#but that doesn’t change the fact that in the end he choose power and control over all else slowly killing all parts of him that were good | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sepublic · 1 year

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Thinking about how Watching and Dreaming is a story about Choices, their relation to Change, and the Responsibility that comes with that.

It’s about Luz choosing to be a hero, choosing herself, choosing happiness in a world where she’s made any friends; The Titan herself tells Luz that he can’t decide anything for her, it’s Luz’s decision to accept his power and return to the isles to stop Belos. It’s Luz’s choice to be a Good Witch.

Choosing just one magic course? Luz has always been unique about choices in her own way, she can’t decide on just one thing if she can have them all; Hence why she studies all magic tracks. Why Luz maintains connections to the human and demon realms. Even her bisexuality could be seen as a meta refusal to settle for one; So it all culminates in her palisman String Bean, who represents Luz not so much being indecisive, but rather choosing it all. Choosing all of the choices, with an intent that really does make a difference to her nervousness from before.

It’s the Collector’s choice to become better, to let go of their anger and loneliness. It’s about choosing to change, something Belos never does; What makes him ‘irredeemable’ is not all of the heinous crimes he’s committed, it’s the fact that no matter how many times he is offered the opportunity to change, even be forgiven, Belos chooses not to take it. He refuses to change.

But the Collector does. And they’re rewarded when King chooses to give them Francois; And it was always about King’s choice, his decision that the Collector respected. It was never about having Francois, hence why they didn’t cuddle with Francois behind King’s back, rescued him from Belos’ grasp and returned him to where he belonged.

By contrast, the Collector’s control defies the ability to choose, because they decide everything for everyone. But he can’t force people to be his friends, it’s up to them, especially on whether to forgive. The students at Hexside are understandably scared of the Collector, and in the end, the kid can’t choose for them to be his friends; That’s something they decide for themselves, even if it’s the choice he wouldn’t have liked.

THAT was the Collector’s mistake with Belos; It was not compassion’s folly. It was that they assumed by giving Belos a chance to change, he would automatically choose to do so; In a sense, the Collector expected that choice to be made for Belos just by offering him the opportunity to take it. But it’s just a change, a possibility, there is no certainty. The Collector can’t make Belos change as a person, they can’t control him either; They can only hope, but never assume on his behalf.

Belos also chose things for people; Made them decide on just one magic track, and/or servitude to him. Insisted to Luz she ‘choose better’ by settling for humanity, took away agency through direct possession of Raine and the Titan. Both of whom fight back and regain some semblance of change and control but for themselves. In his final moments, Belos pretends he was a victim like them; Absolves himself of responsibility by claiming he didn’t have a choice, that he was forced to by his nebulous ‘curse’, and deep down he must believe God’s Destiny also spares him accountability.

But by placing himself at Luz’s mercy, it gives Luz the power to decide Belos’ fate; And she doesn’t choose ‘peace’ like Belos hopes, because like with the Collector, merely offering a choice does not make someone take it. Raine and the Titan still managed to fight back and decide things for themselves, as did Hunter, and so many under his coven. Caleb was under the same indoctrination growing up but changed anyway; Philip has nobody but to blame but himself, for being passive.

People choose to get better, or don’t; There are covenscouts like Tom and his group, confronted by Steve who chose to change and improve. And when offered the compassion and opportunity to do the same, they accepted; They chose improvement. Meanwhile, Coven Heads like Terra, Adrian, and Vitimir choose to stay the same. They don’t want to change, and it’s up to people like Darius and Eberwolf to prevent any more harm from them.

Alador chooses to change for his kids, because he misses them. He wants to be a dad they can look up to, and love. This is contrasted by Odalia, who bitterly stands off to the side; She could’ve chosen this moment to change, because it’s not like there were any other opportunities to pursue. But she doesn’t want to change.

And that’s part of theme of Choice, it’s that you have to choose to change, proactively and make it happen, or accept that change has happened regardless of your participation. When you have the ability, you have the responsibility, both in what to choose and the consequences that come. Philip didn’t want to face the consequences of his actions, denied responsibility. But people like Luz and the Collector and so many took responsibility; They saw they were hurting others and/or themselves, stopped and fixed the damage, and grew up. There is a responsibility to always offer compassion, even if you accept that people might reject it anyway.

Belos didn’t want to change, nor did he accept that times have changed; His brother is dead, there’s no bringing Caleb back. The human world has changed, he saw as such through Hunter’s eyes when the Gravesfield that indoctrinated him ultimately looked back on its witch hunting prejudice and decided that was wrong, admitted it changed.

Things can’t last forever, the Collector is convinced by Luz to accept change, not just in letting go, but also in learning about and acknowledging death. Just as Luz accepted her father Manny’s death; Belos being a cancerous growth that envelops the Titan, who is a father figure to King and low key Luz herself, is a metaphor for whatever illness killed Manny. By helping the Collector, a child who doesn’t understand death, Luz basically helps her childhood self; And by stopping Belos, she comes to terms with Manny’s death, and conquers her grief to move on and find a new future and a new family.

Because Luz and the Collector accept change, that means they don’t need to maintain an unnatural stasis; They’re able to wake up from their fantasy dreams by coming to terms with the loss of loved ones, for Luz her dad, for the Collector their previous Titan friends, and their fear of losing King. Belos, he clings to his dream of being a hero, and never wakes up, even insisting in his final words that it’s the witches who are evil, not actually him. Belos clung to the past of Gravesfield and his trauma, and was forced to face the now, the consequences that came afterwards with his sins, in the form of people actually alive and very angry.

But even with Belos’ death, the isles changed because of him, alas; The left arm has permanently risen, the geography of that area is drastically different and people must adapt. The Titan has finally, truly died, after he moved on, no thanks to Belos; No more of HIS glyphs, but there are King’s. So things change, and Luz accepts that; Even before King’s glyphs develop, the fact that she changed enough to earn String Bean allows her to survive this period of no glyph magic to rely on just fine, and build and plan a future around that.

There are still scars, like the literal ones of Luz, King, Eda, Hunter, and Raine; Or the emotional scars like the death of Flapjack, the trauma that everyone has suffered and is healing from. But because so many characters chose to change, and to accept change, they themselves became people so radically different, and so much happier for it. So when they all appear before Luz to thank her, to express gratitude for the compassion that enabled them to decide to change, and become new people for it…

It’s all about Choices. It’s about Freedom. It’s about Change, how you must facilitate and/or accept it. Control is antithetical to this, at least in application to others; But when you can control yourself and exercise autonomy, that’s wonderful. People like Amity, Lilith, Bump, Alador, and so many others chose to change and become better people, to create change in themselves and the world around them. Eda and King took responsibility for their actions, Eda accepting her curse was no excuse to push aside Raine, King becoming responsible with the implications of his divinity by rejecting them to be humble.

Luz changed people, and she never forced them to. She simply gave them the same choice that she chose for herself, and that’s beautiful. There is no Destiny that’s decided ahead of time for you, no God who decides your role in the world. There is no ‘Chosen One’, one for whom a decision has been made by someone else and thrust upon them, there is only One who Chooses. It’s all about deciding for yourself, and that’s part of the uncertainty but also freedom of growing up.

Luz chose to enter a foreboding shack. She chose to go back for her father’s book, to remain a weirdo, for herself and for Manny. And she chose to stay in the isles rather than go back. She’s been making choices all this time, deciding her own fate and as Eda advised her, what kind of witch Luz wants to be; A Good Witch.

#the owl house #luz noceda #the owl house collector #emperor belos #philip wittebane #meta #themes #analysis

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mrskokushibo · 11 months

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Watching ... Stuff with the Upper Moons - Headcanons

Kokushibo, Douma and Akaza

I NSFW I 18+ I MDNI I

Warnings: Smut. Oral sex. Vaginal sex. Mention of group sex. 18+ . MDNI. NSFW

Synopsis: Just a small, weekend treat. You and your demon boyfriend choose to watch some porn together. Let's see what happens 😁. Enjoy!

Masterlist

Kokushibo:

He seems indifferent when you suggest you watch an adult movie together.

However, it is not all vanilla in the world of Kokushibo. Upper Moon One has in fact a mind dirtier than the gutters of a medieval city, if he could he would fuck you 24/7, anywhere and anytime.

He pretends like he has no preferences, but oh he does. They are just too filthy to share with you. So, he will make you choose an adult movie every time. It is frustrating to say the least, as you end up looking like the pervert yourself when you finally take matters in your own hands and select something that reflects your darkest desires.

Hence, what you end up watching is a threesome or group sex film with several men fucking one woman or a female submission flick.

He will sit still and watch intently, but with no expression on his face.

Soon enough a hand will wander to your breasts, pinching and teasing your nipples. Another hand will be snaking between your legs and under your wet g-string, just to finger fuck you while you keep on watching.

He will tell you to undress while he keeps his clothes on. It is his little kink, he loves the power play of it.

He will lay you flat on the sofa and eat your pussy until you squirt all over his handsome face.

Only then he will get undressed. He will then climb on top of you and fuck you, slowly pumping into you while you both watch the movie. He has immense stamina and self-control so he will last like this for nearly the entire length of the movie, easily 30 minutes to an hour, finally coming at the very end.

You will slowly notice him re-enacting scenes from the adult flick and getting rough with you at times. And oh boy, does he have an aggressive streak to him. He will push you down on your knees when you are cooking, turn off the stove and mouth fuck you until you choke and gag just so he can see his cum paint your face. So next time choose wisely what porn you watch with him, because you might be paying for your choice afterwards.

Douma:

He is the one that initiates watching adult films together.

He will tell you to put anything you want to watch on at first, but only a couple of minutes in and he is bored. The fuck is he gonna watch something so lame. He gets up and changes to something ultra hardcore: like really, anything goes.

In no time at all you will both be naked facing the tv, you in front of him and he ferociously railing you doggy style.

It doesn’t take much for him to cum, and he will come many times through the movie. As he is completely focused on what is on the screen, that means there will be some sloppy shots with him spraying all over your ass, back and even hair.

He will not focus much on you coming since he knows you will come anyway as watching porn and fucking at the same time makes you so fucking horny.

He will be spanking your ass, harder and harder the closer to coming he is, leaving red imprints on your soft flesh. He knows you love it. He would not do it otherwise. Heck, you would not be his fuck toy if you were not into some nasty shit.

Next time depending on if you are having a viewing session at his or your place, he will ask if it is ok to invite a few of his or your friends to join in. He is not shy and neither are you and what more fun than some recreational group sex.

His secret dream is to film the two of you fucking and watch it afterwards, maybe with friends... and then film the response (yes, everyone fucking).

Akaza:

The tamest of the trio. Watching porn is something he always wanted to do with you, but it is not until you both end up in a hotel one night, that the two of you decide to watch what is on offer on the hotel’s pay per view.

After that little initiation, he always waits for you to suggest a session at your place, and when you do, he drops everything and is there within half hour. That’s how eager he is.

He will be happy with just any regular adult movie. Actually, secretly, he really likes it to have a bit of a plot and be more on the romantic, vanilla side of things.

Few minutes in and he has an aching hard on, resulting in you very soon bouncing on his cock.

He will be so engulfed in what is happening on the screen as well as you bouncing on his cock, that he will forget that your back is turned to the tv and you must turn your head to even see anything.

He turns you around and now you can both watch and fuck at the same time.

He loves your tits, so keeps on squeezing them while you ride his cock.

He comes many times, all of it inside you and gets hard again in no time, resulting in cum running down your legs and onto the sofa. He is caring and will clean it up for you later.

He will take you to the bedroom afterwards and fuck you nice and slow until you both are so fucked out that you fall asleep in each other’s arms.

Banner by @cafekitsune

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Tagging ❤: @muzansfangs @muzanswaifu @doumadono @doumaslotus @fuckkyourlife

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swallowerofdharma · 29 days

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Yashiro’s Cruel God part one

Disclaimer: this post contains a detailed and straightforward analysis of chapter 25. Doumeki isn’t the villain, if you were worried about that. Actually I must apologize because I wanted to talk about him too, but as usual I started this meta with Yashiro and got carried away. This is also why I am dividing it in parts to avoid having a very very long post. So other parts will hopefully follow to fully elaborate the premise I made. Thank you for understanding. And please take care of your wellbeing, if mentioning Yashiro’s stepfather upset you, maybe skip this one.

Premise: not a matter of perfection but of balance

This person I followed reblogged the Declarations of healthy adulthood by David Richo in big big font and - having only one thought on my mind apparently - I read all that text in Yashiro’s POV. I actually don’t think that this is a perfect model or anything, and I am generally skeptical of self help books (I only assume this is something like it), but why not use this as an example, while considering something that I find interesting about Yashiro and Doumeki? During the discussion about the latest chapter, I said something along the lines of Doumeki representing young love, while Yashiro’s approach has been more mature, and I meant it thinking about Yashiro being aware and cautious about hurting others [and being intentional when he does, since he put a bullet in Doumeki’s leg] and being quite self reliant, and yes I know that he is also afraid of being hurt/loved! in previous posts here, I have mentioned that Yashiro’s acceptance of his past is only-in-part denial or downplaying of trauma, because it has been also a strategy and an impressive sign of his maturity and determination to live in the present. Isn’t it exceptional that Yashiro doesn’t seem all that resentful of his parents? That he openly says that he doesn’t blame others? We have to confront his words always mindful of the fact that he usually is an unreliable narrator, but in many instances he says the truth or half truths and his demeanor confirmed that he did some of what David Richo proposes: I accept full responsibility for the shape my life has taken; I accept that I may never feel I am receiving - or have received - all the attention I seek; One by one, I drop every expectation of people and things; I let go of blame, regret, vengeance, and the infantile desire to punish those who hurt or reject me; No one can or needs to bail me out. I am not entitled to be taken care of by anyone or anything, I let go of control without losing control.

I thought that it was very interesting to consider the Yashiro/Doumeki dynamics from different angles, like older/younger, or even realist/romantic, for example. The point of this experiment isn’t to make a comparison of merit nor to talk about a character in better light than another. Maybe those differences need to be confronted or balanced: for example the realist maybe needs some of the romantic’s idealism to soar and not be stuck on the ground. Yoneda-san might be onto something so human and amazing here. An important clarification is due before saying anything else. As characters that are written as full human beings, with their complexity and contradictions, Yashiro and Doumeki can’t be put neatly into the opposite categories I proposed. The story is much more dynamic, so I ask you to take a further step and put those opposites at the ends of a spectrum and to move our characters freely in both directions. Yashiro tends toward being effectively the older and more realistic one but he has traits that make him move down towards the other end too, even to the extreme of being childish. Consider for example these other statements, from the Declarations of healthy adulthood: I need never fear my own truth, powers, fantasies wishes, thoughts, sexuality, dreams, or ghosts; When change and growth scare me, I still choose them. I may act with fear, but never because of it; I am still safe when I cease following the rules my parents (or others) set for me; If people knew me as I really am, they would love me for being human like them. These points clearly demonstrate Yashiro’s unresolved problems, where he is stuck if you want, and why probably nobody believed me when I pointed at him as being mature (eh, he has his moments tho, you can’t deny that).

I challenge everyone to consider that those four points in particular are quite challenging for most people in general, but particularly so for someone who has fear/betrayal as the foundational principle in their childhood instead of a normal amount even a scarse amount of parental love/safety. And I want to underline childhood here, not teenage years or later.

I need never fear my own truth, powers, fantasies wishes, thoughts, sexuality, dreams, or ghosts. Yashiro here is a mix of contradictions, because he outwardly seems to own those things, even making them a point of his persona, but most of those things are based on the lies he told himself, or his stepfather told him: see this other point

I am still safe when I cease following the rules my parents (or others) set for me. Isn’t this statement extremely helpful to understand Yashiro’s situation? To feel safe he had to build his personality according to the rules of the one who had all the power over him and had already taken away any sense of security from him. This is probably one of those things that can be hard to understand when you have never been there. Most notably, not only in the manga this has been pointed out, but it has been pointed out by Yashiro himself. He is self conscious of this, he knows that he lied to himself as a child, that he had to, and he is constantly choosing to continue lying because that is still the only foundation he has. There was no familial love, no other relative safety. Letting go of the lies actually means going to pieces and breaking down.

This isn’t different from what happens to people who are tortured. Yashiro’s father completely took away any sense of security and safety. The aggravating circumstances were that Yashiro as a child didn’t have any other point of reference or knowledge to understand what was happening with his body and in that state of mind what his father told him had to be the only truth possible. Parents who abuse their children most often don’t even realize what they are doing to its full extent. That’s the immense cruelty of these types of situations. The rules are lies, but the lies are rules to follow to be safe:

You like it when it hurts, right? If it doesn’t hurt, I can’t get into it.

What happened in chapter 25: why now?

Yashiro didn’t want to have sex with Doumeki and said so repeatedly. Doumeki has grown on him, behind liking his physical appearance or using him as a substitute for Kageyama: Yashiro truly liked this person and he liked that Doumeki was impotent. Thanks to that, Yashiro grew comfortable around Doumeki and with comfort and safety comes familiarity. When Yashiro discovered that the impotence was gone, he was angry and terrified. They had become too close and now the premise has changed and Yashiro couldn’t trust Doumeki or himself anymore. I won’t analyze here the scene in the shower but I’ll skip to the point. Doumeki only understood that his love was required, that he was wanted and stopped thinking. He acted passionately like any young person who had a normal foundation in love would. He didn’t understand anything that Yashiro asked or why there were mixed signals and what it all meant. He pushed and hurt and broke without being aware of what he was doing.

And Yashiro was trapped in a situation he had tried to escape from his all life: with a person who felt familiar, a person he loved and relied on, in the safety of a home, who wanted sex and was going to do what he wanted regardless of what Yashiro had to say. Yashiro desperately tried to control what was happening through usual patterns, making it hurt, asking Doumeki to do from behind, detaching the sex from his emotions, but he couldn’t and for the first time in his life sex was different from what he knew, because while Yashiro had loved his stepfather, his father didn’t love him and he didn’t treat him like Doumeki did. And every lies built around his father’s abuse came to the surface. Including the fact that his father never loved him. Doumeki broke him indeed because he broke through the lies/rules upon which Yashiro had intentionally built his entire personality/safety. And he wasn’t ready for it, he specifically said he didn’t want it, he had known all along, he already knew when men before Doumeki tried to make love to him and when he built a strategy to specifically avoid being confronted with those lies/rules. He didn’t love those men. He did love Doumeki though. But once again Yashiro didn’t have a choice. And he was physically hurt and recovering after being shot and knowing his life was in danger outside of that room. He had just discovered that Doumeki lied about being impotent the previous time he touched him in the car and before that. It was probably the worst timing possible for making love. At some point Yashiro grew resigned and even reciprocated a little, reaching for Doumeki, caressing his face, and he even reassured him before he fell asleep. There were words that Doumeki said that Yoneda didn’t disclose fully, choosing instead to immediately took us in the flashback with Yashiro. I think it is probable that what Doumeki said was something that Yashiro’s father had said and that we are going to confront before the end of the manga. I personally want to know these words more than what Yashiro said while an airplane passed by and Doumeki was unconscious. Morbid maybe on my part.

I have stated that I am not going to make Doumeki a villain here. The point of this analysis is just to see where Doumeki was in terms of maturity. To be continued…

#saezuru tori wa habatakanai #saezuru analysis #yashiro #doumeki chikara #yashiro x doumeki #yoneda kou #eri reads saezuru

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mxtxfanatic · 10 months

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@zykamiliah Ok bear with me because I’m just writing off the top of my head.

I think I misspoke a little in the tags on your post: I don’t think Shen Yuan attributes all of his good deeds and skills to Shen Jiu throughout the novel; I think he attributes them to Shen Qingqiu the Character. Now, walk with me a little:

I like playing video games, especially those in which I can customize my own characters. Two such games are The Sims and Dragon Age. In The Sims, you can create your own character from scratch, meaning you are in charge of their looks, their personality, their backstory, their narrative, and life progression. You are in charge of everything if you so choose to be. Dragon Age, however, is not like that. You get to decide what your character looks like (to an extent), but you don’t get to create a backstory. You can decide romance but you are not in control of the story beats of those romances, just the choices you make in them. You can influence certain aspects of your character, but they will always go through certain events and always arrive at a predestined conclusion. How does this apply to Shen Yuan? Well, he’s just been stuffed into the character of a seemingly Dragon Age-type narrative.

Shen Yuan doesn’t get to decide Shen Qingqiu’s backstory. He doesn’t get to decide what his story designation is; he is automatically assigned the “scum villain” role. He doesn’t even get to decide Shen Qingqiu’s personality until he unlocks the ooc function. Shen Qingqiu is already a teacher, he is already a powerful cultivator with a renowned name, sword, skills, and he is already Luo Binghe’s abuser that will eventually throw him into the Endless Abyss, all story points that are unchangeable. And Shen Yuan is fully aware of this—uncomfortably so, in fact, with how the system exists to monitor his every move in order to keep him “on track.” It’s not unreasonable, therefore, for him to believe that this predestination applies to everything and everyone else, so much so that he believes that his small acts of kindness can only serve as pockets of reprieve for the “characters” before the predestined hardship arrives, nothing more.

But, as we find out, these “small acts of kindness” are narrative-changing—much stronger than the so-called predestination—and it is the formerly stated awareness and surveillance that leads Shen Yuan to be unable to see this, disregarding the tangable ways that his style of playing Shen Qingqiu has altered the narrative written by the author and upheld by the system. This applies to as early as Ning Yingying’s bolder personality and as late as Luo Binghe’s corruption by Xin Mo. It’s probably very significant that just how much the world of pidw had diverged from the original book is revealed to Shen Yuan only after Shen Qingqiu the Character self-destructs and Shen Yuan resurrects himself using the plant body. From that point on, he has to contend with how his actions have changed things, how Luo Binghe has been changed by him, enamored with him—not Shen Qingqiu the Character—and how, actually, the book he has transmigrated into doesn’t have a predestined ending because he has broken everything wide open.

And this isn’t to say that Shen Yuan doesn’t fully see himself as Shen Qingqiu, but it’s the difference between seeing himself as a part of Shen Qingqiu vs. seeing Shen Qingqiu as a part of himself. “Luo Binghe can’t love me because Shen Qingqiu is his scum villain.” “I can’t love Luo Binghe because Shen Qingqiu is his shizun.” “PIDW is destined to be a stallion novel, and Luo Binghe is guaranteed happiness with his harem.” These are the “predestined facts” that Shen Yuan has been shaping his pidw experience with, until they stop being facts and he has to actually look at the changes he has wrought and what he wants out of them, not what Shen Qingqiu would want or expect or react to. And I don’t think he ever fully divests himself of this mentality (we can still see him being casual about his skills even in the extras), but he is much freer in his actions and desires at the end of the story without the weight of Shen Qingqiu the Character dogging his expectations and even more so in the extras without the system acting as enforcer to his thoughts and behaviors.

#svsss #human metas mxtx #hope this makes sense #I haven’t gotten good sleep in like 2 days so of course this is when i want to meta #i may come back to this with some textual evidence #but if i do it won’t be for a long while

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teaberrii · 7 months

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Chapter 27: Final Goodbyes

You've been Cupid for as long as you can remember. You've brought countless soulmates together, yet you've never found love.

When you're assigned to bring two childhood friends back together, it should be simple until you unexpectedly catch feelings for the mysterious and cold Ph.D. student, Dan Heng, the man with a soulmate… the man with answers to your past.

Dan Heng/You

Notes:

Cross-posted on Ao3

Female reader

Chapter index at the end of chapter one

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to leave them alone?”

Pom pops open a beer just as Gepard sits on the couch with his own can on the opposite side. While you and Young are upstairs, talking things out, Pom joins Gepard for a couple of drinks in Dan Heng’s apartment. Pom has just finished telling Gepard almost everything that’s been going on, including Young’s revelation that there’s a chance to save you… and get rid of the curse.

“Well, don’t keep us in the dark!” Nanook said as if he was the one who was going to die. “Are you saying there’s a way to get rid of the curse and keep her alive?”

“You aren’t human,” Young said to you, “which means you can still wield magic. If you’re human, any magic associated with you wouldn’t exist because you wouldn’t have the power to wield it.”

Lan looked at Young. “But, are you sure that will work?”

“Has that ever happened before?” Pom asked. “A God… changing to a human?”

Sampo curiously looked at you. “You’re awfully quiet, dearie.” He grinned. “Or… has it finally hit you?” You slowly looked up without moving your head. “The day you officially became who you are today.”

Pom puts his can of beer on the table after taking a long chug. “If what Young says is true, she can’t live as a god anymore. It’s either she becomes human or… she dies.”

“That doesn’t seem like a hard choice to make,” Gepard says quietly. “Or, maybe it’s just me. I can’t see why anyone would choose to die when they have other options.”

Pom leans back. “I guess. But, you’ve always been human. Gods… or magical beings, we’re, well, magic. It’d be like taking away one of our means of survival.”

Gepard puts his beer on the table. “Young is in Dan Heng’s body… He’s not going to stay, is he?”

“He and Dan Heng can’t coexist in the same period since, well, they’re kinda the same person. It’ll get increasingly painful as time goes on, even worse if Dan Heng fights back.”

“Dan Heng can fight back?”

Pom nods. “It’s his body to begin with. The fact that Young doesn’t look like he’s suffering or anything… My guess is that Dan Heng is letting him take control of his body. For now, at least.” Pom crunches the empty can and tosses it into the recycle. “Which is why I think it’s a good idea to have them talk it out.”

“...Hey. Were you with her when she became a god?" Gepard asks. "What happened to you?"

When Pom found you, you were still holding the knife that took Jing Yuan’s life. His lifeless body was hunched over, his forehead touching your shoulder.

Pom stepped closer and quietly said your name.“...He’s gone.” Pom gently touched your shoulder, and he felt you shaking. “It’s over.”

“No…”

Suddenly, you grabbed Jing Yuan by the shoulders and forced him to look at you. Pom wasn’t sure what was going on when you started screaming at him to tell you what he meant by him and Young protecting you. Eventually, Pom put his arms underneath your arms and forced you away from Jing Yuan’s dead body.

Then, Pom spun you around. “We need to leave. Now.”

It took you a brief moment, but you stashed away all of your burning, unanswered questions, and left with Pom.

Death was all around you. You smelt it in the air, heard the feasting of flesh, and saw the lifeless, bloody bodies on the ground.

You were crossing through an open area, the same place where Young’s execution took place. That was when you saw it.

The red tape around its handle shone in the night, and the gold around the floating sphere looked as if it was sparkling, deliberately trying to get your attention in the chaos. You recognized it immediately. It was Young’s favourite weapon: The Cloud-Piercer. But what was it doing stuck in the ground? Where did it come from? You walked over, and you saw that it was pierced in a small puddle of dry blood. The very place where Young was executed.

“...How odd.” When Pom tried reaching out, he was instantly shocked. A short scream, and he quickly pulled back his hand. “What was that?”

You reached over and successfully grabbed it by the shaft. As you pulled it out of the ground, the gold around the sphere slowly began to fade. “This belonged to Young,” you said quietly.

“Young? Don’t tell me this was here the whole time.”

You knew it wasn't. You had forced yourself to walk by this courtyard a hundred times during your time back at the palace, and you had never seen the Cloud-Piercer until today. When you heard the monstrous snarls getting closer, you and Pom fled the scene with the spear in your hand.

“Eventually, we had to split up,” Pom says.

Gepard is silent for a moment until he frowns. “I’m still surprised at why you stuck by her side this entire time. This was her revenge, wasn’t it?”

“Truth be told, I didn’t think the curse would be from the Grimoire,” Pom says quietly. “It wasn’t until after I found out, and, well… I didn’t want to go against her. I didn’t need to make an enemy out of her.” A sigh. “But even after it was all over, I couldn’t find it in me to just go separate ways.”

“Even after she tricked you?”

“...I would’ve stopped her if I knew had to die for this curse to stop. She tricked me because she knew. It might be twisted to say this, but she never put me in deliberate danger. She was the first human I really befriended. And, well… I’ll support whatever choice she makes, but I really hope she chooses to stay.”

◆◆◆

You heard a building collapse behind you.

Yet, you kept walking.

An innocent man ran toward you. He stopped and collapsed just as an arrow pierced his heart.

Yet, you kept walking.

You could smell the rotting, burning flesh around you.

Yet, you kept walking.

Suddenly, you felt something stop you; it was the first time you looked down. A young girl was bleeding from the head, her eyes wide and her lips dry.

“...Please,” she whimpered. “...Please help me.”

You lifted your foot, shrugging her hand off your blood-stained boot. Then, you raised the spear in your hand. And, as soon as you stared into her eyes, you aimed the spear directly toward her heart.

As you took out the Cloud-Piercer from the dead girl’s body, you saw her eyes had clouded over. She was infected, and you’d spared her from turning into a monster. You and Pom had to split up, but you had a good idea of where he might be.

By the time you reached the sandy outskirts of the palace, you heard footsteps behind you. With the Cloud-Piercer raised, you swiftly spun around and saw a tall man with teal-coloured eyes.

“Hello, dearie,” he said with a smile. “We finally meet.”

You’ve been quiet ever since leaving the hospital. Young puts a hot cup of tea in front of you and sits on the opposite side.

“...Drink something,” he says softly.

“You said you wanted me to go with you,” you say quietly. “But, you told us of a choice for me to stay human.”

“It’s like you said,” Young says with a kind look in his eyes. “I made a mistake centuries ago, and now… I want to make it up to you. If you come with me, we will finally be together. If you choose to stay human, you’ll be here...” A small pause. “...With Dan Heng.”

You suck in a small breath. “But like Lan said… Has that ever happened before? How does that work?”

Young puts his tea on the table. “As a god, you walk with those who have perished to the other side. That strips away your powers. Then, you must make your way back to the living. But…”

“But?”

“It’s a painful process.”

“...And how do you know this?”

Young puts his hand on yours. “It was something I was researching. To tie my soul to the locket, I had to learn everything there was about the afterlife. This was something I learned about.”

“Well, it’s better than what I was imagining… At least I don’t have to beg anybody,” you say after a short silence. Then, you hold his hand. “You said I was supposed to forget about you when you died. Yet, you still tied your soul to this locket. Why? What if… What if I did move on? Were you going to witness that?”

“...I wanted to stay by your side… protecting you.” Young’s eyes land on the pendant still around your neck. “As long as you wore the locket, I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

“I know you said you can’t stay, but if I choose to live… your soul won’t be tied to this locket anymore?”

“The magic in that locket was made for you. If you choose to live, all of the magic associated with you will be gone. The good and the bad.”

You look down and sigh. “It’s… a little late to ask this now, but what would’ve happened if I died back then?”

“When it was your time, I wanted to be the one to walk with you to the other side. You wouldn’t remember me, but it would be a new beginning.”

“But that beginning never came, did it?”

You and Young don’t have to look to know that it’s Sampo. Frowning, you say, “This is a private conversation. You aren’t invited.”

Sampo, leaning against the counter, says, “You can always pretend I’m not here. Continue on with your post-love trauma.”

Young suddenly appears in front of the mercenary. “Why are you here?”

“I’m waiting for my answer.” Sampo looks at you and smiles. “It’s rare that the gods took pity on a human like you when you tried. You really were someone special, Cupid."

“Pom said you mentioned it before,” you say, glaring at Sampo. “No one knows what you’re talking about.”

“You and Pom were put on trial for your crimes. You fell prey to the Grimoire and used it without permission. This got their attention.”

“Who?”

“The Stellaron Hunters, of course.”

“...Who are you?” you asked cautiously.

“I’m here on a job, but you can call me Sampo.” He smiled. “That’s what I like the pretty girls to call me.” The tip of the Cloud-Piercer was at his throat. Your hard gaze was fixed on him, but he still maintained his calm, leisurely composure. “Jokes aside… I’m here because you’ve been summoned.”

Your brows furrowed just as Sampo snapped his fingers. The sand around you began to swirl upwards until you couldn’t keep your eyes open. It became so violent that it began cutting into your skin, snapping off the locket around your neck. The scorching heat melted away, and the sand beneath your feet hardened. You no longer smelled blood, and a single hit of a gavel replaced the snarls and groans of the undead.

When you slowly opened your eyes, you were in a cathedral, standing on a round podium with gold bars caging you in. A stone wall encircled you, and sitting on top were five people on large, gold thrones. At first, the top half of their faces were hidden in shadow until the ceiling above crumbled just enough to allow a faint glimmer of light to shine on them.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, making you turn around once more. But this time, you saw Pom… surrounded by the same gold bars as you.

You opened your mouth, but it wasn’t your voice you heard.

“Welcome, dearie.” You spun around and saw Sampo with a hand in his pocket. “To the Hunter's Court of Law.”

“...Wow. It’s hard to believe they’re the ones who started this whole thing. They look harmless!” You turned and saw a teenager with her elbow on an armrest of the throne.

“Quiet, Silver.” You turned again and saw a man—at least you thought it was a man—adorned in metal plating from head to toe. "Did you forget she's the one who used the Grimoire?"

"A classic example of how appearances can be deceiving."

Then, your eyes landed on a man with fair skin and red eyes. His cold stare was one of slight intrigue but also disgust.

A woman whose hair was tied in a loose ponytail stood. “Shall the trial begin?”

“You destroyed countless lives and tore apart happy families,” Sampo continues. “The Stellaron Hunters ruled for you to take responsibility.” You close your eyes and hear the single thunder of the gravel. “You were sentenced to rule as the God of Love and bring together the families you destroyed across all three kingdoms until you met the reincarnation.”

“...Yet, I was supposed to bring him and Stelle together."

Sampo glances at Young. “If you hadn’t existed, he and Stelle would’ve gotten their happily ever after.” Sampo sighs. “But, I guess they underestimated him.”

“Underestimate? What are you—”

“Dan Heng wasn’t supposed to fall in love with you,” Young says.

“But the man did, anyway.” Sampo rolls his eyes. “He screwed up the order of things and now we’re here.”

“...And our memories?” you ask. “Why couldn’t Pom and I remember anything?”

Sampo smiles. “That was also part of your ruling. By starting on a clean slate and bringing the love you destroyed back together… maybe that would erase the darkness in your heart.”

“...Didn’t think they would be so kind,” you mutter.

Sampo clicks his tongue. “So, what’s it going to be, Cupid?”

You shoot him a look. “You said I only have two options. To live or to die. What about choosing to become human?”

“Well"—Sampo smiles at Young—"he didn’t lie to you. It’s an option, but a painful one. Many people gave up and just turned their butts around and stayed in the afterlife where they belonged.” Sampo sits next to you but you instantly move away. “Young has to go back. So, you can happily go back with him and let fate play out what it’s supposed to be. Or, you can make Dan Heng wait for you on a promise that you might not be able to keep. It’s your choice, dearie.”

◆◆◆

That night, Young is asleep on Dan Heng’s bed when he suddenly hears a faint voice.

“...Get up.”

Young opens his eyes, but he doesn’t see the familiar white ceiling of Dan Heng’s room. Instead, he’s staring at a bright hole in the sky surrounded by dark clouds. Young gets to his feet and notices he’s standing on a large, round flat rock with broken pillars all around. He’s also in his old form. Upon hearing footsteps approaching him, Young turns around, and his eyes widen when he sees Dan Heng.

“What are you—”

“...I’m done just sitting around,” Dan Heng interrupts. “I heard everything. I know… about everything.”

Young narrows his eyes. “Are you going to try to convince me to get her to stay? Her best option is to leave this world.”

“And go with you?” Dan Heng scoffs.

“I might’ve made a mistake,” Young admits, “but her revenge was not in vain. She destroyed the order of things. There were no laws… only chaos and destruction. The world became a blank canvas, and through that, everyone could start over. People learned to share information and cooperate to prevent the same thing from happening again. And since then, there hasn’t been another war, unlike in the past.” Young walks toward Dan Heng until he’s in front of him. “She deserves to rest after all she’s done and been through.”

Dan Heng’s gaze hardens. “She deserves a life of her own, to pursue what she wants.”

“...And are you saying you can make her happy? After running away from what happened to your mother?"

"I'm sorry," Dan Heng says flatly. "Do you mean our mother?" A small sigh, and he says your name. "You really don't understand her."

Young scoffs. “I grew up with her. You’ve known her for less than a year, and you’re saying I don’t understand the woman I love?”

“If you understood her, you wouldn’t have done what you did. You had your chance and failed because you thought her happiness was with you. But it wasn’t.” Young’s eyes darken. “You took away her choices. The war… the curse… that was her decision. Was it wise? Was it the best choice? It’s hard to say, but you left her with no choice.”

Young is silent for a moment. Then, he says, “...I can’t believe I’m arguing with myself."

“We’re different,” Dan Heng says flatly. “Besides, you wanted me to help her move on.” A short pause. “I think she already has.”

Upstairs, you’ve just closed the fridge and turned around when you nearly dropped the small carton of milk you’re holding. Pom stands behind you, his eyes half-open.

“Geezus,” you say. “How long have you been standing there?”

Pom rubs his eyes and yawns. “Just now… I couldn’t sleep.” You turn on the light just as he points to the carton. “Can we share?”

And that’s how you and Pom end up sitting on the couch with two glasses of milk.

“...Have you decided?” Pom asks quietly. You glance at him. “Are you really just going to leave?”

“What makes you think that?”

Pom looks down. “I would imagine Young would be trying to convince you to go with him.”

“Hm… Why does it sound like you don’t want me to leave?” you ask teasingly.

“I remember the day we were tried in front of the Stellaron Hunters. You were sentenced to becoming the God of Love while I was cursed. I couldn’t change my form out of my own free will. I wasn’t human back then. I was a magical being. And, if you go back to being human, you won’t be able to use… or see magic.”

You lean forward and put a hand on top of his. “Pom… What are you getting at?”

Pom gives you a sad smile. “No matter what you choose, we won’t be able to see each other again.”

“N-No. That’s ridiculous!”

“Pom’s right.”

You look past Pom and see Lan.

“Pom was never a god,” Lan says. “But, it’s not like he’s going to disappear. Just, you won’t be able to see him anymore.”

“Well? What are we going to do about the shapeshifter?” Silver asked.

“...Losing his memories and his ability to freely change his form… That’s enough punishment for him.”

Silver raised a brow. “Seriously? That’s it? It’s not like you to be so understanding, Blade. What happens after he gets his memories back? Nothing? How lame.”

“You can see they care for each other.” Everyone turned to the woman who spoke. “Did you not hear her asking for us to spare him?” Silver put her hands on the stone ledge and peeked down at you and Pom. “When their memories return, she must make a decision. That will be their ultimate punishment.”

Silver sighed. “The day they separate, huh?”

When you and Pom look at each other, he takes your hand. “Do you know why I stayed with you until the end?” Then, a little smile. “I’ve never met someone as interesting as you. You fascinated me in a lot of ways.”

You look away with a sad, little smile. “Are you sure it wasn’t because you were scared I’d kill you?”

“Weeelll, there's that too. But, I mean… I would have nowhere to go.” You slowly look back at Pom. “Don’t know when it started or how it happened, but you were like my second home.”

“Gosh, I guess that old shack in the woods is still more important than me.”

Pom smiles wistfully, but you can’t return it. Instead, you look down. You’ve never imagined your life without Pom. The two of you go together like bread and butter. As if knowing what you’re thinking, Pom shimmies closer to you.

“Good things can’t last forever.”

You glance at him and chuckle. “You’re right, Pom. You’re too good for this world.”

Pom looks at Lan. “You can count on Uncle Lan to take good care of me.”

“Uncle Lan?” The god raises a brow.

“Why is Uncle Lan here, anyway?” you ask. “Or… Were you eavesdropping?”

Lan rolls his eyes. “On the contrary.” He looks at you with a grim expression. “I just came from Luocha’s place. You really don’t have much time left.”

◆◆◆

You haven’t got a wink of sleep as your mind is restless from everything that’s happening. Living a life with Young was what you always wanted, so shouldn’t you be jumping at the opportunity to go with him? Sure, you might not be alive, but your souls will finally be together in peace. You flip to the other side. So, why are you so unsure?

When you close your eyes, you see Dan Heng, and your memories with him start playing like a movie inside your mind. His drunken hug when he took you out for drinks. The festival. The aquarium date. His warmth and comfort. Before you know it, you’re smiling and your consciousness starts to drift until you hear your phone buzz. You reach for it on the nightstand, and upon seeing the name on the screen, you quickly sit up.

“...It’s me.”

It takes you a moment, but then you say, “...Dan Heng?”

“Can we talk?”

It doesn’t take you long to meet Dan Heng outside of the apartment in a small park. As soon as you see him, you walk up to him just as he turns around and gives you that little smile you love so much.

“...How are you here?” you ask. “What about Young?”

“We talked.”

Your eyes widen slightly. “You… You talked to him?”

“It was an interesting experience, to say the least.” Then, he looks you in the eyes. “I know everything that happened, and… I wanted a chance to talk to you.” Dan Heng puts a hand on your cheek. “I want you to come back.” You put your hand on top of his. “...If you tell me you’re going to come back, I’ll wait for you.” A small pause. “But, whatever decision you make, I want it to be yours. Not mine. Not Young’s.”

In a fraction of a second, your lips find his. Dan Heng’s hand burrows into your hair. Your hand finds his chest as the hot and demanding heat pulls you two closer together. Then, when it ends, and you look into his eyes, you’re left wanting more. You don’t want to let him go. You can’t let him go. And that’s when you’re absolutely sure.

“...I’ll come back.” He puts his forehead to yours. Then, with tears in your eyes, you say, “...I promise I’ll come back.”

Little do you know, Young is standing a little ways away from you and Dan Heng.

“You don’t look angry.”

Young doesn’t turn but glances at Pom who’s suddenly beside him. “Should I be?”

“She chose Dan Heng, didn’t she?” Pom nudges Young. “Or, are you convincing yourself that it’s just you in the present?”

Young closes his eyes for a moment. “As long as she gets the happiness she deserves.” Then, he turns to Pom. “And so do you, Pom.”

Pom puts his hands around his head. “Honestly… It’s hard to imagine my life without her.” Then, he slightly smiles. “But, hey, I survived without you, didn’t I?”

“We’ll meet again.”

Pom grins. “Just try to give me a heads-up next time, ‘kay? No more appearing in other people's bodies. You'll scare me to death."

Young scoffs with a little smile. “Right. I’ll try.”

“...Were you two just going to keep standing there?” Pom and Young turn and see you and Dan Heng.

“Oh, well, we couldn’t interrupt your little moment, could we?” Pom says.

Young walks up to you. “...You’ve decided.”

You look him in the eyes and give a firm nod. “...I’ve decided.”

Young leans in and gives your head a quick kiss. “Then, I have nothing else to say.”

“Well, I do.” You frown when you hear the voice. When you turn around, you see Sampo casually tossing a coin in the air. “It’s time to say your final goodbyes.”

Chapter 28

End notes:

If everything goes according to plan, the next chapter will be the last.

A reader asked me if the spear Cupid used at the beginning of the chapter was The Cloud-Piercer, and I was mindblown by the idea lolol so I got permission to use it :3

Tag list: @suoshiii @lordbugs @lxry-chxn @seirenspinel @nqctre @lunavixia @akwardbiscuit @tanspostsblog @theprinceofkhaos @sunsethw4 @hiqhkey @n8mareee @vintagepoetryluna

#honkai dan heng #dan heng x you #dan heng x reader #dan heng #danheng x you #danheng x reader #danheng x y/n #danheng

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dalishious · 1 year

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youtube

Let's discuss one of the most divisive characters in the Dragon Age fandom; specifically, the single action that makes him so divisive.

Full transcript below:

Anders is a very divisive character. Most people either love him or hate him. Personally, I lean towards loving him, as I think he is very interesting and has a lot of qualities in a character I find appealing. I also think he is overall a good person. That is not to say he is without faults, just that I believe his merits outweigh said faults.

The most divisive part of his character boils down to one specific action he takes at the end of Act 3 of Dragon Age II; the Chantry explosion. There is a large part of the fandom that believes this action entirely defines him, choosing to ignore the rest of his part in the whole game. But anyone actually paying attention to his character beyond this single event, and the setting in general, would know that Anders blowing up the Chantry does not exist in a vacuum. There is a reason the quest is called “The Last Straw”; it is the last effort of a desperate man in the face of oppression.

Anders spends the entirety of the game up to “The Last Straw” working to help mages and protest the Chantry’s abuse peacefully. He works with the Mage Underground to help people escape from the Gallows. He writes his manifestos demanding an end to the oppression of his people. He tries speaking with the Grand Cleric. And not one bit of it makes any monumental change, because no one in power will listen. Despite all efforts, he still witnesses the mass increase in the use of the Rite of Tranquility, on mages who have passed their Harrowing even; this is supposed to be against Chantry law, but no one has stopped it from happening. He witnesses raids on the families of mages, and the formation of what is called “Templar Death Squads” harassing Lowtown inhabitants who sympathize with the mages. None of this is secret. The citizens of Kirkwall are well aware of these abuses, and many of them are vocally against it. But the Chantry doesn’t care about that. They only care about maintaining the status quo of control and domination. This is fully demonstrated by the Divine sending Leliana to warn Elthina that the Chantry is considering an Exalted March on Kirkwall, because in Leliana’s words, they fear the threat of a mage uprising is the biggest danger to Thedas since the Qunari invasion. Elthina even somewhat defends this, saying that even if it will harm innocents, the Divine’s first duty is to “protect the faith”.

Anders tried peaceful measures to protest the Circle’s abuses. Orsino tried peaceful measures to protest the Circle’s abuses, too. But these peaceful protests are met with worsening conditions, not the betterment. At the beginning of Act 3, as in before Anders even gets his magical bomb ready, Knight-Commander Meredith has already gone above Elthina’s head to request the Right of Annulment directly from Val Royeaux. It is established in Dragon Age Origins that a letter is all it takes to grant permission to slaughter every single mage in the Circle, when Greagoir writes to Denerim for the same request. Another example of no actual investigation prior to granting this Right is from the Magehunter shield item description in Dragon Age Inquisition, which states that it wasn’t until after the Right was conducted and all the mages were slaughtered, that the Seekers of Truth discovered the Annulment was used to cover up the mass murder of mages that had already occurred before permission was granted.

Backed into a corner, Anders lashes out in the only way he can think to force change. The fact that Meredith had already sent for the Right of Annulment means in all likeliness, Anders saved lives by acting when he did. This allowed the mages the opportunity to fight back and for some to escape.

Is Anders a murderer? Yes. But so is every single character in the Kirkwall party. Even Sebastian has killed people in his quest for revenge against those who murdered his family—how does that separate him from Anders doing the same against those who are torturing, mutilating and killing his people? The Chantry is not innocent. Elthina is not innocent. She is a perpetrator at worst and enabler at best of systemic oppression. It is within her power to oppose Meredith—as Grand Cleric, she is in fact the only person with any power to do so in Kirkwall—but she chooses not to. The only action she takes is to silence Orsino’s right to speak publicly. It makes perfect sense to me for Anders to target her.

Why did Anders choose to target Elthina by blowing up the Chantry itself, though? The out-of-universe reason I believe, is simply that the developers wanted to trigger a gut-punch reaction to Americans with the imagery of an exploding building. BioWare is very centrist, and has a strong history of making “both sides are wrong” arguments out of oppressors versus the oppressed. The goal of making Anders do this is to turn off the player’s brain enough to place doubt in the mages and think Templar Order might be right even a little, despite all evidence to the contrary. The in-universe reason is just that between the two targets, the Chantry and the Gallows, attacking the Chantry had less collateral damages to mages in Anders’s view, I suppose? But it’s hard for me to put reason behind this when it’s so overshadowed by outside influence that feels less organically part of the plot and more shoved in for the sake of pushing their centrist agenda. What really drives home for me that it’s an agenda is the fact that post-Dragon Age II, they keep adding more to what happened. First they increase the death toll way beyond anything actually suggested in the game, then in Trespasser they even write a codex entry saying the explosion changed the shape of the Kirkwall harbour, somehow. I can’t help but find it at least a little amusing, and look forward to hearing how actually, the explosion unleashed another Blight upon the Free Marches next.

If you want to call Anders a terrorist, fine. I don’t give a shit, because I can think of so many real life people who have been called terrorists by the government for standing up against colonial enforced inequality, to the point where I question the very meaning of the word. But I ask you go do it somewhere else, because I’m kind of tired of the fandom debate over The Chantry explosion controversy. I’ve said my piece, and I’m confident about my opinion. More confident than BioWare is able to sway me otherwise, that’s for damn sure.

#dragon age #da2 #anders #meta #video #Youtube

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very-straight-blog · 1 year

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Unpopular opinion (spoilers)

Well, I've read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and I really can't understand why everyone is so pissed off about Snow. First of all, let's be clear - we're not talking about Snow from the trilogy, but about Snow from this book, from the prequel. This boy hasn't killed Finnick, tortured Peeta, etc. yet. Before reading a book, I found various reviews and was expecting something like a story of becoming a villain, but instead I got the story of a boy trying to provide security for himself and his family. Since when did that become something bad? I got from the reviews that there are actually two things imputed to him - Sejanus's death and his relationship with Lucy Gray. Let's talk about it. So, Sejanus. I don't understand at all why he's supposed to be a positive character. He's an infantile child who craves attention. Shortsighted, ungrateful and rather stupid. His father did everything to save him from the reaping and he can't show even the slightest gratitude? He and his potential wife and children will never have to participate in the Hunger Games, and he acts like his father is the worst person on the planet? Really? Next, there's a big difference between questioning the social system you're in, pondering ways to change the situation, and protesting openly on your own, obviously having no effect on anything. The second is stupid, and on top of that, you frame people close to you, your family and friends. We saw it when Snow was sent to the arena to save Sejanus. In fact, Coriolanus made his first murder because of Sejanus's stupidity. Sejanus doesn't understand that in a totalitarian state, the best thing you can do is to nurture your plans quietly, and he doesn't know how to control his emotions. After the arena story, he was even given a second chance, which he ignored and started helping the rebels. This guy chose to die from the beginning, it was his choice to take the risk, he should have understood the potential consequences of his decisions. The good old argument - "And why was Coriolanus allowed to escape" - well I don't even know, maybe Coriolanus wasn't rescuing captured rebels along the way? And yes - I'll remind you - Coriolanus and Sejanus were not friends, it was Sejanus who saw Snow as a friend, because no one else interacted with him. Why would Snow frame himself because of a man he essentially didn't care about? And yes - Snow was right - these men had no weapons, no money, not even a proper plan. This rebellion made no sense and was doomed beforehand. Now, Lucy Gray. I think Coriolanus really was in love with her. I don't think it was a healthy feeling, but still. He defended her in the arena while endangering himself and essentially lost everything because of it. I really don't approve of the fact that he shot her at the end of the book - but for the world he lived in, his paranoia is logical (not to be confused with approving). I've seen people talking about choosing between love and power - but what kind of love are we talking about? A teenage passion that was born in extremely unhealthy circumstances? They spent a total of three days together, no more. It is normal to prefer the well-being of yourself and your family, comfort, security, stability and prospects to such "love". Also, I've seen many people having fun because of his behavior in the wildlife - but it's perfectly normal, isn't it? It's normal to be disgusted at the sight of worms, normal to realize that the idea of looking for some imaginary people in the woods is stupid, normal to realize that they will die here from any disease/cold/attack by wild animals. And what would they do out there alone, even if they managed to survive? These are all the adequate thoughts of a normal person.

In conclusion, I will say that I still have a lot of thoughts about this book, here I have shared only the main ones. However, for me it was a book with the most obvious message I've read lately. Even if the author tried to show us the formation of a villain, she failed. The result is a book with a wonderful character, who is finally in no hurry to give up his life for the sake of a meaningless idea, but thinks first of all about himself and his family. Coriolanus's choices in the book are not easy, but logical, and I would like to see more such realistic characters in literature.

#the ballad of songbirds and snakes #the hunger games #coriolanus snow #lucy gray baird #sejanus plinth #president snow #thg #tbosbas #tbosas #tom blyth #hunger games #spoilers

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picturejasper20 · 9 months

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Danny Phantom:A Glitch in Time-Vlad Masters Character analysis

A Glitch in Time puts Vlad Masters in a different role that he has been always presented in the main show: Instead of the main antagonist role, he acts more as anti-hero protagonist in the graphic novel story. He joins forces with Danny, Sam and Tucker and works together with them to look for the true source of ghost power and defeat Dan Phantom.

Having in mind that ¨A Glitch in Time¨ takes place around a month after the events of Phantom Planet, Masters finds himself having lost all the political power, social position and control he built for decades, either by using his powers to steal money or manipulating people around him. In addition to this, everyone knows his identity as ghost and what kind of person he really is now, meaning he is considered an enemy everyone and basically everyone hates him.

As he explains to Danny: ¨But upon arrival, I realized… i have nothing left to return to¨. In this context he wasn’t only refering to political power and money he had, he was refering to the fact that now he was truly alone, no one missed him nor wanted him around, since they knew what kind of person he was. Even the ones that considered him their best friend, Maddie and Jack, hated him. For once, Vlad couldn’t put the blame in anybody else for his situation but himself.

The issue is that at the start of the graphic novel Masters knows that he did something wrong to end up in this situation but he didn’t know what he did wrong. He still hadn’t fully reconsidered how his obsession with being in control and manipulative behaviour pushed everyone away and how going back in time wasn’t going to fix his actions. Clockwork pointed out how Vlad had many times to do the right think and instead choose to be obsessed with getting revenge and control others.

If there is one way i would define Vlad in this story is ¨lost¨: It feels like he isn’t sure of what he wants to do or what he wants to be, like there is a part of him that wants things to go back the used to be while other part of him doesn’t want to be in the ¨villain role¨ anymore. And, because he doesn’t want to deal with these thoughts, he comes up with this idea to look for this original source of ghost power as a way to distract himself for having to think of this emptiness he feels now, much like he always did when it came to dealing with his own loneliness, always looking for some new power to fill the void he had.

One thing i would argue, is that Masters was already changing in some ways when he went to Danny for help. He expressed to be more aware of how his actions were affecting others, such as acknowledging that he was ¨the last person who Danny wanted to see¨ and half admitting he shared the blame for the timeline being in danger since he accidentally freed Dan Phantom. As it was discussed earlier, Vlad was aware that he did something something wrong, just not what was it.

To expand in this point more, Vlad never does anything that could be considered ¨evil¨ while working with the heroes. He never makes jokes about Jack or makes comments about how he is going to make Danny turn into his pupil. Even when he complains a few times, he is shown to be quite collaborative with Danny and the rest. In part, this could be because he knows better than to argue against the person he went to ask for help, but it still interesting aspect to analyse.

Another thing worth of analysing are his reactions to seeing Danny being supported and appreciated by his friends and family. He is shown to be annoyed or confused when he sees this happening. While it is not explained, it could be a sign of jealousy from his part as Danny has people that care about him and help him, something he wished he had. It could also remind him of how he used to be friends with Jack and Maddie and how things went wrong between them. Some people have pointed out that these moments are one of the things that leads to Vlad to change his old ways later in the story, pushing him to be a better person.

Now there are two crucial things that leads to Vlad to finally rexamine his past actions and to start to redeem himself: 1) Learning about the truth origin of ghost powers 2) Learning about Dan and his origins, specially in the final fight

Lets talk about these scenes in separate points:

1) Learning about the truth origin of ghost powers

After the protagonists listen to Tucker PDA’s translation of the old runes they found, they learn that ghost and human world used to be connected or be ¨one¨ and were separated. That ghosts in some way are manifestations of human emotions, such as sadness, love and wrath. While the teens discuss the meaning behind the runes, Vlad goes through a bit of… a mental breakdown to put it lightly.

¨This is RIDICULOUS! Where´s the rest of it? () ¨Great question, Daniel! What Am I doing? I wasted years of my life piecing together clues for the ultimate power source and for what? Story time?¨

Unlike Danny, Vlad seems to struggle a lot at first with the idea of emotions being the true source of ghost energy. He considers the idea too ¨ridiculous¨ to be real and treats it as it was a child story. And this is not that surprising to see since he was expecting some type of artifact or powerful weapon instead of something more abstract.

It does makes sense for Vlad to not understand this idea at first because he is more logical driven and he isn’t that connected to his emotional part like Danny is. The runes talk about being ¨finding yourself¨, as in the sense that a ghost should examine what they really want to do or be or they could get lost in the process. This is an ability that Master lost over time as he got more and more consumed by his obsession over his past and ways to fill his own loneliness.

Danny talks about how he doesn’t want to ¨hunt ghosts¨ and instead wants to be a bridge between human and ghost worlds to help both human and ghosts. He gets his powers back like they used to be before he lost his emotional drive. After Vlad sees evidence of what the teens were discussing,he starts to have some real changes on his character. Vlad realizes that emotions and purposes are what drives ghosts and it isn’t a simple old silly story.

While that is a bit open up to interpretation what is going on in Vlad’s mind when he sees Danny getting back his powers, it is easy to see that itself inspires him to revalue what he really wants for himself and if what he has been doing so far has been making him happy or miserable. It someway it leads him to think about himself and what has he been doing until now with his own life, the same way that Danny did to find a new emotional purpose.

What’s more, Masters seems to have a new found respect for Danny after this event. He is seen saving and protecting him multiple times in their battle against Dan Phantom. He treats Danny as more of an equal than someone to turn into his pupil. This could be because, unlike him, Danny was able to figure out way quicker how the nature of ghosts powers worked and didn’t considered the legend a joke. Another aspect is that Vlad starts to see himself as a ¨bridge between the human and ghost world¨ and how instead of fighting Danny he should be helping him and supporting him. As both being ghost-human hybrids, they should work together to fix this issue.

I talked more about these moments in here. (Also, there is a comment that explains well the last point)

2) Learning about Dan and his origins, specially in the final fight

When Vlad first meets Dan he learns about how Dan is part of Danny’s ghost half and his ghost half, Plasmius and he is from another timeline. This moment itself doesn’t trigger an important change in Vlad’s character as more than he learns what Dan is.

It’s during the final fight that there is a moment Dan provokes Plasmius while he is beating him down. He tells Vlad that he made him and how this is what ¨he always wanted¨. Dan gives Vlad a terrible physical and emotional beatdown that makes Vlad finally realize how obsession with getting power was so self-destructive and how part of himself is what makes Dan act the way he does, having to ¨see himself in a mirror¨.

There is also a lot of Vlad always wishing for Daniel to join him and becoming his pupil and him seeing the results of what he ¨wanted¨ in here: The results being an very powerful version of Danny who destroys everything in his path and with no sense of morals. Making Vlad realize that he doesn’t want Danny to be like this or turn into someone like that.

In a brief moment Vlad begs for Dan to stop saying these things and says ¨that was a different me¨, trying to separate himself from the alternative version of himself who accidentally created Dan Phantom. Dan reminds Masters that he isn’t any different and his goals were still the same as his alternative version.This is what i personally consider the final ¨push¨ that Vlad’s character need to decide to not go back the way he used to be and to start making amends for his very selfish and controlling actions.

It is seeing what he could become-and Daniel had he joined him- if he had continued this path, something that is even too far and cruel even for someone like him.

Finding a new purpose

When Dan is about to destroy Danny, Danny asks him ¨Why you are so angry?¨, Dan tries to deny that he has emotions like anyone else and he has ¨transended that weakness¨. Suddenly Vlad transforms into Plamius and tells Dan that his wrong since half of him, the Plasmius part, is ¨full of fear¨.

Then what follows is a struggle between Vlad and Dan’s powers and Vlad admitting how his obsession with controlling others drove everyone away, including his close friends Jack and Maddie.

¨Why amass all this power?¨ ¨For control!¨ ¨Why control others?¨ ¨So no one else leaves…¨

¨All i ever wanted was love, but my quest for power drove everyone away. Maddie, Jack… and even young Daniel¨.

This is what Vlad has always been at his core: A broken man that since the accident back in his collegue years and being abandoned by his close friends in a time of need (at least from what it has been implied), became obsessed with being in control of his relationships with others so nobody else could leave him behind again or he couldn’t be hurt again. This is something that often happens with characters that have had things that made their lives spiral out of control, usually as result of being hurt by someone they cared about. To compensante for that lack of control they had in their lives, they try to control people or their own relationships, because they are afraid of being abandoned or hurt again.

Vlad Masters became consumed by this desire to be in control and as result he pushed everyone away. He always looked for something almost every person wants: Being loved and accepted by others. The issue is that he chose the most toxic ways to do this, hurting people that cared about him or could have been potential friends/allies.

And, as a way to distract himself from these feelings of emptiness, he always looked for more and more power- but that was never enough because it wasn’t what truly would make him happy. This is why in the series his arc was about self-desctruction, until he was left with no one that cared about him and finally ending up truly alone. You can see this habit come up again in the graphic novel, as he suggested to find the source of ghost power. Because it was a way to distract his mind from his real issues and having to think about himself. It could be in part that Vlad thought that if he could gain some power, he could be in control again and then he didn’t have to be alone, that things could back they used to be before the Disasteroid.

After Vlad comes in terms with how the problem has always been himself, he decides that his new purpose is going to start making amends and redemming himself for his past actions, leaving behind his obsession to be in control. He helps Danny and they fight together against Dan, defeating him in the process.

Helping Dan

Some moments after Dan gets defeated, he starts to destabilize since he has been outside the timestream for too long.Danny, Vlad and Clockwork discuss if t it is a good idea to trap Dan inside the thermos again until they are interrupted by Dan crying and begging to not be left trapped inside the thermos as he doesn’t want to be alone again.

In a rare moment, Plasmius sympathizes with Dan Phantom, he transforms and frees the ghost, offering his body as a temporal host until they are able to find a way to stabilize him. He expresses that he relates himself to Dan’s fear of being alone and, just like him, he has lost everything in his own timeline no other than by his own hands.

This is important coming from Vlad, a character who was defined by his selfishness and exploiting others for his own gain, showing to be selfless and empathizing with someone’s else pain. As he points out to Danny, he is trying to do the right thing for once, which is taking accountability of his actions and helping another person. Vlad explains to both Dan and Danny that this gesture is a way for him to apologize for his actions and showing that he regrets hurting both of them. He wants to give Dan a ¨second chance¨ and asks Danny if he could give another chance to make things right to him too. Dan accepts the offer, using Vlad’s body as a temporal host.

What it is interesting about this scene is that Vlad asks Danny for a second chance, but he doesn’t ask for his forgiveness. While he apologizes for how much he hurt him, he respects Danny’s choice of not forgiving him or still hating him, showing that he knows that Danny has a right to dislike him after everything he putt he boy through. It’s a good way of demostrating that he has still a long way to go for making up for his actions and he understand this.

I talked a bit more in detail about this scene and why is pretty good in here

Vlad is last seen with Clockwork transfering Dan to one of Danny’s clones that was in Vlad’s lab. Clockwork explains to Vlad that Dan is ¨his responsibility now¨ as even his time powers have a limit. The ending suggest that Dan ends up being taken care of and probably adopted by Vlad, acting as a father figure for him and having the opportunity to be a teenager and have a family again.

In conclusion

Vlad Masters’ character arc in ¨A Glitch in Time¨ is about him realizing that he doesn’t want to be in ¨villain role¨ anymore and having to face the fact that he is the reason he ended up alone and pushed everyone away. Despite of trying to distract himself from this by seeking a new source of power, at the end he realices that his manipulative behaviour made everyone, including himself, miserable.

It’s worth of noting that his arc in this story isn’t a full redemption arc but the start of one. He starting to make amends for his past actions by awknologing what he did wrong and taking care of Dan, who was accidentally freed by Vlad in first place. It’s clear that he has still a lot to make up for and it’s going to take him a long time for him to do that. He is now guardian and ¨parent¨ of Dan. Vlad always dreames with having a family, specially raising up someone who was human-ghost hybrid like him. Now he is going to have to learn what is like to be a father and taking care of someone with a complicated past as his child.

#Danny phantom #danny phantom a glitch in time #Vlad Masters #danny fenton #Dan Phantom #Dp analysis #character analysis

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aetherialpiplup108 · 4 months

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Park Jin and Conflicting Responsibilities

One of the many reasons I love Alchemy of Souls is because the characters and relationships are so intricately designed. Park Jin especially is a fascinating character because he's someone who genuinely tries to do the right thing but is misguided and wrapped up in the corrupt values plaguing a country where peace (read: protection of those in control) is prioritized above anyone and anything else.

Throughout the story, Jin’s character is defined by his responsibility to other people, whether they’re his close loved ones or the entire public living in Songrim and Daeho as a whole. In separation, Jin more than satisfies both groups. As Songrim’s leader, he’s willing to make any sacrifice, be it his own life, to protect those depending on him. Through his relationship with Kim Dojo, we see a softer side of him emerge and he completely disregards social class to openly love a woman the public would regard as “beneath his status". Park Jin also prioritizes his loved ones over his own reputation, demonstrated as he continually takes responsibility for the social nightmares Uk causes routinely, is willing to destroy his image by falsely confessing involvement in an affair (though this is beyond inconsiderate of Do-ha), and even risks Songrim’s honor when he urges Uk not to show up to his duel with the CP.

Clearly, as much as Park Jin values Songrim, he also cares deeply about his family. However, when he must choose between what his loved ones ask of him and his duty to Daeho, time after time we see Park Jin making tough decisions that he believes are necessary for the country. This isn’t inherently wrong. Park Jin’s decision to lock Kim Doju in Jinyowon was tragic, yes, but also a heart-wrenching, selfless act from both that saved many lives. This is leadership. To do what's needed even if it hurts you deeply. In fact, this acceptance of duty is literally Uk and Yeong's character arcs, culminating in their sacrifice of each other at the end to protect Daeho, closely paralleling Kim Dojo and Park Jin's earlier decision.

However, we begin to see the issue in Park Jin’s almost blind devotion to his duty within his relationship to Uk.

While Jin loves Uk too much to view him as a monster not deserving to live, he can’t ignore the potential Uk has to destroy everything Jin has been conditioned to protect (Daeho’s social structure), and he probably does believe that Uk shouldn’t be alive. This is why Park Jin does everything in his power to obstruct Uk’s growth in hopes of somehow striking a balance where Uk is both safe (if not happy) and doesn’t come in the royal family's way. This mindset is an excellent foil against Uk’s perspective on Yeong, where he similarly recognizes the “monster” inside her, never really refuting Yul or Master Lee or anyone else when they point out how dangerous she is. Unlike Park Jin though, Uk puts his faith in what Yeong has shown him and who he knows her to be over what she could be or was, handing her a sword and trusting her to choose her path. In the end, it’s this—albeit, risky—confidence in her that saves everyone in Jeojingak as Yeong ultimately chooses him.

However, because Park Jin believes that protecting the royal family/unanimous assembly will prevent unnecessary conflict that could harm Daeho's public and is so wrapped up in doing anything to prevent a change to the country’s social structure, he immediately dismisses Uk as a threat without even considering that Uk doesn’t want the throne or political power or…anything, really, other than respect and acknowledgement. And later, justice for a woman who was nothing but controlled and manipulated by the gwanju her entire life long.

Similarly, even though Park Jin recognizes the unfairness of a society which protects murderers like Jin Mu and power-hungry royals and the actual worst piece of scum Jang Gang (boy do I have thoughts on him), he simply accepts it as the way of the world. He lets people tarnish Do-ha's name and protects Jang Gang's reputation until the very end because yeah, sure, dude inflicted unbearable pain on his own wife and friends and caused pretty much 80% of all problems in the series, but he was still the Gwanju, a figure that had to be respected. After Mu-deok dies, Park Jin can see that Uk is right, that it’s unfair Naksu is saddled with all the blame while Jin Mu and the royals lounge away in Cheonbugwan, that the public deserves more than living in fear of what those with authority can do, and he still protects the current hierarchy. Of course, Park Jin does feel some guilt at the torment he’s causing the kid he loves like a son. It's why he pushes Uk towards Bu-yeon hoping she'll act as a salve and, possibly, a distraction shielding the country's hypocrisy.

But while Park Jin might regret his words for their effect on Uk, he never believes himself to be in the wrong because, to be fair, it did bring an inevitable clash to a standstill, preventing a power struggle/vacuum that could have hurt numerous of Daeho’s innocent civilians because if Uk did destroy the Unanimous Assembly/Royal family that early—way before he comes to decent terms with Go Won whom he still blames in part for Yeong’s death—who exactly is going to lead the country? And how are they going to gain legitimacy without some sort of conflict?

But does that mean what Park Jin did was right? Is it okay to crush a few to protect the others or to redirect and hide blame to maintain peace? And is that peace worth having even if it's not true?

tl;dr: Park Jin's a very interesting character to take a look at because for the most part, I feel like his heart is in the right place but either his means are sketchy or he's just not willing to risk Daeho's stability. In general, I love how we see “good” characters or those aligned with the protagonist (Park Jin, Jin Ho-Gyeong, even Seo Yul to a minor extent) upholding Daeho's corrupt system despite how unfair it is due to the stability it offers and protection for the four mage families. This is definitely brought to light in Shaman Choi’s excellent speech where she highlights the blame on all their parts regarding the ice stone coming to light, but I do wish the societal problems were emphasized a bit more, even if I do think it was effective as a backdrop silently influencing every character's action.

#alchemy of souls #park jin #jang uk #naksu #kim dojo #cho yeong #jang gang #character study #my rambles #way too long #meta

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all-risejd · 1 year

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Innocent Manipulations

This turned out darker than we originally intended, but this was a lot of fun to write. I hope you enjoy it, comments, reblogs and likes are appreciated.

Warnings: manipulation, obsessive behavior, unhealthy relationships, controlling partner, submissive partner.

Dom!Dom X Sub!Rhea

April 2023

In the quiet between pure night and early dawn Dominik can’t help but watch Rhea sleep stretched across their hotel bed, the slightly older woman fast asleep with a steady rise and fall of her shoulders, the blankets tangled around her, her dyed black hair inky against the crisp white of the pillows. Sitting in the high backed chair, he rested his chin on his hands, elbows on his knees, as he leaned forward and studied her. When the sun rose they had things to do, but this little moment right now, was his alone. He could plan and plot and choose the night's festivities - but he wanted to just watch his little masterpiece sleep. A true work of art once he’d managed to break down her barriers and gain her trust. His mean little brat, who needed someone in control, he had been more than happy to take the reins for her. A smile pulled on his face as he thought about the twisting game he’d played to get to this moment…

August 2022

He’d known about Rhea Ripley for some time. But seeing her in the flesh gave him goosebumps of the best kind. She was feral and wild in the way caged animals were. He loved it. The problem was even from his distance he could see how alone she was, the only time she even remotely lit up was in the presence of Damian Priest, and while that made Dominik’s curiosity about her flare, he’d heard all the rumors. He’d also heard the end of her discussions with other females, she’d get snappy and closed off. He’d read the online talk about her (he was often looking out for things his haters would use against him, like the fact that he was builtfat and not one hundred percent muscle like Theory), and he hated how he could tell even from watching her across arenas she let the way those trolls talked about her sneak into her mind and tear her apart. The thing was, he could see, even before they were on the same roster, that she was meant to be more. His father always said he picked impossible goals.

He made Rhea Ripley his goal - either a conquest, a lover, or a friend. He wanted to possess some part of the powerful woman who would have undoubtedly made Chyna proud. It’s an accident, really, (a well-planned one) that allows him to catch her in the gym of their hotel in the early morning light, the frustration and overexertion on her behalf echos the pain he once felt - when he was a teenager and brutally teased for not being more like his father, for not looking like the other football players, for being too tall to be hispanic (whatever the fuck that meant). “Hey, Ripley.” She jolted and turned to look at him, “Wanna beat something up that might hit you back?” He watched her appraise him - before nodding. It’s the start of something, admittedly not the something he so desperately wanted - but something just the same. It becomes a habit, if they are in the same hotel, they find each other between two and three in the morning, and beat the shit out of each other - never going for faces, but leaving the impact bruises just the same.

While they hit and spar, he draws her out of her comfort zone in another way. Dominik knows he’s got all the charm his father never uses correctly, he also knows there is a darkness inside of him, steadily growing, that he doesn’t mind. It only takes him two weeks to learn she’s forgetful for being a gym rat. She forgets protein, water, workout towels, and changes of clothes - she forgets the step that comes out after working your muscles to jello. But it works in his favor, his gym bag gets heavier, with the additions he makes, but seeing her shy smile as he offers her whatever it is she’s forgotten is worth it. August is a fantastic month, at least behind the scenes, they slowly share about their families - his hatred of being a nepobaby and the fact that everyone assumes he’s going to be Rey Mysterio 2.0, when in reality he wants to be more like Eddie Guerrero, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Raven, Undertaker - he wants to be the bad guy, and he knows he can do it, feels it in his soul, resonates in his very core. August in the ring is different - The Judgment Day are a pain in Rey Mysterio’s ass, they are a whirlwind of promised violence, and Dominik get’s it, all three of them are fighting demons, but they aren’t open about it. Dominik’s own relationship with his father is deteriorating - but that might have something to do with the almost arrest for Domestic Violence - Dominik’s not about to dwell on it.

It’s late in the gym, mid-August, now that Rhea is officially back on the roster and in the ring, their routine has shifted slightly. They meet around midnight, and they avoid making eye contact at work. Not because he wouldn’t meet her gaze, but because she’s distracted. There are whispers (WWE superstars are the worst rumor mill he’s ever seen) that she’s having problems with her AEW boyfriend, it makes him wrinkle his nose. He’s never been a fan of Buddy, and they’d had a storyline together before that hadn’t ended all that well. Dominik grew irritated when Rhea missed three workouts with him - and had to remind himself that he didn’t own her yet. The third week in August brought Alexa Bliss of all people pounding her way into his hotel room, unapologetically at almost one in the morning, “I need your help.” Was all she’d said, before snagging his wrist and dragging him out of his room toward the elevator, “She said you were helping her, before.” Alexa continued, “I fucking hate that tool, he just…” She pushed the L button on the column in the elevator, “He cheated on her.” Dominik, somewhere between sleep drunk and confused, wasn’t prepared for the sight that greeted him when Alexa drugged him into the gym. Rhea was on her knees by the weight bench, her forehead pressed into the seat, clearly sobbing so hard she couldn’t breathe, Dominik knew the signs of an impending panic attack, “She said you helped her before.” Alexa snapped at him.

It got him into action, he moved swiftly if not disjointed from sleep, to drop onto the floor next to Rhea, and haul her into his lap, a messy tangle of arms and limbs - she tried to fight him off at first, but Dominik was stronger, not that anyone would notice that about him. He managed to coil her up in his grip, tucking her head under his chin, then with a sharp exhale, carefully rose from his knees, balancing himself the best he could, “Get her bag.” He told Alexa, “And come on.” The small blonde did what he asked, having to almost run to keep up with him, as he headed back toward the elevator, softly promising Rhea she was safe under his breath, and that he was going to take care of her. Alexa slid into the elevator a beat after he did, and then they headed for the seventh floor, “Thank you, for coming to get me, Bliss.” He offered, as he stepped off, still cradling Rhea, “After you put her bag in my room you can take off.” He offered, giving no room for argument.

Alexa looked a bit miffed, but offered a quick, “She’s rooming with Liv, I’ll let Liv know she’s with you, just so she doesn’t worry, ok?” Dominik frowned as he realized one, they’d left his hotel door open, and two, Rhea had been so upset she’d opted to room with Liv instead of sleeping alone and he hadn’t known. No matter, she’d be in his bed tonight, and the foreseeable future if he got his way - and he was good at that, “Dominik, ok?” Alexa pressed, clearly a little worried about his answer.

“That’s fine.” He laid Rhea on his bed, carefully, then turned and took her bag from Alexa, “Tell Liv not to bother us until nine ish, I’m going to order some food, and see if I can’t get her to shower and talk to me.” Alexa flicked her gaze between them, Rhea had calmed down the moment he squeezed her to his chest, so he was confident she felt safe enough with him. Alexa surprised him by diving into his arms and hugging him around his middle, “Her boyfriend is a piece of shit.” Dominik offered, as he kissed Alexa’s head, and untangled her arms from him. Alexa raised a brow at him and looked like she wanted to say something, but opted not to, she looked at Rhea’s form again (she was at least breathing calmly), then nodded her head and slipped out. Dominik made sure the door behind her was shut and locked, before he turned to look at Rhea himself, “You’ve been ignoring me.”

Her face was a mask of anguish and confusion, “I…”

“You won’t do it again.” Dominik told her calmly, “Why did Alexa have to come get me?”

Rhea pushed up to sit, her breathing hitching just a bit, apparently the change in his tone from soft and reassuring with Alexa, to demanding and charged with Rhea had been noticed by the beautiful tear stained creature in his bed. “It uh…” She wouldn’t meet his gaze, and that wouldn’t do. He made his way back across the room, standing and towering over her, he used his pointer finger to force her chin up, her crystal like blue eyes were red rimmed and clearly unsure, as she met his gaze, “Buddy cheated on me.” She forced the words out, her chest heaving as she said it, “With that… with his… with his stablemate.” Dominik’s heart clenched a little bit, he’d never understood Buddy but that girl in the AEW had nothing on Rhea. On the bed, Rhea had drawn her knees up to her chest, and had pressed her face down into her knees, and was softly sniffling.

“He is a complete idiot, and you broke up with him, right.” Dominik was trying to coax her to stand, “Why don’t you take a nice warm shower, querida, and let me get you something to eat, you can sleep in here with me tonight?” While it was posed like a question, he could tell when she realized it wasn’t. She nodded her head twice, and let him manhandle her off the bed and into the bathroom - he could have given her clothes from her bag, instead he dug out a clean pair of his boxers and one of his softest old football shirts, he waited until he heard her under the spray of the water to put the clothes on the counter. Buddy was an issue - and someday he’d take care of that over muscled piece of shit - but the man had unwittingly helped Dominik, so maybe he’d send him a thank you card of some sort. He ordered ice cream and dessert because he’d helped Aalyah through more than one bad breakup (ironically he’d shared ice cream with her the night she realized Buddy was never going to take her seriously, and that her crush on him was completely one-sided), and set about building a fort out of the spare blankets he always asked for - less for comfort and more because his father often bothered him in the early hours of the morning looking for a quilt or another comforter. To be safe, Dominik hung the do not disturb sign on the outside of the door - it was something he and Rey had agreed on after his last relationship ended. Rey wouldn’t bother him (and his conquest) when it was on the door.

Rhea emerged from a pool of smoke in the bathroom doorway, backlit by the dim lights of the overhead fluorescents on the mirror she looked ethereal - a bit water logged, but dressed in clothes that belonged to him, that no doubt smelled like him, she looked a lot like she belonged.

Honestly, Dominik had never witnessed something so beautiful. They spent the night talking about failed relationships and eating the desserts that room service delivered, before the pair crashed out just after five in the morning, Rhea curled up in his arms, in the fort he’d built for them. They woke up to Liv Morgan’s voice - “WE ARE GOING TO MISS OUR FLIGHT BEEBS!” She shouted, and pounded. It was a mad dash to get dressed - Dominik just ended up throwing a pair of his sweets and a hoodie at Rhea, the pair both dressed as casually as they dared. Rhea’s clothes from the night before ended up in Dominik’s luggage, as the pair rushed out of the room and almost knocked Liv down - Dominik caught sight of Rey’s disapproving look from the elevator, as it closed.

“I uh, guess I should mention, I’m not the most adult human at getting to locations…” Dominik watched as Rhea sized him up, before nodding her head, grabbing her suitcase from Liv, and taking off for the next elevator. Dominik shot Liv a wink, the older woman snickered, even as Dominik caught up to Rhea, “Maybe you could be my travel partner? We already work out together…” Rhea shot him a disbelieving look, “Come on, you’d be doing me a favor, I’m helpless.” He pulled out the pouting lip and puppy dog eyes.

“Fine.” Rhea offered, then looked at Liv, “Are you ok with going back to traveling with Raquel?” Liv nodded her head, eyes going between the two of them, “It seems I’ve landed myself a new partner in crime.” It was that sentence that got Dominik thinking about it - he wanted to go heel, he’d talked to Vince about it only to be shot down, but he hadn’t tried his luck at Hutner. Smiling to himself as they rushed to board the plane - Liv and Rhea were sitting together, as Dominik dropped into the seat next to Rey, who was still giving him those dark looks. Yeah, his dad wasn’t an idiot, and would more than likely try to remind him that fucking business partners never ended well for anyone involved, but Dominik wanted, needed to captivate Rhea Ripley, needed to keep her on a metaphorical leash at his side, needed to apply just the right pressure to keep her exactly where he wanted her - and the best way to do that? Play dirty, innocently of course.

The next two weeks - through Clash at the Castle are messy. Really it can be summarized into three categories.

One, Dominik and Rhea work well as travel partners, something Hunter was initially confused about, but now he’s just glad that Dominik is on time to things. Two, Hunter green-lit the betrayal and now Dominik is in The Judgement Day, which means he’s with Rhea Ripley all the time, even on their days off, because he’s helping her move her belongings (along with Damian and Finn) out of the house she shared with Buddy and ironically into Dominik’s San Diego house, it’s a lot of loading furniture, belongings and jazz in Tampa and shipping it via POD across country. Her pets are a bit of an issue in the onset, but Dominik came through to help her with that too, convincing Aalyah to not only watch over them, but handle the movers bringing Rhea’s things into his house. Sometimes, Dominik caught Damian watching him, and wondered if the older man knew exactly what game Dominik was playing.

The third biggest hurdle came in the dynamic - the Judgment Day had been Finn, Rhea, and Damian against Edge for a bit; now with Dominik added in, he and Rhea agree for the kayfabe she’s got to be the aggressor (her eyes were huge and she immediately spiraled into a loop of I don’t wanna hurt you, you're my friend, this seems messy only to be silenced with Dominik promising he wouldn’t let it go too far), he and Damian work out a sibling like relationship quickly enough (one that rivals Eddie and Rey, and it’s sweet, sweet justice to see Rey’s face hurt by it sometimes), with Finn it’s both easier and harder, Finn becomes his surrogate father for the dynamic - and that’s the end of those struggles.

September 2022

“Hey, Rips.” Dominik called as he dropped into the seat next to her on the plane, “You forgot this.” He handed her the new anime she was reading, technically she’d left it on the bedside table of the hotel and he’d have been able to return it before then, but watching her light up like a candle on a red-eye was worth it. It’s been less than two weeks since he was unveiled as the newest member of Judgment Day, everything Rhea owns is tucked away in his house, Aalyah is the most competent dog sitter ever, sending multiple updates a day on Berry and Luna, Dominik’s conquest to be in Rhea’s bed nightly has been successful. There is nothing they don’t share, the shock that it’s only been a month is enough proof to him that Rhea needs him as much as he deserves her, and honestly… They are dynamite together and he’s yet to get her naked, so he’s going to assume it might be death for them both when they do finally cross that barrier, although right now he’s hovering somewhere between best friend and crush, he can tell by how her body responds to him.

“Thanks, Dom Dom.” She was instantly flipping the book open and back to reading, now curled into his side just enough to be comfortable, he let his hand span over her upper thigh - another thing he’d been tentatively adding to their standard relationship - touching her with no alternative motive. She twitched under him, but nuzzled closer. It started with sharing the bed, if he were being honest, from the night Alexa came and got him. He’d tucked her in, and held her just to keep her close, after that once they were approved road partners, he’d started soft touches, gentle pats to her side, rubs of her shoulders, his hands on her lower back, leaning into her when she was talking, kissing her cheek more than once, stuff that could be construed as friendly, but left an underlying notion of decidedly more. He’d learned how much she missed her family in Australia and had secretly purchased them a small nine-day vacation there (getting Hunter’s approval). He’d gently started reminding her to take care of herself a little bit better, just soft things, he’d even taken to packing their belongings into one rolling suitcase and one backpack - Rhea had been confused until Dom had offered, we share a room, a rental, and plane rides - might as well share luggage. He knew Damian had clocked the change, but the older man had yet to pull him aside and talk to him - Damian had his hands full with Finn as far as Dominik could tell.

“When we land,” Dominik cleared his throat to get her attention, “We are going to the room first.” She bobbed her head in agreement, “Once we put our stuff down we can either explore, meet up with Damo and Finn, go to the gym or nap.” He’d also learned Rhea liked having choices - not endless options, when presented with the phrase you can do whatever you wanna do she froze up completely, overwhelmed with too many choices. Damian, when Dominik wasn’t nearby, seemed apt to answer for her, he was there to guide her, and Dominik’s worries about their relationship had changed in the last month - they weren’t lovers of any nature, they were twin flames, yes, but platonically. Rhea and Damian were two halves of a whole, and filtered between codependent and each other's biggest fans - he and Finn were quickly becoming that as well. “Which would work best for you?” It also helped if Dominik phrased it as some sort of goal oriented trade off.

Rhea looked up from her book, contemplatively - he liked her best like this, no makeup, her dark hair sort of falling in her face, all of her jewelry in, his clothes on her frame, while he waited for her answer, he squeezed her thigh comfortingly, “I think it would be fun to do something with Damo and Finn, they landed last night right?” Dominik nodded his head, “Want me to text them and see about grabbing something to eat when we land?”

“That’s a good idea.” Dominik ducked to kiss her shoulder, affectionately, even as she smiled at him, “And, querida, are you cold? Do you need my jacket to rest on or?”

“I’m ok, Dom Dom, thanks.” She breathed out, then flicked her gaze around them, “Can I read some more?” They were in first class, with a divider between them, and still as close as they possibly could be. Dominik nodded his head, and smiled to himself as he watched her start reading again, she’d tucked one knee up into the seat with her, he stretched his arm around her shoulders, moving his hand from his thigh, to fan out over her collarbone, she shivered, he smirked to himself - another thing about his beautiful little conquest, she was touch-starved in a way he hadn’t expected. He’d seen her interact with different levels of affection with other people, but when it came to significant one-on-one touch, she was lacking. He had decided to fix that - and ignore the growing issues with his father (Rey had called Rhea a passing phase).

He’s been contemplating the best way to kiss her - the intricacies of when to do it, and how to do it. Realistically she’s not completely over the minefield left behind by Buddy, and it’s a big one - Dominik has been slowly and dedicatedly reassuring her that she is delicious and perfect the way she is, complimenting her on the small things (her pretty eyes, her ring awareness, her creative pins, the way she operates in the ring, her goddamn character work - which is frankly amazing), and the big things (how her clothes always fit her perfectly, how she always seems put together, and how she always takes care of everything domestic). So, back to the kissing - while she was growing stronger in her own ways, he was contemplating when it would be a good idea to cage her in and kiss her - ultimately he’s going to have to talk to Damian about it, because if anyone has any idea it’s him - but another part of him thinks it would be best to do it quietly, surprisingly.

Somehow time marches on, easily and irritatingly. They make it almost to the end of September, with him steadily growing stronger in The Judgment Day (the fans fucking hate him which makes him smirk, the darkness in him seems to feed off the boos and jeers at his nature, the darkness always seems the most content when Rhea’s asleep next to him in bed - when he can study her form, and decide his next subterfuge of affection to secure her place next to his side, indefinitely). The kiss he’d been so worried about, handles itself, ironically. They’d just finished up a RAW taping - they’d kicked AJ’s butt, and had Edge challenge them to an I Quit Match, Rhea was giggling and happy, as she darted into his arms - freshly showered, Dominik caught her as she launched upward, and she still laughing pressed a kiss to his lips, his body reacted on instinct, he coiled his arm under her butt to hold her steady, and let his other hand move to cup the side of her neck, squeezing lightly, her arms had wound around him, legs around him, she seemed unsure as she pulled back eyes wide, “Bésame, otra vez, chica bonita.” She looked at him confused, “I’m going to teach you Spanish if it kills me.” He vowed, “I said, kiss me again, pretty girl…” Rhea blushed, Dominik took three large steps, to press Rhea’s back into the concrete blocks of the arena, and pressed his lips more firmly against hers - it’s not a french kiss, but it is a demanding press of lips.

Damian cleared his throat, Finn on his back, the larger man rolling their suitcases, “Are you two ready, we have a flight to catch.” Dominik nodded, he didn’t let Rhea down, instead he shifted her to one of his hips, and grabbed the backpack and rolling suitcase handle, trailing along behind Damian, “So, we are flying back to Tampa where are you two headed?”

“I’m taking Rhea home.” Dominik couldn’t stop the possessive lit in his voice, Finn twisted to look at him a bit amazed he was being that bold, “We both wanna play with the dogs, and I think Rhea might want to unpack her stuff the rest of the way.” Dominik looked at Rhea, who nodded her head, and pressed her nose into his cheek, breathing out against his jaw. Dominik tilted enough to kiss her lips again, smiling into it, “And maybe I can show you around San Diego a bit.” He whispered, a plan already forming - he had a handful of friends she should meet, the main one however was his best friend - which was bound to cause a bit of tension, seeing as his best friend was female, but he’d drop that bomb on Rhea, later.

They said goodbye to Damian and Finn at the airport - the men headed for a Delta flight to Tampa, while they were headed for an United flight to San Diego. They changed planes once in one of the middle states, before landing in the early morning. Dominik let Rhea nap in the passenger seat, while he called Cat to let her know they had landed - he had arranged for her to drop off groceries and other provisions for them to be there three days, Cat was also supposed to pick up Aalyah, so when they reached Dominik’s house the only creatures to greet them would be the dogs. He also confirmed that she’d swing by later in the day for him to visit with his god-son, and that she’d dropped off all the roses he’d asked for. Honestly, Cat was the best friend he’d ever had, her husband, his other best friend, was in the Army and overseas more often than not. Cat promised she’d done everything he’d asked, which made him chuckle - when Aalyah had been called away from his house, Cat and Alexander had been more than happy to play with Luna and Berry.

Dominik had carried Rhea in when they made it, because she was fast asleep - his poor little nightmare had worn herself out. He tucked her in and set about arranging the house the way he needed it - putting the roses evenly in every room, so no matter where she looked there would be red, white and black roses arranged in pretty splays. Then he focused on making breakfast for the pair of them, and starting laundry. Rhea woke up about two hours after they arrived, to find him folding their clothes in the living room with Xander playing with both Berry and Luna, Cat had returned because Dominik had a slight emergency - there were no paper towels in the house, Cat had begrudgingly bought some and brought them over, “You must be Rhea!” Cat smiled warmly, “I’m Cat, and that’s Xander. I’m married to Dom’s best friend Robbie.” She explained and warmly hugged Rhea, Dominik watched the way Rhea tensed for a moment but hugged back, “You're more beautiful in person.” She smiled up at Rhea, “And we are going to take our leave, because I know for a fact you’ve missed your furbabies, Xan, come on baby.” Dominik hugged his nephew and watched him run for his mom - three was a fun age, Cat scooped him up, “Oh, I almost forgot, you're going to be an uncle again, but I haven’t told Robbie yet.” She shot Dominik a smile, “So don’t go telling on me, he’s supposed to be home for the next Premium Live Event, and I think we are coming.” She grinned at him.

Dominik thanked her as he showed her out, then doubled back to find Rhea still standing stock-still from the hug Cat had given her, “That was…” Rhea trailed off, “I’m confused.”

Dominik laughed, “Cat and Robbie are my best friends, Xander is my nephew.” He said evenly, “When Aalyah can’t watch Berry and Luna they do.” He added, “For a while when I first started on the road, she lived here, because Robbie hadn’t been in long for them to have regular base housing, now she and Aalyah live together.” He explained, before looking at Rhea up and down, “Did you sleep good?” She nodded sheepishly, “I made you breakfast, and I finished the laundry, once you’ve eaten and had something to drink, I’ll give you a real tour and then we can work out.” She hugged her dogs for what felt like hours, eating her food as she rubbed their bellies and kissed their snouts. Dominik grinned, he’d shown her a bit of how he was with small creatures, now seeing her with the dogs - he knew he was right. Rhea was his match, now just to get her to agree… For the first time, that afternoon she allowed him to choose their sparing workout, and they might not have pulled the punches, bruising and marking each other up - but there was the added bonus of making out.

From their sparring session they create a flexible workout, something that both of them can work well within, and that will work well on the road. Dominik hangs on Rhea’s every word, she knows more about fitness than he’s ever cared to learn - he exercises as needed, but she’s a devotee, and he’d be willing to bet that was due in large to Buddy, but now it’s a benefit for them both. The design works them out in a comfortable way, and allows for modifications in weights and rep count, but mostly it allows him to get closer to her, breathing in the sweet scent of her sweat, breathing in her prowess as she works - if ever Dominik were to be addicted to something, he has no doubt it is Rhea Ripley as his kryptonite, the kisses are rewards, and they fluctuated between soft presses of lips, to the harsh bite of teeth and the slide of tongues against one another. September ends, much like it begins, with him confidently melding into not only The Judgment Day but Rhea.

October 2022

October is the significant change - Dominik, while obviously devoted to Rhea, has been more than the driving force behind her violence. Back when they started this, he’d been the one to tell Rhea to make the abuse believable, from her choking him out in the ring, to him encouraging her to make him bleed before Clash at the Castle. Now he’s encouraging her violence against others, not that the outside world really knew that. Reddit has named him subbyDom and while he finds it funny, it couldn’t be further from the truth. The Judgment Day is more than gaining real traction and are actively feuding with not only Rey and Edge, but with the OC thanks to AJ Styles - actually most of the roster (except the Bloodline) are apt to want to kick them down a few pegs.

Rhea, his little demon, is growing more and more confident - she’s blooming loudly and violently on camera. It’s behind the scenes that Dominik is living for, the moment the cameras are off she’s looking at him with big eyes, “Was that good, Dom?”

While he hates the question, he always responds positively, painting compliments from nothing, and wrapping them around her. In return she offers him comfort, promises him the boos will subside eventually, but they both know that’s not going to happen anytime soon. Rey, while not one hundred percent understanding of Dominik’s recent bout of choices, is at least understanding of the fact that Dominik and Rhea are something, although he does continue to bring up the ‘mixing pleasure and business is bad’ almost weekly, his father is nothing if not consistent. Aalyah and Cat have wormed their way into Rhea’s life too, with text messages and picture messages, and updates on the dogs - Cat going as far as to send Rhea chocolates and small gifts every now and then - Rhea even has gifts from Xander.

And Dominik? He’s upped his game.

On camera Rhea’s the one with hands on him, guiding. Back stage, the moment the cameras are off, Dominik backs her into the nearest dark hallway or corner, to press kiss her senseless, he’s patient and understanding but demanding and always has a hand on her. Under his touch she flourishes, she smiles wider, she blushes more, her laughter is back (according to Damian, Liv and Alexa). More than that, he’s taken over a bit more of her overall being - without meaning too, he’s not sure when it happened, but Rhea started asking him opinions on everything, he gives them happily, always eager to see how the choice being made for her seems to calm her down. He even learned to dye her roots for her, which was a fun experience that he’s sure he’s going to repeat multiple times. October also brings Rhea wearing more and more of his clothes - her room in San Diego remains unoccupied, as each trip back she attempts to sneakily put more of her belongings into his room, like he wouldn’t invite her if she asked - but he’s sure she’s not going to ask, so after the Halloween RAW, he holds her tight in the hotel room, pinning her against the door, “Rhea.”

“Dom?” She sounded worried, like she was in trouble.

“Why don’t we stop pretending, you should move into my bedroom at home.” He kept his gaze on her, voice steady, “You belong in my bedroom at home, at our home, do you understand?”

“Yes.” She started to look away but he caught her chin, “Dom?”

“You like how I take care of you, don’t you?” He could hear the danger bleeding into his tone, but didn’t bother to pull it back, she nodded her head quickly, “You want me to keep taking care of you, Demi?” He used her legal name which made her eyes widen, her pretty mouth opened in a shocked ‘o’, but she nodded, “Then you need to tell me when you want things, cariño, do you understand.” She nodded again, “I want you to say it, Rhea.”

“I understand, Dom.” She whispered, eyes still wide, “I want… I want you to take care of me.”

“What else?” He pressed closer, pushing his chest to hers, caging her in.

“I want to be in your bedroom at the house, uh, at our house.” Her eyes widened a little more as she said it, Dominik rewarded her with a kiss that promised more if she were interested. She pulled back after a moment, exhaling sharply to look up at Dominik with a determined sheen to her eyes, “I want… I want you.” She said evenly, “I want…” She bit at her bottom lip.

Dominik had been waiting for this moment - three months of working hard, he knew he’d have more work to put in, but for a captivating demon like Rhea, he was willing to work his whole life to keep his prize with him, “Want me to what cariño?” He asked, curiously, daring her to tell him.

She flicked her gaze away, face flushing red, “I wanna be yours.” She finally pushed out, “Damian told me, he mentioned…” She trailed off, “You wanna keep me, right?”

Dominik would need to talk to Damian, but he dipped forward to kiss her again, “I want to keep you, I want you to be mine, but I want to be yours, too.” He promised her, “So, if you're interested, I’d like to show you all the perks of being mine.” Rhea gazed up at him, as he towered a bit over her, still pressed impossibly close, her eyes had narrowed, like she was working out the layers to his statement - and there were many. Dominik had basically asked her to be his, to let him own her in a way that was probably scary, and in the same breath he’d propositioned her, he tilted to the side and flicked his gaze back toward the bed, “We can go at your pace, Rhea.” He promised, evenly, “I will never make you do something you don’t want to do, and I will never hurt you intentionally. I’m not you're past relationships, and I have no intention of becoming one.”

She licked her lips, biting into her bottom one, as she eyed him critically, “Forever then?”

“I would like forever, but I’ll settle for right now.” He offered, watching her carefully, she was breaking down in front of him, “Rhea, let me take care of you.” The power was racing up his spine, the darkness, he could feel it in his voice, in the way she trembled against him, how she pressed even closer, clearly fighting with herself, “Demi,” He said her name with emphasis, “Let me take care of you, I’ve always taken care of you, remember in July when you started to work out again, but no one wanted to spar with you because they weren’t sure about you're injury.” He touched her jaw, “I offered, didn’t I? I just want the best for you.” He assured her, “Let me give you my best, please?”

There was a stretch of silence between them, before she nodded her head, he narrowed his eyes at her and started to remind her to use her words, but she was quick to say, “I want that, I want, I want you.” She rolled her shoulders a bit, “Can we… can we do that now?”

Check-mate. Dominik grinned, “Of course we can, cariño, I’ve been dying to put my hands and my lips and my tongue on you…” The statement made her giggle and flush again, even as Dominik softly backed off of her, and tugged her a little toward him, but away from the doorway, “But we have plans with our friends for clubbing, so it’s going to have to wait, baby.” Her pout should frankly be illegal but they do have plans with Liv, Damian, Finn, Raquel, Alexa, Askua, Seth, Becky, and countless others. “When we get back, cariño, I promise to reward you, ok? But you put this pretty dress on, and you're legs are delicious, and you already have my jacket on, which makes me wanna pin you against every surface…” Dom had donned dark jeans and a deep blue button up for the night.

Rhea pouted on and off for the next three hours, but she had fun with Liv and Alexa, even with Becky - always finding Dominik’s eyes across the room. “She’s yours.” Damian sounded beside him, “I’ve never seen her trust like she does with you, so you either did something incredibly right, or there is something about you I am missing.” Dominik shrugged, “I approve, as long as you keep her happy and satiated.” Dominik could agree with that, as he turned to say as much to Damian he found the man gone.

November and December 2022

Hunter wanted them to up the drama, so they did - with tapings and attacks on Rey. That wasn’t the only place things amped up, their relationship was now running steady and fast, really Dominik couldn’t wait to introduce her to his grandparents but because of the messy Christmas recordings he’d had to wait until almost New Years. He met her family in Australia not long after that, he’d won her mother over with his kindness and eager willingness to help her in the kitchen, he won her sister over with tales of Xan and the dogs back at home as well as pictures of him with Cat and Aalyah, her father was a tough cookie, but he managed to win Mr. Bennett over simply by being his usual possessive self when it came to Rhea, which involved him and Buddy getting into a bit of an altercation in Melbourne, but whatever, he’d handled it. After Christmas they’d spent a couple days with Cat and Aalyah, Dominik had watched Rhea like a hawk, there, he wanted to see how she interacted with his sister and his best friend, when she met Robbie in early January, the pair hit it off - her and Xan were never far apart, slowly Rey and Angie came around, and started to invite Rhea in more. Dominik knew he was in love with her when he caught her cooking with both his mother and abuela.

April, 2023

His thoughts were interrupted as Rhea twisted in the sheets. The sun was well and truly up now in California. They had had a long night, coming of WrestleMania with her winning her match, but him losing his - he was proud of her and had literal years to deal with his Rey-shaped feud - so proud they hadn’t made it out of the stadium before their night had started, with him pinning her against a wall, and slipping his hand down the back of her pants as he kissed her until she couldn’t breathe properly, before trailing his lips down her neck and biting hard, she’d cum the first time there.

Panting and weak even as he’d half carried her to the rental SUV - they hadn’t perfected any sort of sex in the rentals yet, they were both tall and it was borderline uncomfortable, usually with a gear shifter in someone's back or thighs - it was a work in progress. They had, however, managed to successfully find dark corners in most of the arenas they worked in, to either fuck or play - Rhea liked wearing his bruises, and the cute little Mami collar she had started wearing the rings he had bought for her, well he’d bought about thirty since she had a habit of damaging them, or breaking them.

He quickly climbed back into bed with her, not wanting her to wake up alone, he curled around her, and nuzzled into her short hair, “Good morning, sweetheart.” Dominik kissed her shoulder blades, Rhea grumbled in her sleep, she hated waking up, especially after a long night of work followed by what she lovingly called marathon sex, he double checked the bedside table to make sure her fruit punch gatorade and her favorite cookies (brought over from Australia) were within her reach, “You look beautiful in this light, baby.” He promised as he kissed her shoulders again.

“Papi, let me sleep more.” She begged, even as his kisses turned harder, his hands which had been innocently rubbing her sides to wake her up, had trailed lower to rub her hips, “Paaaapi.” She whined, as he laughed, and rolled her over. “Dom-” He cut her off with a kiss.

“I love you.” He whispered into the kiss, “Mami, please, let me love you this morning.” He muttered even as he pressed more kisses to her face, “I promise to be soft.” He added when she let out another little whine, he drug his nose along her throat, biting over her pulsepoint, “We have to do press in a little bit, I don’t want you to stress too much while we are there…”

Rhea let out a pearl of giggles, as he ticked her side, “I love you too, Papi, please-” He kissed her again, he hadn’t told her yet, but he was going to marry her, he’d already picked out the ring, he smiled into the skin of her neck, and aggressively snuggled her. Dominik smiled harder, it was going to be a great day.

#Dominik Mysterio x Rhea Ripley #Dark!Dominik Mysterio #rhea ripley #the judgment day fanfic #wwe fanfiction #mondaynightraw

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