Sir, Butler and Boy ~ A Spit Shine ~ Page 11
Things are going to get a bit forceful over the next couple of pages but I hope it’s obvious that Jefferson is totally into that.
Remember kids, if you choke someone you’re not aiming to cut off their air supply completely (and risk damaging their throat) but squeezing their neck to cut off blood to the brain and make them a bit light headed. The danger is what tends to get people off but you can reduce risk of harm by being careful.
This is why some places describe it as RACK- Risk Aware Consensual Kink as opposed to Safe Sane and Consensual. Some things are inherently dangerous but you can take steps to ensure they’re not damaging.
I’m off to Kitacon this friday for some Cabaret fun, as well as taking part in a panel on Tailoring and a gameshow called the Yaoi is Right. It’s going to be a blast- say hi on my table if you’re about!
I appreciate the reminder :)
(the choke hold not my thing,and it does scare me as an outsider)
I’ll feel much safer to enjoy your work, knowing that Jefferson is both happy and ok :) thanks again :)
Ooh, I haven’t heard RACK before, I shall use it!
“Things are going to get a bit forceful over the next couple of pages but I hope it’s obvious that Jefferson is totally into that.”
I don’t think it’s obvious that Jefferson’s into it, unfortunately. Last page we got a shocked look, and this time it’s mostly the recovery of trying to breathe.
I can *get* that he’s into it, but I also wouldn’t have been (or be) surprised if he protested the treatment.
I think it’s just hard to convey the enjoyment non-verbally.
Unfortunately that’s the downside to webcomic formats- it’s definitely obvious by the end of the story, but that’s a couple updates away instead of a page flip.
I can’t remember if you’ve done so in the past with this comic since I’m not sure if it has a cartoony tone, but maybe putting a little heart next to his reactions would work?
For me, panel 3 does get the “ahegao face” across but that’s just me.
Yeah, I kinda figured it was an issue with the format, plus you have three characters to focus on so things can get lost. Still love the comic though <3
I disagree with you there, his blush seems to underline that hes turned on, at least for me. Hes not red in his entire face (hence its not from the lack of air) but just his cheeks.
But yea as Tab says, its hard to convey everything in a way that everyone understands in this medium, and its good that its explained in the comments as well
There is no reasonably safe way to breath control play, neither under SSC nor under RACK standards. Read http://www.jaywiseman.com/SEX_BDSM_Breath_Medical_Realities.php “The Medical Realities of Breath Control Play”. It starts with “As a person with years of medical education and experience, I know of no way whatsoever that either suffocation or strangulation can be done in a way that does not intrinsically put the recipient at risk of cardiac arrest.” and later lists additional dangers of “rupture of the windpipe, fracture of the larynx, damage to the blood vessels in the neck, dislodging a fatty plaque in a neck artery which then travels to the brain and causes a stroke, damage to the cervical spine, seizures, airway obstruction by the tongue, and aspiration of vomitus.” It clarifies that the partner will not be able to determine when a cardiac arrest is imminent, that CPR has only a 10% success rate and that some people seemed to recover fully but then were found dead some hours later. It mentions that there are between 250 and 1000 deaths related to erotic asphyxiation in the US per year (no statistics given for other countries). Read the whole thing from beginning to end. Stay safe. Don’t engage in breath play. Don’t get others into it.
Key point of RACK – *RISK AWARE*. As explained in the above, ‘breath play’ is really best done by cutting off the blood flow, not the air. It’s not *safe*, but it is less risky than cutting off the oxygen. Considering choke holds in MMA and other fight sports do the same thing, and it’s a legal maneuver for what is essentially a leisure sport, let consenting adults make their own informed sexual choices, yeah?
I am glad to see that Jay Wiseman’s article is still widely available online. Regarding blood chokes in sports vs sex, I would argue that professional athletes undergo a great deal of training, more than most people are likely to pursue or receive for sex. Furthermore, the risk goes beyond physical harm. As Wiseman points out, a choke scene that ends in death can and has resulted in people going to prison, even if the scene was consensual (generally, law enforcement isn’t well known for its sex positivity or awareness of nontraditional sex). Even if no one goes to jail, a person must live with the knowledge that they killed a person, probably a person they cared about a great deal. Basically, Wiseman’s message is that it’s practically impossible to mitigate the risks of breathplay because it can go very bad very quickly, and cause permanent, irreversible harm to BOTH parties involved.
The fact of the matter is that any play activity can cause irreversible harm to one or both parties. It may not always be physical, or even be a risk of death, but there is in fact always a risk of an activity going too far. That’s why some people use RACK over SSC. The idea is you know the risks of what you’re doing, and you accept them and any consequences that come along with it. I’m not saying let Greenie Joe who’s just read 50 Shades go choke his girlfriend, but there are plenty of people who know exactly what the risks of that kind of play are and still choose to accept those risks and play anyway. They’ve done their research, and they minimize the risks as much as they possibly can, and the rest comes down to consenting adults doing what they decide is right for them.
Thank you for the disclaimer. I was starting to get a little uncomfortable/afraid things would be taken too far.
As something of a RACK boy, it’s nice to see things get a little forceful. There’s lots of violent stuff online, but seeing it framed in such a loving and supportive relationship, with the bottom being looked after and reassured, with safety being considered… that’s something really special for me.
Also, Jefferaon’s bliss eyes in that third panel.