Author's Notes:

The following is one of many excerpts from the society's manual. It is optional world-building material. The clop is in the next chapter.

Hello and welcome to our wonderful little family, the Clocktower Society. While our society operates many Clocktower sites across the world, each with their own local cultures and traditions, all of us operate on one universal principle - Your Safeword is Law, a slogan we're not particularly shy about writing on everything, even our cafe napkins. And for good reason - it is the one guiding principle that underpins everything we do as a society, whether here at our mare training site at Clocktower Equestria East, our stallion training site at Clocktower Equestria West or as far away as Clocktower Neighpon.

This principle is enshrined in our three core safewords. Dominants and submissives are required to understand the use of said safewords as well as the safety bell before being allowed formal admission into the Society. While the guidelines for use will be covered extensively in your induction, this booklet will serve to explain the basics.

While the Society stands for the pursuit of pleasure through the ultimate domination and submission lifestyle, we believe that true enjoyment, complete submission and satisfying domination is only possible through the knowledge that everyone involved is safe, sane and consenting. In the words of the submissive committee chairmare, slave no. LN-0112, ‘True submission is the offering and acceptance of a whole and willing heart’. Our devotion and acceptance is truly great and beautiful because it is a choice made freely and willingly.

In order to create the most immersive domination and submission experience possible, consent is assumed within the site’s grounds until explicitly withdrawn. Consent for submissives is implied by their collars (more information available in the guide on collars) while consent for dominants is more loosely implied by their masks. As consent is implicit at Clocktower, a rigorous system for withdrawing consent is important.

We acknowledge that some forms of domination and submission play involve roleplaying refusal, unwillingness and forced acts. It is therefore important to have a clear method of withdrawing consent that cannot be mistaken for roleplay. This is where the three safewords and the safety bell come in.

It is a common misconception that safe words are only for the use of submissives. While it is true it is more common for submissives to use them, they are also available for use by dominants. Being a dominant is a position of responsibility, and responsibility can at times prove uncomfortable. As such it is important that dominants can withdraw from that position if the discomfort ever proves too much.

The Safe Words
The safe words are words that can be uttered by either dominant or submissive to slow down, pause or completely cease a session.

The Safety Bell
The safety bell is almost exclusively for the use of submissives, to be used when they cannot otherwise use their safe words, e.g. when their mouths are gagged. The safety bell is a magically-enchanted bell tied by a ribbon to the end of the submissive’s tail. It is important therefore to know that while dock rings and binding the dock to the collar to keep the tail up is allowed, it is entirely prohibited to bind the rest of the tail in any way that stops the submissive from using her safety bell.

The safety bell’s enchantment ensures that it will only ring when truly willed by the submissive. As such it is unlikely for it to accidentally interrupt play. There are three different codes a submissive can ring, each corresponding to the three safe words.

The Three Stages of Consent Withdrawal and Their Corresponding Safe Words and Safety Bell Codes

Slower Pace
Safe Word: Staircase
Bell Code: 3 rings

This signals both sides to slow down the pace and/or tone down the intensity of play without requiring full cessation of activities. What this involves depends on the type of play. If it is intercourse then the it may mean taking it slower and gentler, for example.

Pause
Safe Word: Clockface
Bell Code: 5 rings

This signals both sides to take a break from activities. It is allowed and even encouraged for both parties to break roleplay and hold a candid talk of why the pause was necessary. While it is advisable to remove anything gagging the submissive’s mouth during this time, the removal of bondage and other gear is optional and entirely up to both sides. Activity resumes when the safe word is uttered again by both parties.

Full Stop
Safe word: Towertop
Bell Code: 7 rings

This signals both sides to cease play completely, otherwise known as the ‘Stop, drop, unknot and comfort’ code. All activities must cease immediately. The partner who used the safe word must immediately be checked for both signs of life and injury (refer to the Health, Safety and First Aid guide by Health Leads, Doctor Horse and Nurse Red Heart). Afterwards they must be carefully and safely released from all bondage. The most experienced dominants and submissives agree that this is a very opportune time to comfort the partner who used the safe word.

While the code must of course be used with care, it takes a lot of trust in one’s partner to be able to use the code with confidence. Conversely, one must also be able to trust their partner can and will use the safeword if they need it to in order to dominate/submit confidently. Truly, the safewords are the greatest expression of trust between dominants and submissives.