As of September 20th, 2016, the mutual claim between Mr. Connor Owen and Mr. Kaleb Owen has been completed. The official documentation has been filed and they have received their government-issued claim certificate. Their portraits are scheduled to be added to the completed claims board within the month.
The Administration congratulates both Mr. Connow Owen and Mr. Kaleb Owen on their accomplishment and encourages their continued success as they stay on at Orenda Estates for the time being with Kaleb coming on-staff as a Lifeguard.
If you wish to pay your well-wishes to the newly official claim partners, various claim completion gifts are available in the Gift Boutique and will be delivered to Owens at their villa.
Congratulations, again to Mr. Connor Owen and Mr. Kaleb Owen. You’ve made us proud.
Master Graham Stroud and Mistress Indira Saraswati
The following are the rules set out by Charlotte Owen, Kaleb Owen, and Connor Owen for their mutual claim. Rules refer to “Claimant” as each rule applies to all parties, who are hereby bound to these rules upon mutual agreement. These rules carry identical consequences, therefore, these consequences shall be stated once and such statement will be made after the list of rules.
Rules
Rule #1: Sexual Relations
The Claimant will have sexual relations only when they choose and may deny advances at any time, which Claimant must respect in turn. Additionally, Claimant will only have sexual relations with their fellow Claimants unless the Claimants are partaking in a group sex situation, or Claimant has requested and received an allowance for sex with someone who isn’t their fellow Claimants.
Rule #2: Respect for Claim
The Claimant must wear their indicator of their claim (i.e. Submissive collar or Dominant cuff) at all times that Claimant is in the public eye, save for dangerous situations that require removal of said indicator. The Claimant must also state that they are in a claim and show respect for their fellow Claimant if questioned about claim status.
Rule #3: BDSM Etiquette
The Claimant will respect Safe, Sane, Consensual etiquette by discussing all BDSM scenes prior to initiation and by creating and using a safe word during BDSM interaction with their fellow Claimants. The Claimant must be willing to both accept and provide aftercare, which includes seeking urgent care for their fellow Claimants in any dire situations that arise.
Rule #4: Communication
The Claimant must be truthful and forthcoming with their fellow Claimants. No matter how ashamed or pained that a Claimant feels about a topic, Claimant will communicate openly and honestly with their fellow Claimants without lying or misguiding the discussion. Additionally, in cases of misunderstanding, Claimants will hear out their fellow Claimants without judgment.
Rule #5: Making Decisions
The Claimant will never make major, life-altering decisions for themselves or their fellow Claimants without first seeking their fellow Claimants for guidance and discussion. The Claimant will also remove themselves from situations in which they are being forced to make such a decision. Likewise, Claimant will never force such a decision on their fellow Claimants, and each Claimant has the right to say what happens to their own person and body regardless of their fellow Claimants’ opinions.
Rule #6: Health of Body and Mind
The Claimant must show care for their physical and mental health including daily hygiene and seeking care for illness. Additionally, Claimant must show care for their fellow Claimants’ physical and mental health including tending to their fellow Claimants when their fellow Claimants are ill. Ultimately, Claimant will respect their fellow Claimants’ final wishes and not substitute their own.
Rule #7: Courtesy and Trust
The Claimant will be courteous to their fellow Claimants and other people regardless of another person’s designation, including slaves, and regardless of the level of courtesy shown to them by another person. However, Claimant will also make a distinction between courtesy and trust, and only trust other people who have made effort to earn such a level of respect from the Claimant. On a related note, Claimant will only take orders from those that they trust, and only those orders which they feel comfortable performing.
Rule #8: Arguments
The Claimant must make a conscious effort to never end a day with unresolved tension with their fellow Claimants and won’t allow themselves to sleep until making every logical appeal to settle any grievances with their fellow Claimants. Likewise, Claimants shall recognize when there is tension between Claimants that their fellow Claimants are attempting to end, and they will work with their fellow Claimants to find a stable solution. In the case of an impasse, Claimants won’t start the following day with an argument, but rather wait until all Claimants are ready to try to resolve the issue and then proceed into a civil discussion.
Rule #9: Happiness
The Claimant will strive to have a positive and carefree attitude about their claim. Though it’s not expected that the Claimant will always be happy, the Claimant must not hold grudges against their fellow Claimants. The Claimant will also put their concern for happiness in the following order: their own happiness, their fellow Claimants’ happiness, and then, the happiness of everyone else. Additionally, Claimant will never be negative in public about their claim, but will confide in their fellow Claimants or a trusted third party if they have negative thoughts.
Rule #10: Humility and Forgiveness
The Claimant must accept that they are human and that their fellow Claimants are human, and as humans, mistakes will be made. The Claimant should show humility and not defensiveness as a result of making a mistake or accusation thereof, and in turn, they should be understanding of their fellow Claimants’ positions regardless of who made a mistake. Claimants are not expected to forgive or even forget, but they are expected to work through mistakes that are made by any Claimant. Forgiveness, of course, comes with time and mutual compassion, and therefore, Claimant will make the effort to find common ground with their fellow Claimants to retain the validity of their claim, but they will also not stake their own sanity and health just to stay in the claim when there are mistakes made by their fellow Claimants that they find to be unforgivable.
Consequences
Consequences for breaking a rule, no matter the rule, include:
informing the fellow Claimants of the rule breakage
an ensuing probationary period of five days during which the rule-breaking Claimant must:
compose a letter to their fellow Claimants explaining their actions
give up one item or practice as decided by their fellow Claimants for the length of the probationary period
If the rule-breaking Claimants should break another rule while on probation, they are no longer allowed to share a bed with their fellow Claimants and may only leave the home with their fellow Claimants for an additional five days.
Breaking a third rule within the extended probation period is considered grounds for breaking the claim and requesting annulment if the rule-breaking Claimant’s fellow Claimants should so choose. Breaking a third rule will also result in the rule-breaking Claimant’s banishment from the home for five days and removal of the claim indicator from all Claimants.
In any of these cases, after the passing of the probationary period and the composition of the letter of explanation in addition to other punishments as listed above for subsequent offenses, the rule-breaking Claimant shall be considered atoned for their behavior and their fellow Claimants shall make note of such penance in writing.
Following atonement and written approval by their fellow Claimants, the rule-breaking Claimant can no longer be scrutinized for their atoned indiscretion.
Amendments
The above rules and consequences are subject to change at the discretion of all Claimants. Amendments and clarifications must be approved by all Claimants before said changes are implemented to the Claim Rules.
Promises
Kaleb Owen, I claim you and I’ve placed a mutually selected collar upon you to signify that after nearly three years together, we are capable of upholding a claim for the rest of our lives. We have been through such trials, but no one need know the months of pain and uncertainty that accompanied this relationship, because today we are smiling and today we are confident, and today, is the day that we will remember most when we look back to everything that led us to be together and having faith in one another.
The rules of our claim will undoubtedly change as our relationship matures beyond the love that defines our current passions and we grow to care for certain aspects more than we did as we wrote and agreed upon ten pillars of solidarity. However, I dare say that the promises we make to each other will never be something to alter and always something to cherish as their vagueness becomes perfectly clear in the years to come.
Foremost, I promise to find confidence in myself, confidence that I know you’ve held for me and I’ve yet to uncover. My humility and awareness will always be my oxymoron, my crippling strengths, and yet, they will keep my confidence from becoming arrogance. Always, I will look to your pride in me as fulfillment and indication of improvement, because you will always be my barometer of self-worth.
I promise to continue to be more than “the Dominant” of this claim. Our designated roles have been such an integral part of our lives, but they are paperwork and should not delegate the ebb and flow of this relationship. There’ll be gray areas, many of which we know already, and I’ll eventually learn to not let this unfilled circle on my wrist stop me from bending in times of need.
I promise to learn to think of our relationship before I think of others and I promise to be a parent like the ones I so admire. Even as I make these promises, we both know what a struggle for me they have been and will be. As a broken person who has made countless mistakes, again and again, there has become a hindrance to my ability to be selfish in times when such greed is needed. However, I know that this would be a tragic trait to have as a parent and I vow to fight off the selflessness and the guilt I feel for putting myself and my loved ones first. You should and do matter more to me than anyone else, and I will make that a priority and our children will know they are loved more than anything.
Finally, I promise to open up to you about my lingering insecurities as well as my bolstered pride for myself, you, and our claim. My bouts of silence have never been something I’ve considered a goodness about myself, and the strain they can put on us have become woefully apparent over time, but not once have you become harsh or anything but supportive in my times of doubt. Therefore, I will learn to share and I will learn not be afraid, and I will learn that a little smugness about our accomplishments can be all the cement we need to complete a foundation.
These promises are the vows I make to you, Kaleb, and though these vows are for all to see and hear, these vows are made for our claim and our understanding alone. These vows are mere indication to scratch the surface of my devotion to our claim and future as not all promises can be put into words to be typed or stated. Some promises are meant to be felt through connection and understanding, and those vows will also gain clarity over time as we grow to be a family and a loving home of our shared aspirations. We’ll succeed in more than love and for that, I am proud to make you mine.
