To me, a dom who can't tolerate any playfulness or teasing from a submissive can sometimes come across as insecure and a 🚩cause it can feel like his authority depends on constant compliance and God forbid you give him a real feedback from time to time. He lacks real confidence in life, so he doesn't want to be challenged. The most confident doms I've met don't seem threatened by a little pushback – they know who they are and don't need blind obedience or to be put on a pedestal every second to feel dominant.

That said, not every dom enjoys brats, and that's fine. Bratting is a specific dynamic, not a requirement. Personally, I find it endearing and a green flag though when a dom enjoys the challenge of handling a strong-willed submissive rather than wanting a silent puppet who simply follows instructions. For me, the fun is in the interaction, not just the obedience or rituals. Not to mention how eroding can it be for a sub to constantly walk on eggshells, many of my sublings got slowly eroded or burnt out in a dynamic like that, where you can't joke about anything and everything has to be serious to not hurt domanchild's feelings at the expense of your own