Free Writes of Submission by Cassidy Browning Page A

poly and in, for example, a ‘slave’ role, then it’s very easy to take away her children on the grounds that she’s an unfit mother who engages in dangerous practices, promiscuous sex, and an abusive relationship. In reality, that’s most likely very far from the truth. Of course there are all kinds of people in the leather lifestyle, just like any other community, and some are no doubt unfit parents. But most kinky people are very smart, strong, and capable who just happen to have a non-traditional relationship style.”
    “But—a slave?” Nikki couldn’t help but ask.
    Allie nodded. “It’s not quite how it sounds. Someone who identifies as a slave is usually a very strong person who wants to harness their energies in the pursuit of a common goal with their partner. The Master takes on the responsibility of helping the slave develop discipline, keep on track, and achieve their goals. It’s not a job for a weak person with no will of their own. There’s a lot of work—on both sides—but also a lot of potential for each person to grow and become more than they would be on their own.”
    “I see.” Nikki took a sip of coffee, digesting this.
    “But we need to talk about dungeon etiquette, especially if you decide you want to go to The Keep, our club here in town, this weekend.”
    “Oh?” Nikki had the sudden feeling she’d done something very ignorant and rude last night. What a strange thought. They’d had sex in public, but she was the one who needed to be taught etiquette?
    Allie gave her a reassuring smile as she got up to bring over the coffeepot and refill their mugs. “It’s not a big deal, and remember that we are doing these scenes for your benefit, so it was perfectly okay last night. But at the club, you would never want to ask questions during a scene, or disrupt it in any way.”
    “Really? What if the bottom—is that right?—is in trouble?”
    “That is the right term, yes. But you have to be aware of how some scenes are set up. People like to roleplay, and sometimes that involves what we call ‘resistance’ play. A bottom might be yelling ‘no’ or ‘stop,’ but that doesn’t give anyone else the right to interfere. They might be screaming their heads off, but there’s only one time you should be concerned enough to try to stop a scene, and that’s if they’re using the safeword ‘red.’ It’s pretty much universally accepted that if someone is calling ‘red,’ they really do want the scene to stop.”
    “I’ve heard of safewords, but I wasn’t completely sure what they were,” Nikki admitted. “I always wondered why they didn’t just say ‘stop.’”
    “Because it can be good to beg someone to stop, knowing that they won’t. If you really need them to stop, you have a safeword, but it can release some tension, or build tension, to yell ‘stop’ knowing that it won’t do anything.”
    Nikki wordlessly added more cream to her coffee. She was beginning to see how much she had to learn.
    “Now, we showed you some of the different stations last night, but we didn’t get into the toys too much,” Allie went on. “There are lots of other things that you’ll see at the club, like electrical play, fire play, wax, knives. Of course never talk to someone in a scene, except here, where it’s more of a lesson, really, than a scene. Never criticize someone’s technique, at least not unless they’re doing something in an unsafe manner. Don’t talk to someone who’s acting very submissive, like being led on a leash or serving their Dominant in some way, without asking the Dominant first.”
    “What’s the difference between a Dominant and a top?” Nikki asked, relaxing a little for the first time. Maybe she could learn to deal with this stuff.
    “A top is someone who is in charge of a scene,” Allie explained. “If I were flogging Brad, I would be the top. If we were sitting in the public area and he was giving me a foot rub or bringing me food, I’d be