Dominic Spencer: The Trouble
- Megan M. Maddox
- Jun 21
- 5 min read
“…That’s as close as I can come to explaining it…” He said.
“Because you don’t know why?” I press, going off of the uncertainty in his tone a moment ago. “Or because you can’t tell me, yet?”
Silence. Then,
“…Because I don’t know why.”
I’m fascinated… In some ways, it’s like Dominic is as much a mystery to himself as he is to me. Absurd as it sounds, I’m not sure I’m as interested in an explanation about their madness as I am in the answer to this next question.
“Have…you hurt many people?”
He pauses. I think I feel his muscles twitch. The sensation is gone as quickly as it came. He gives another nod.
I dig, breathless. “…Bad people?”
He shakes his head. It’s a bit before he looks at me, and answers.
“Not always…”
Dominic Spencer
Sign: Scorpio (thought not specified in the books).
Signature scents: Divine. Assign to that whatever fragrance you will.
Aesthetic: Golden Retriever look. Doberman style.
Mmm… Dominic Spencer. The morally gray, young paragon of Grinning Dragon, but don’t get the wrong idea.
Dominic isn’t what you’d call a ‘Shadow Daddy.’ Dominic is definitely more of the ‘Sky Daddy’ variety. (Okay, I just almost made myself puke. I’m not trying to yuck anyone’s yum, but without major sarcasm I find the ‘daddy’ trend utterly cringe, so I’m done).
Though not specified in the series, Dominic’s closest ancestral roots go back to England, and Italy. His most defining feature, is one most people won’t see. Two vicious, yet uniform scars mar his back.
Those who cross paths with him could be blind, and still sense the grace and immensity thriving within him. Warrior. Sinner. Saint. Musician. Dancer. Dominic moves in poetry. He’s as weightless on his feet as the breath on the singing tongue of an angel. His eyes are green as long-lost worlds, and that smile could bring nuns (and priests) to their knees. With the face of a god and a voice like a devil, the boy is trouble.
So then, it’s somewhat ironic that what makes Dominic truly alluring isn’t his looks. The best things about him, is his mind, his heart, his soul.
Dominic has often been the most difficult to write, and to draw simply because he’s such a walking contradiction.
Blood-streaked gladiator. Shining white knight. Brutally gentle. Deceptively honest. Stubbornly patient. Stupidly intelligent. Untamable. Self-tamed. Humbly uncontrolling. Unpredictably stable. Calm. Spirited. Compassionate. Cruel. The immeasurable quantities of his love mean that he is also capable of the most lethal kind of hatred. For Dominic, self-control is more than an attribute. It’s a necessity…
The point is, Dominic Spencer radiates light like the sun radiates heat. Yet, it can’t be denied that the brightest days; shed the blackest shadows.
This is a deliciously complicated character, with a deliciously complicated backstory.
Dominic met the beginning of his life as an entitled little rich boy, and therefore has already seen tremendous growth by the time he meets Jin. Still, where he comes from, there is one law that thwarts all other laws. “There is this world, and there is that world. They are seperate, and thus we are seperate from them.”
Living by this creed has forced Dominic to place limitations on his own power. His own wants. His own vision. Limitations he isn’t always aware of, nor does he tend to be aware that he holds the key to his own prison. Meeting Jin gives him the first glimpse of “what if” that he’s ever seen through the window of the ceiling in his metaphorical cell. She might also be the only one capable of unlocking the shackles both of his cage, and his heart.
The first time he saw her, was the first time he sensed that there are dreams he’s never had the courage to let himself dream. Dreams he’s never imagined with anyone else. Dreams that seem – if not impossible – than all too dangerous to face. After all, handing Jin the key to his unseen and yet entirely encompassing world could mean unleashing something neither of them can control.
No matter what Jin says, Dominic isn’t perfect. He is remarkable in every sense of the word, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t privy to his own fears and weaknesses.
Dominic is afraid of losing Jin if he lets her see behind his mask. He’s afraid of standing in the way of the safe, normal life she could live without him. He’s afraid that she might come to fear him as much as the times he’s feared him self. Most of all, Dominic fears what he would be without her.
He knows better than most the dangers that face Jin. If he isn’t one of those dangers himself, he’s devoted his life to stopping them.
Whether these star-crossed lovers end up together or not, above all else, Dominic sees Jin for everything she is, and much more. The light emanating from her sings him an irresistible siren song. He would do or give anything to preserve that light so that she can go on being soft in a world that is often hard.
He will be cruel so that she can be kind. He will be violent so that she can be gentle. He will kill, so that she may live…but that isn’t quite accurate.
While I love me some “touch her and die,” when it comes to Jin, Dominic’s vibe is closer to “touch her, and I’ll make you beg for death.”
I’d say that throughout Grinning Dragon, Dominic’s greatest challenge to overcome is probably himself.
His inner world is one of meticulous meditation and calculated discipline. He sees far more than people know, and he’s almost always about a hundred steps ahead of anyone else.
That changes when Jin enters his life. Never in his years has he known anyone who’s made him so certain of his buried longings, passions, and desire, while simultaneously creating such conflict within his own mind.
Dominic doesn’t want to stand in her way. On the contrary, he wants nothing more than to protect and uphold the girl he sees, until she knows the woman she’s becoming. Then, he will travel the paths she chooses, even if it means he must keep to the shadows, unseen.
These are the foundations that see this character and his dream that is Jin to some of my favorite tropes.
Morally gray with wholesome twists.
Touch her, and I’ll make you beg for death.
Vulnerability is Strength.
Friends to Lovers.
You Push Me to Be Better.
I Will Burn the World For You.
I Will Kill For You.
I Will Die For You.
I Will Live For You.
Tension.
Yearning.
And sooo much more…
What do you think? Does Dominic Spencer have book boyfriend potential? Do you vibe with the tropes surrounding him? What are some tropes I might not have mentioned that you love to see with MMCs in your favorite books?
Thank you most sincerely for joining me for the spotlight on Dominic Spencer. Trouble. Love interest. The man behind the mask.
Next week I’ll be giving readers a closer look into the life and personality Jin’s best friend, Izzy Finch. I all sorts of hope you’ll join me.
See you then!
P.S: Life is Art. Live it, bestie.
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