curled, fallen at her right cheek or before her right shoulder." John Norman, Tribesmen of Gor, p. 27



3. The continuation of the above quote goes on to explain how the offering of a larma by a girl to her Master can be taken as a silent plea to be used by Him.



"Another device, common in Port Kar, is for the girl to kneel before the master and put her head down and lift her arms, offering fruit, usually a larma or a yellow Gorean peach, ripe and fresh, these devices, incidentally, may be used even by a slave girl who hates her master but whose body, trained to love, cannot endure the absence of the masculine caress." John Norman, Tribesmen of Gor, p. 28



4. There is another meaning of the bondage knot, however, when it is tied by a Master. In this case the knot is a message from the Master to the slave, that He will be returning for the girl.



"I took a long set of strands of her dark hair, some inch and a half in thickness. I loosely knotted them at the right side of her cheek. 'The bondage knot,' she whispered. 'This will mark you as having been taken,' I said." John Norman, Tribesmen of Gor, p. 321



5. The hair of a slave girl has strong sexual connotations. This is one reason why you will often see a slave cleaning the serving vessel with her hair. Or, you may see a girl running her fingers through her hair, or bending low so that her hair touches the Master's boots.



" 'Comb your hair,' said a man, bringing out a box of wooden combs, 'and then you will be fed.' We took the combs and knelt, letting the blankets fall about our waist, and combed our hair. I think it pleased the men to see us do this. Gorean men relish women, and enjoy watching them, even in the performance of such simple, homely acts as combing their hair. To be sure, we were bare breasted, and slaves, and obeying. We had not been asked to form a combing circle, probably because they were willing to permit us to remain in the vicinity of the fire. There were too few of us to circumscribe the fire. We would have had to withdraw from the fire, or most of us. In the combing circle we kneel in a circle, each girl combing the hair of the girl i front of her. Making us comb our hair before we were fed, incidentally, is typical of the manner in which Gorean men treat female slaves. The woman is to be presentable and beautiful, before she is permitted food. How much darker, I noted, did my hair, and that of the other brunettes look, when it was wet. The combs were of yellow wood, and had long teeth. The entire comb, including the teeth, was about five inches square. There are various hairdos in which such combs are worn in the hair. Usually, however, the hair of slaves is worn long, and loose, or confined in only some simple way, as with a ribbon or woolen fillet. Some masters like the ponytail hairdo on a slave, which, on Gor, is usually spoken of as the "leash" or "hair leash," for by it a girl may be conveniently seized and controlled. Upswept hairdos are usually reserved for free women, or high slaves. They are the mark of status. To be sure, one of the reasons for permission of a hairdo of that sort to a slave is the master's pleasure in undoing it, in loosening it, thus reminding even the high slave that in his arms, ultimately, she, the high slave, is yet a slave, and as much or more than the lowest girl in the most remote village. The loosening of a woman's hair on Gor is an extremely sensuous, meaningful act. 'Who loosens her hair?' is a way of asking, in effect, who owns her." John Norman, Dancer of Gor, p. 111-112



6. you will see many slaves who wear silks that are tied at the shoulder. However, this one recently came across a quote regarding buttons on Gor. Try this out:



"I undid the five buttons, red, which ran from the throat of the garment to the waist. Buttons, interestingly, were a relatively recent innovation in some Gorean slavewear. They are not used on the garments of free persons. Most Gorean garments do not have buttons, but are slipped on, or held with brooches and pins. Hooks, however, are used with some frequency. Buttons, interestingly, are regarded as rather sensuous on Gor. Buttons, obviously, may be unbuttoned, or cut away with a knife, thus revealing the slave. Many masters do not permit a girl to button her own tunic in the privacy of their compartments. When a slave opens the door to the master's compartment and kneels, head down, say, to admit a visitor, her garment may have been closed only an instant before. This is also true of a hooked slave garment." John Norman, Slave Girl of Gor, p. 417



7. Another way for you to show your love for a Master is to offer Him a flower called a talender, or fix one in your hair.



"The talender, fixed in a girl's hair, is a slave girl's wordless confession, which, commonly, she dares not speak, that she cares for her master." John Norman, Hunters of Gor, p. 65

Well, these are just some of arani's ideas. So, sisters, use your imaginations, and have fun. But, more important, be pleasing.

© arani_CsA, 8/10/2000,
revised 3/10/2003

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