Hello Robine - no, I haven't lived the life of a regular real-life sub, though the kink has been present sometimes in my love relations (I've known since my teens there was a raw fascination with this) and I hope to bring elements of regular surrender, bondage and submission regularly into my steady relations, hope to have that coming. And I have some contact with the r/l bdsm scene. Many people who see themselves as D/s in fact live this actively when they feel they have the time - in the week-ends, or on vacation, but no doubt you know that not all Dom/-me/slave couples look like The Story of O with its unlimited live-in surrender and sexual slavery.
This forum has helped me explore my submission deeper and further in a fun and revealing way, and brought me into online subbing with its array of tasks, scening, exchange of ideas, punishments, trust and better performance as a sub/slave.

And sure, I would agree that some things are great in imagination but may not work well in brute reality (really rough abduction, played out in a non-consensual way, is an example: it's hot, but wouldn't work full on for most of us)