Q: Do you have any opinion on dom!Erik verse sub!Erik? To you, which one is more plausible?
Oh my gosh, anon, A+ question. And I’m going to take it in the context of actual Dom/sub practice within a sexual relationship, and not top!Erik vs. bottom!Erik (so I hope you didn’t mean the latter, because a lot of people equate bottoming with subbing and that’s just not accurate).
Also gonna take it in the context of Erik/Charles, ‘cause…c’mon.
Although I prefer top!Erik in fic, in the context of a Dom/sub relationship I see him as a sub. Not that Dom!Erik isn’t plausible (it absolutely is) or that all subs are necessarily on the "receiving" end during sex (they absolutely aren't), but it’s just…the more obvious choice of the two, because Erik is widely interpreted as the stern, powerful, aggressive, in-control one in his and Charles’ dynamic. And sure, in day-to-day life, that’s largely true.
But part of the dynamic within a healthy Dom/sub relationship is that all the power isn’t flowing one way. A sub may be giving his Dom physical control over the scene, but the Dom is also given the sub’s complete trust: Trust that he won’t hurt the sub by crossing any boundaries/pushing any hard limits, trust that he will immediately stop if he needs to (whether it be because he recognizes that his sub is in danger independently or because the sub safe-words), et cetera.
But perhaps even more intense, a Dom is largely responsible for knowing what his sub wants or needs without always being explicitly told what that is.
This means a fuck-ton of emotional, as well as physical, responsibility afforded to the Dom.
Of course, Charles fits all of these aspects of a Dom perfectly. Charles would take every precaution not to harm Erik. He’s utterly honored whenever Erik places trust in him (so he wouldn’t take the trust of sub!Erik lightly). And he has a way of knowing how to help Erik even without using his telepathy, but of course it’s always there if he needs it (provided Erik grants him permission to enter his mind).
On the other hand, Erik has breathtaking trust issues. His need for control in his day-to-day life is bordering on pathological. He’s incredibly self-sufficient - sometimes to a fault - largely by his own doing. So, for Erik, the act of sexually submitting in a safe environment (like it would be with Charles) could be immensely therapeutic in a number of ways.
He’d be putting his trust in someone who will absolutely treasure and honor that trust. He’d be allowing himself to be subject to the will of someone else outside of a harmful, nonconsensual context. He’d also be allowing himself to experience pleasure in a way he couldn’t otherwise, with all his various inhibitions (set in place by a need for control - you can’t exactly lose yourself to anything if you’re maintaining constant, obsessive vigilance).
I feel being the sub in a healthy Dom/sub relationship would serve Erik both sexually and emotionally in ways that being a Dom would not (though both are plausible, and the role trust plays in a Dom/sub relationship would be beneficial to Erik regardless of which role he took on, in my opinion).
Thank you so much for the question.
