D/s Hierarchy
Weâve all seen some version of this. But hereâs how I write it, with the most important at the top:
submissive needs Dominant needs Dominant wants Dominant whims submissive wants
Submissives First In my mind, this is the only way it works. The submissiveâs needs have to be managed first. Without those met, the submissive cannot let go and submit. When submissives have to devote energy to managing their needs and their Dominantsâ needs and wants, itâs too much. Submissives have a tendency to put their Dominants first (and often, everyone else). So in the end, they suffer. They cannot do it all. And when they try, they wilt. Dominants must understand and work to fulfill their submissivesâ needs. Or the whole hierarchy falls apart.Â
But submissives have responsibilities here, too. First, they need to know what they need. Not want, but need. Second, they need to communicate about their needsâto help their Dominants check the gauges and rebalance when necessary. If you donât truly know what you need, you canât expect your partner to know.Â
âŚBut Dominants First, Too The other thing is that I donât think submissives should see their needs as coming first. In an ideal relationship, submissives put faith in their Dominants to care for their needs, and they focus on their Dominantsâ needs. If you canât let go of putting your needs first, then you arenât really giving up power. Communicate. Share your needs, and have meta discussions about them. Then let go. Trust. Lean in with your submission by putting your Dominantâs needs first. Focus on what they need. Let that guide you at all times. With submissive and Dominant both putting one anotherâs needs first, the dynamic flourishes. It deepens, and it takes you places you never knew existed.Â
Why Whims Why do Dominantsâ whims come before submissivesâ wants? Why are they on there at all? At least for me, explicitly putting my Dominantâs whims above my wants is a reminder of what it means to be owned. And I need to feel it sometimes. I need to know that my Dominant has no need to justify decisions. I plug my ass in the middle of the workday when told. I drop what Iâm doing to complete a task. I deny my orgasms at the last minute. That is what it means to be owned. No other reason required. I need to know that my needs come first, but I also need to know that my desires come last. Very, very last. This is what my slave heart needsânot just in theory, but I need to see it. Â
For me, this is the fundamental structure of a D/s relationship. Different relationships may structure it differently. M/s will likely be different from DDlg, and the hierarchy may shift as two people build their dynamic. But the hierarchy makes a big impact on the dynamic. Itâs not just the stated hierarchy; itâs the hierarchy reflected in your actions. How do your actions reflect your priorities? And does that create a dynamic where both partners can thrive?
Iâve never really thought about wants vs whims before, but I REALLY like this distinction. It fits really well with what feels right to me.

















