Sometimes, the appeal of submission isn’t about being told what to do, It’s about the relief of being with someone you trust enough that you don’t have to anticipate and manage everything or always be the one holding things together and that feeling is the real attraction.
Sometimes being useful is how a submissive avoids being vulnerable.
He'll fix things.
Anticipate needs.
Offer solutions.
Make himself easy to rely on.
But when something actually hurts him, he suddenly has nothing to say.
Being useful feels safer than being honest.
Because if he's always helping, he never has to risk being the one who needs help.
& sometimes, service isn't hiding devotion.
It's hiding vulnerability.
I’ve been trying to figure out how to write this, because I've known @bratty_nikki across so many different chapters of my life that it's difficult to know where to begin.
We met at AVN what feels like a lifetime ago, two of a relatively small group of us who came up in the OG femdom world. It was a VERY small world back then.
We didn't really become friends until years later, during one of the hardest periods of my life. And when it mattered, Nikki showed me exactly what her loyalty meant.
When I escaped my trafficking situation and was fighting to regain control of my work and income, she quietly stood up to my abuser when very few people were willing to. She refused to let him take control of my IWC accounts, even while other companies were rolling over for him. That income kept me afloat when I had almost nothing else.
I don't know if she ever fully understood the ripple effect of that choice. Being able to survive gave me the ability to fight back. Eventually, it gave me the ability to help other people fight back, too. Some part of the work I've done since, the people I've helped get free, the legal battles I've fought, and the nonprofit I eventually founded traces back to people like Nikki who decided I was worth standing beside when it would have been easier not to.
But that isn't how I'll remember her.
I'll remember packing for Burning Man together. Our shared love of EDM. Her perpetually trying to convince me that I absolutely needed to come to EDC and then when we finally bought tickets together it didn't pan out 😅 Her immense appreciation for the finer things in life, because Nikki was a connosuier of luxury. As @cearalynch would say, Nikki's veins ran with Dom Perignon.
I'll remember dressing up for our shipwreck-themed camp, watching the Man burn together, and those sunsets from the roof of the RV.
I'll remember AVN and award shows and parties and music and ridiculous outfits and conversations and all of the little moments accumulated across so many years.
Nikki was a shrewd businesswoman who did an enormous amount behind the scenes to advance other creators, often with very little fanfare. She could be guarded and she could make you work for her trust. But if she loved you, she was fiercely, stubbornly loyal.
There are people who change your life with some enormous dramatic gesture, and there are people who make one decision, show up at exactly the right moment, or simply refuse to abandon you when it would be easier to do so.
Nikki did that for me.
But today, more than anything, I'm thinking about all the memories I didn't realize would someday become precious.
I'll miss you, Nikki.
I know wherever you are, it has excellent champagne, a dope sound system, and absolutely no general admission. ❤️
I think it’s really important for subs to remember:
•You can say no.
•If you don’t like/no longer feel comfortable in your dynamic, you can leave.
•You are a person first, and if your boundaries aren’t being respected or you’re not vibing, you can leave.