If you’re here, you’ve already read Starting Point… and met the first version of me:
a stranger asking you what you want.
This piece is tiny, but it’s doing more work than it looks like on the surface.
If the original piece already hit you in the gut, this is just me turning the lights up on why.
What this piece is actually doing
On the page, it’s simple:
- “Never talk to strangers.”
- “Never take candy from strangers.”
- Questions about intention, expectation, authenticity.
- Ending on: So… what do you want?
Underneath, it’s:
-
Setting up the whole project
Everything I write later about kink, dynamics, sex, devotion, submission, power — all of it is just more complicated versions of this same moment:
“You’re a stranger. I want something. Are you safe enough to get close to?”
-
Flipping the “stranger danger” script
You were taught:
- strangers = danger
- wants = weakness
This piece quietly says:
- strangers are inevitable
- wants are unavoidable
- pretending otherwise doesn’t keep you safe — it just keeps you numb.
-
Calling your bluff
The last line:
So… what do you want?
is the real knife.
It’s not about me at all. It’s about whether you’re willing to admit you have wants big enough that a stranger could tempt you with them.
Strangers, candy, and kink
On purpose, this sounds like childhood:
- “Never TALK to strangers!”
- “Never take CANDY from a stranger!”
That’s the first script most of us ever get about:
- danger
- temptation
- being tricked
In adult life, especially in kink / sex / dynamics, that same pattern just wears new clothes:
- “Never trust a Dom without X.”
- “Never meet someone off the internet.”
- “Never get into feelings with casual sex.”
There’s always a voice somewhere yelling:
“Don’t want too much.”
“Don’t trust too fast.”
“Don’t let anyone see what you’d trade everything for.”
This piece doesn’t argue with the existence of danger.
It just refuses the fantasy that you can stay safe by staying small.
You are going to want things:
- attention
- touch
- power exchange
- devotion
- to be chosen, even by someone who doesn’t fully know you yet
The question isn’t “Do you want candy?”
It’s:
“Do you know yourself well enough to tell when you’re being offered poison wrapped in it?”
Intention, expectation, authenticity
Those three little question sets in the middle are the real skeleton of the piece:
Intention:
Is this real, or do I want it to be real?Expectation:
Is this as wonderful as I want it to be?Authenticity:
Is what is being offered only as real as I know… or is it more real than I can understand?
Later cycles blow those questions up into full essays, but this is their seed.
- Intention =
Can I tell the difference between:
What this person is actually saying / doing vs what my loneliness, hunger, or kink is projecting onto them?
- Expectation =
Am I honestly evaluating what’s in front of me,
or grading it against the movie in my head? - Authenticity =
Am I only letting myself see as far as my comfort zone goes, or am I open to the possibility that this is deeper / stranger / better / riskier than I know how to label?
The piece doesn’t answer any of those.
It just plants them and leaves you with the discomfort.
If this feels uncomfortably accurate, that doesn’t mean you’ve failed; it just means you’re awake enough to notice what’s been pulling you around.
Why it ends on you, not me
The last move is important:
“While there will always be those who appear strangely, I can trust in that which I know I want.
So… what do you want?”
That looks like I’m just turning the question back for effect.
What it’s actually doing is:
- putting responsibility back in your hands
- without shaming you for wanting things
Most safety talk is:
“Don’t want so much, and you won’t get hurt.”
My framing is:
“You’re going to want things anyway.
Get honest about them, or anyone can use them on you.”
If you’re clear on:
- what you want,
- what it’s worth to you,
- and what you will / won’t trade for it,
then strangers are still risky — but they’re not magic.
They can’t trick you with something you’ve already named.
As a “Starting Point” for everything else
We start with the most basic dynamic:
You.
Me.
A screen.
A question: what do you want?
Every later post is just a more specific version of that same scene.
If this one lands for you, it’s usually because:
- some part of you remembers “don’t talk to strangers,”
- and some newer, louder part of you is very aware you’re already doing exactly that right now — on purpose.
That’s the point.
Cycle I – Coming on Strong · 01 · Commentary (v1.00)
Go Deeper with This Piece
Continue Cycle I
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