I mostly like happy endings
Aug. 27th, 2020 12:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alias_sqbrExcept, it seems, for MXTX fic where someone motivated by grief/trauma makes the clear, cold-eyed choice to murder or destroy the life of someone they care about. That is apparently my jam?
Previous examples include what's in a name (Heaven's Official's Blessing, He Xuan/Shi Qingxuan) and Love in a Nightless Garden (MDZS, Wen RuoHan/Meng Yao).
The latest example is the final cut (The Untamed, Mo Xuanyu/Nie Huaisang), which worked fine for me as MDZS fic since the relevant plot points are basically the same.
In all three cases, the fic is expanding on the actions of the characters in canon. He Xuan, Meng Yao and Nie Huaisang all do Some Shit to people they care about for the sake of revenge, and are a really interesting mixture of horrifying and sympathetic.
I can't think of any characters quite like that in Scum Villain's Self Saving System. Luo Binghe comes the closest, both Bingge and Bingmei, but the dynamic isn't quite the same.
I've wanted messed up shippy fic about Nie Huaisang and Mo Xuanyu ever since realising what must have happened between them when I finished the book. I immediately got attached to Mo Xuanyu within the first few pages of MDZS, this poor depressed gay kid who felt like his best option was to die and let someone more powerful use his body. And Nie Huaisang is a fascinating character that fandom unfortunately tends to forget is anything more than his harmless persona since his murderous scheming was all off screen and worked out in the protagonist's favour. And I find him likeable too, but that just makes me want to poke more at the awful things he did. Especially since he and Jin Guangyao were probably the closest things poor Mo Xuanyu had to 'friends' :(
This fic is a relatively sympathetic take, in that Nie Huaisang cares as much about Mo Xuanyu as he does about anyone other than his brother, and it gives Mo Xuanyu about as much agency as possible. But it's still consistent with canon, which means Nie Huaisang befriends the much younger, lonely, mentally ill Mo Xuanyu and then Mo Xuanyu kills himself to help Nie Huaisang's schemes. Also it's not very romantic, more of a really really messed up friendship.
Obviously you could explore the messed up nature of their relationship without making it at all shippy, but it adds an extra layer of uncomfortable emotional weirdness. And apparently uncomfortable emotional weirdness is what I'm here for!
I think what I like about all these characters is that the novels (and this kind of fic) sympathise with both them and the people they hurt, and don't pull punches about how fucked up their behaviour is. I don't like the Manpain About Hurting The Ones You Love sort of story where it's...I don't know, framed as being just about them and their feelings? (While I have my pinboard open, The Price skewers Manpain in general wonderfully)
I suspect it makes a difference that this is fic of canons where these guys are not only not the main character, but antagonists (even if Nie Huaisang's role as an antagonist is indirect) If the only version of the narrative was entirely/mainly from their POV, I think I wouldn't like it as much.
I have no conclusion, but am out of thoughts.
It's funny, I always feel a bit self conscious posting my rambling thoughts about individual fic in a way I don't about original works. BUT I HAD THOUGHTS ANYWAY so here you are.
Previous examples include what's in a name (Heaven's Official's Blessing, He Xuan/Shi Qingxuan) and Love in a Nightless Garden (MDZS, Wen RuoHan/Meng Yao).
The latest example is the final cut (The Untamed, Mo Xuanyu/Nie Huaisang), which worked fine for me as MDZS fic since the relevant plot points are basically the same.
In all three cases, the fic is expanding on the actions of the characters in canon. He Xuan, Meng Yao and Nie Huaisang all do Some Shit to people they care about for the sake of revenge, and are a really interesting mixture of horrifying and sympathetic.
I can't think of any characters quite like that in Scum Villain's Self Saving System. Luo Binghe comes the closest, both Bingge and Bingmei, but the dynamic isn't quite the same.
I've wanted messed up shippy fic about Nie Huaisang and Mo Xuanyu ever since realising what must have happened between them when I finished the book. I immediately got attached to Mo Xuanyu within the first few pages of MDZS, this poor depressed gay kid who felt like his best option was to die and let someone more powerful use his body. And Nie Huaisang is a fascinating character that fandom unfortunately tends to forget is anything more than his harmless persona since his murderous scheming was all off screen and worked out in the protagonist's favour. And I find him likeable too, but that just makes me want to poke more at the awful things he did. Especially since he and Jin Guangyao were probably the closest things poor Mo Xuanyu had to 'friends' :(
This fic is a relatively sympathetic take, in that Nie Huaisang cares as much about Mo Xuanyu as he does about anyone other than his brother, and it gives Mo Xuanyu about as much agency as possible. But it's still consistent with canon, which means Nie Huaisang befriends the much younger, lonely, mentally ill Mo Xuanyu and then Mo Xuanyu kills himself to help Nie Huaisang's schemes. Also it's not very romantic, more of a really really messed up friendship.
Obviously you could explore the messed up nature of their relationship without making it at all shippy, but it adds an extra layer of uncomfortable emotional weirdness. And apparently uncomfortable emotional weirdness is what I'm here for!
I think what I like about all these characters is that the novels (and this kind of fic) sympathise with both them and the people they hurt, and don't pull punches about how fucked up their behaviour is. I don't like the Manpain About Hurting The Ones You Love sort of story where it's...I don't know, framed as being just about them and their feelings? (While I have my pinboard open, The Price skewers Manpain in general wonderfully)
I suspect it makes a difference that this is fic of canons where these guys are not only not the main character, but antagonists (even if Nie Huaisang's role as an antagonist is indirect) If the only version of the narrative was entirely/mainly from their POV, I think I wouldn't like it as much.
I have no conclusion, but am out of thoughts.
It's funny, I always feel a bit self conscious posting my rambling thoughts about individual fic in a way I don't about original works. BUT I HAD THOUGHTS ANYWAY so here you are.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-27 02:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-08-28 10:59 am (UTC)Yeah, it's a hard line to walk and the fic does it really well.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-31 12:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-09-07 10:54 am (UTC)Yes it's a great canon for that! Which I guess isn't surprising when the protagonist is a necromancer :)