Assignment 3 from my trainee:28/5/12

Assignment 3 - I was pleased with my trainee's efforts.  Some submissives who want to "serve" can't undertake assignments like this because they don't have the commitment to learn and embrace the higher level of Kinkiness.  Many just want Kinky sex without the knowledge or understanding behind what drives many of us in this journey.

Edgeplay

            Edgeplay is any type of play that would be considered “edgy” and comes very close to crossing a submissive/slave’s limits or goes very close to the edge of what is considered “safe play”. Certain activities like breath play (strangulation and asphyxiation), needle play, knife play and blood play are all examples of edge play. However, as different people have different limits, what people consider edgeplay is also different. One person may consider needle play to be within the scope of “normal” BDSM activities whereas another may consider it to be edgeplay. Severe humiliation is also another example of edgeplay and for some people even mild humiliation would be considered to be on the edge. Edgeplay is different for different couples as everyone is different and has different limits and skills. It is also possible for activities such as needle play that may start out as being considered to be edge play by the couple to after a few times of doing it for it to no longer be so close to the limits set down at the beginning of the relationship.

Safewords

            Safewords or safe signals are words or signals that the submissive/slave uses in a scene to inform the Dominant that the scene is either going too far and they want it to stop completely and immediately or they just want the Dominant to stop a particular activity but to continue the scene. It is important to have safewords/signals as they are a very clear way to tell the Dominant how the submissive/slave is feeling about the scene at any particular point in time and when the scene is getting too much for the submissive/slave and they would like it to either stop immediately or just slow down. It is especially useful when a relationship is new, especially if one or both, people in the relationship are new to the BDSM world and play or when an established couple are testing out new limits. Not respecting and acting on a safeword/signal given by the submissive/slave is grounds for the immediate termination of the relationship.

RACK vs SSC

            RACK stands for Risk-aware consensual kink and has the intent of educating and making the players in a relationship aware of the risks inherent in the activities they undertake as part of the D/s relationship. It means that the players in the relationship are both aware and have consented to the risk. If both players have appropriate knowledge of the risks and have consented to them then go ahead. This is the basic idea which is at the core of RACK. RACK is especially important when considering whether or not to undertake any form of edge play.

            SSC on the other hand stands for Safe, Sane and Consensual. It has the intent of helping to make sure that all the players in a D/s relationship are safe, the submissive/slave is unharmed, sane, neither party is intoxicated at the point of play and are able to clearly differentiate fantasy from reality and consent fully to all activities that are going to be undertaken. Another important part of keeping the players in a relationship safe is to make sure that the submissive/slave has no underlying injuries or conditions that will be aggravated by the play being performed.

            In short RACK seems to deal more with the activities that are being undertaken and SSC is more about the people who are undertaking the activities, whether they are the Dominant or the submissive/slave.