beta
The determination of consent being withdrawn requires a CLEAR withdrawal that is understood by the involved individuals. In S&M play, this is a very gray line unless partners had previously discussed a safe word (which Richard and Courtney have obviously not done to to naivety), and yes, many people are going to get up in arms about “this or that” being r*pe! That’s the nature of S&M. An S&M relationship is something that cannot be judged by individuals other than those involved, even by readers of a fictional story who think we see/know everything going on. Examples would be the sub saying they don’t like something and want to stop. In that situation, the dom should listen, but it is a very fine line; yet when the sub starts doing something similar and the dom loses their domination, it is now somehow considered “r*pe”, while the previous example wasn’t. That’s not righteousness, that’s hypocrisy.
My point is that we have no room to judge their relationship. We’re reading it for gratification OURSELVES, for universe’s sake. (And before anyone in particular tries to argue with me in the comments cause they don’t agree: I AM EDUCATED on the definitions of r*pe, SA, and withdrawing consent. I don’t need you to tell me about it.)