Describing what Subspace is like

[qan]

NOTE: Some words removed from original article clarity. Subspace has been capitalized throughout for consistency. This post contains strong language.

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What is Subspace like?

Yesterday I had someone on Facebook send me a message asking if I could define Subspace, and I did my best to give them my answer as to what Subspace is like, but then I thought it would be a good topic to have in this AMA collection. I'd like to remind everyone reading that this is just my perspective on it. Subspace may feel similar or vastly different to what I describe, but I will say that no matter who I've heard describe it - it's so, so lovely. ^_^

Subspace is the primary reason I think I'm such a masochist/painslut.

Our bodies are meant to urge us, sometimes aggressively, to avoid pain. It becomes a situation of mind over matter at first. It's in that moment where the pain has peaked and the sensation starts to spread into a dull ache that the body tries to give you a little chemical nudge to depress the pain that you're still actually feeling in the form of endorphins and enkephalins - basically, happy free all-natural brain drugs. While in a normal session this allows you to keep taking the pain, the real magic is when all those chemicals build, and build, and build, and then suddenly you're so soaked in them that your body/brain gets so confused that it actually does stop processing pain in the normal way.

That is Subspace. You're aware on some level that there was pain, but the drug cocktail of your brain makes it just a blip on the radar. On top of that, because more pain stimuli were introduced, your brain produces more of the chemicals, and the effect just amplifies and amplifies.

For Subspace to take over, you really do need something to induce all the chemicals described above. I've heard that some people can get into Subspace just from really really intense experiences (that don't include pain), but I've never had that. Subspace is a challenge, and many people miss out on experiencing it, because of the body's fight or flight response.

Trying Subspace should not put your health and safety in jeopardy, and you and only you know how much pain you can take.

I sincerely wish I had a better explanation for it. I also won't pretend that everyone is capable of taking pain in such a way. There's this little bite of bliss after the agony - and Subspace is the gigantic ice cream sundae after all the little bites build up. It is, to this day, the most perfectly peaceful experience in my life.

But remember, Subspace can be very dangerous.

Remember that little line towards the beginning of this post about Subspace being kind of a morphine-like drug? That thing about detaching from reality, and blah blah blah? Well, that can be a pretty fucking big deal. Each new introduction of pain would only push farther and farther into Subspace.

I think aftercare is even more important post-Subspace than just a regular session. You're so out of it that you may fall asleep as soon as the sensation ends, or you may get really emotional as your body tries to process the chemicals flooding it. Many people can get very cold and start shivering.

As wonderful as Subspace is, the coming out of it part can be very nice too. The timeline on coming up changes person-to-person and scene-to-scene. I've been up and around in fifteen minutes.

I think "memory loss" is a little too strong of a phrase, but I do always get hazy when it comes to Subspace. So I'm definitely not going to remember everything perfectly once I'm riding that chemical high! If you can't remember anything at all, definitely be careful that you're not losing consciousness at some point! Your safety is most important!


Original article: https://jenniferbene.com/2016/11/ask...subspace-like/

[Jessup]

[Jessup]

[Ricko]

I feel the old 'meet people from all over the world then kill them' slogan works more fittingly than this - did you write this on E?

[qan]

Was searching for various keywords to see where subspace-continuum.com shows up on rankings and came across quite a... different meaning of "subspace." The More You Know.

This is totally unchanged from the original blog post; just removed words to make it apply to our SS rather than BDSM. Was surprised how well it fits. Gave me a laugh.

[Falconeer]

Interesting because you're not the only person to mention Subspace is a BDSM word. Someone mentioned it to me a week or two ago. Did you figure out to search the word and it's meaning on a whim? or heard it from someone in the community?

Subspace isn't pain though, the game is carebear land to me compared to communities I was involved in when I was 12-16 years old while simultaneously playing subspace. It's mostly some people with self control and emotional regulation issues, some people who think being pro online makes them gods gift to life, and some euros who play quietly and avoid all these other people.

Some people can't even handle some basic text, and the more there is to read the angrier they get. Which is actually not new, it's why I re-invented TS;DR 15 years ago, too short didn't read as a response. Subspace is basically a safe space for people who can't cope with real life, especially if they are online 4 hours a day or more consistently. I never cared for safe spaces, it's why I don't alias since aliasing is a safe space. I can tell people aren't cut out for the environment they participate in and help to reproduce when they need to take breaks from trolling or fighting, either with aliasing or ?ignore or whatever else. They are basically weak mentally... for me no break is needed because I've been in much worse places so my threshold is high, places where the game itself involved harming players. Here when you die you get a shiny new ship each time. But imagine games where you work hard for a year and everything can be taken from you unfairly and no one cares if you quit the game or how you feel, in fact they are hoping you quit and want you to feel bad. Places where the threat of being hacked or doxxed on a daily basis was real. Places that make the history of staff abuse in this game look like a fun time and a joke. Places where you could find 40 people like me time-wise, but who unlike me would devote hours and hours a day to attacking you in every way possible. Basically I grew up in war, fought many people who you could probably safely call very bad, and many of them at once daily for years... not just one person trying to break you. This place has always been a vacation from that. But it's all still the internet, anyone who grew up in an actual warzone knows even worse environments, and actual violence.