The snake and the moth (Braindump)
May. 20th, 2018 10:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yuuagoI went spelunking in Russian side of NiF fandom this evening and read some fanwork via googletranslate, because it's the only place where I've found XJH/MCS fic.
Tik is missing in action, so I'm just going to dump some thoughts here.
THAT FEELING when there are three fics for your rarepair. And they are all in a language you don't read. And you sit there for a bit wondering if you're willing to use googletranslate to read them, even if it's more like reading the general idea rather than reading them properly. And finally you just say YOLO and do just that.
...Actually, it was surprisingly readable, considering some of the other Russian fic I've run through machine translators. But. You know. "Readable considering it's gtrans" is... well.
It's too bad that I need to get my fix for Prince Yu/Mei Changsu this way, but HEY HO LET'S GO.
Much to my disappointment, they're all explicit, but beggars can't be choosers, I guess.
First one I read (most recent posted) was Предсказуемая расплата and lol, well, author sure knows where their id's at. In other fandoms it might even match my tastes, but not in this particular case for this particular pairing. Well, moving on....
Second one was Принятый дар, and while it's still not what I'm looking for, it's at least within throwing distance. Much of the first bit has Jinghuan being thirsty and trying too hard as usual, and MCS being all cool and collected when politely responding to and deflecting Jinghuan's everything, as usual. There's this one nice little part where Mei Changsu actually accepts something Jinghuan gives him, and Jinghuan thinks in response that this is worth all of the previous tries before that.
Also, there is moth imagery and hand-holding. I am a man of simple needs, clearly. And furthermore - "You will not regret choosing me." ....:D :D It's just so very... ! Oh, Jinghuan, oh you.
I was reading along, losing interest a bit when things got steamy, but then toward the end it becomes clear that this part of their relations became incorporated into the Plan as necessary, and aha, that works for me. I MEAN, of course it isn't completely in keeping with canon, but [/vague handwave.gif] When you're shipping something like this, you find a way. Anyhow, it made the porn more interesting, at least; for this pairing, I usually prefer things to be weird and ust-y, but it's nice that when it came to the matter of the sexual tension coming to a head (as it were) the author at least made an effort to attempt to give the scenario some kind of sense within the context of the larger story.
Speaking of which, man, Russian fandom tags OOC for every little thing. And I mean - yes of course, most of this isn't exactly in keeping with things that could be canon-possible. But there's an effort to fit it into the wider plot. And, like I said above, I figure that if you're reading something like Jinghuan/Mei Changsu in the first place, if it's something that goes beyond unresolved tension (or perhaps Jinghuan having thirsty fantasies, heh) then as far as I'm concerned, there is an assumption that you're already willing to make some pretty big characterization-related concessions, so there's no need to tag for it.
Anyway. The third fic....
[At this point I had to go to bed, and then continued in the morning]
Third on the list is Алые ленты by the same author duo who brought us Принятый дар, Aerdin & Mi_two. It's a sequel to that, and it's 11k, and when I saw that wordcount my eyebrows shot up because oh man, I sure am curious.
Unfortunately, the majority of that wordcount was porn, but again - beggars can't be choosers.
While I am on the subject of this fic, apparently the Russian version of Qin Banruo's name transcribes back to English as Qin Banjo and I can't help laughing whenever I see it, because it makes her seem as if she belongs in one of those silly anime where everyone has puns for names.
Anyway.
"This is the smallest thing I can do for you. Sometimes I wonder why you do not allow more." Ahh, Jinghuan. :') IF ONLY YOU KNEW.
(Ooh, lingering descriptions of Mei Changsu's cold and pale hands, yes, very good.)
Arrgh there's this one bit where they're talking about plum blossoms and it's full of metaphor/innuendo and it really doesn't translate well, but I think that if I could understand Russian, I would like it quite a bit. How frustrating! \o/
(And once again, moth imagery!!!!)
There's this one bit where Jinghuan says that he decided that he would have MCS, as soon as he saw him - "You had no chance of escape, even if I had to visit you three times seven times" (something to that effect). And I just... really liked that; it plays into the whole thing he does where he gets an idea and doesn't let go, pursuing it even if it can (and will) end disastrously.
And then after a whole lot of scrolling - toward the end... Hmm. Never would have imagined such a thing, but it's a rather interesting idea, death -> Prince Yu waiting for him -> "I wanted to understand you better/ Why did you come to see me off? / I wanted to know what was true and what was false". And the whole... [/vague handwave] 'The political advice was a lie. Mostly. And the rest was not a lie - and it frightened me' -> YES PLEASE. I don't know, there's just something about all this that I find really appealing.
(The 'spending eternity' part is perhaps a bit much, but I like the final few paragraphs enough that I'm willing to overlook it.)
Ah, anyway... I'm rather glad that I took the time to bother with this, because even if none of it really hits precisely what I want, at least it exists. And there are enough little bits that I do like to make it worth reading. (Or, well, "reading".)
I still maintain that my ideal for this pairing - as I've discussed with Tik before - would be... the tension, but a bit more; pressure and pursuit and never quite getting there, attempts to reach for and - this is important - possess, and never quite managing it. Something like how I wrote it in "Brilliance"*, but more. Basically a mixture of "to have you is to have everything" and "I will send a fully-armed battalion to remind you of my love" so to speak.
And on MCS's part, the whole thing with not being able to keep as much emotional distance as he wants, with lots of emphasis toward the end on "I didn't want this for you; you didn't have to fall this hard", that sort of thing. Perhaps with a bit of "If you weren't the way you are, this could have turned out very differently" (in many different ways, for many definitions of 'differently'.)
It's the sort of thing where it's hard for me to articulate it; the only thing I can do is gesture vaguely to the way it plays out in canon and say, "Like this... but more." Like adding salt to food to make it taste more like whatever it is.
Ah, well, the only thing I can do about this is write more poetry. I think I promised it to Tik, anyway. We'll see what happens. ;p
Tik is missing in action, so I'm just going to dump some thoughts here.
THAT FEELING when there are three fics for your rarepair. And they are all in a language you don't read. And you sit there for a bit wondering if you're willing to use googletranslate to read them, even if it's more like reading the general idea rather than reading them properly. And finally you just say YOLO and do just that.
...Actually, it was surprisingly readable, considering some of the other Russian fic I've run through machine translators. But. You know. "Readable considering it's gtrans" is... well.
It's too bad that I need to get my fix for Prince Yu/Mei Changsu this way, but HEY HO LET'S GO.
Much to my disappointment, they're all explicit, but beggars can't be choosers, I guess.
First one I read (most recent posted) was Предсказуемая расплата and lol, well, author sure knows where their id's at. In other fandoms it might even match my tastes, but not in this particular case for this particular pairing. Well, moving on....
Second one was Принятый дар, and while it's still not what I'm looking for, it's at least within throwing distance. Much of the first bit has Jinghuan being thirsty and trying too hard as usual, and MCS being all cool and collected when politely responding to and deflecting Jinghuan's everything, as usual. There's this one nice little part where Mei Changsu actually accepts something Jinghuan gives him, and Jinghuan thinks in response that this is worth all of the previous tries before that.
Also, there is moth imagery and hand-holding. I am a man of simple needs, clearly. And furthermore - "You will not regret choosing me." ....:D :D It's just so very... ! Oh, Jinghuan, oh you.
I was reading along, losing interest a bit when things got steamy, but then toward the end it becomes clear that this part of their relations became incorporated into the Plan as necessary, and aha, that works for me. I MEAN, of course it isn't completely in keeping with canon, but [/vague handwave.gif] When you're shipping something like this, you find a way. Anyhow, it made the porn more interesting, at least; for this pairing, I usually prefer things to be weird and ust-y, but it's nice that when it came to the matter of the sexual tension coming to a head (as it were) the author at least made an effort to attempt to give the scenario some kind of sense within the context of the larger story.
Speaking of which, man, Russian fandom tags OOC for every little thing. And I mean - yes of course, most of this isn't exactly in keeping with things that could be canon-possible. But there's an effort to fit it into the wider plot. And, like I said above, I figure that if you're reading something like Jinghuan/Mei Changsu in the first place, if it's something that goes beyond unresolved tension (or perhaps Jinghuan having thirsty fantasies, heh) then as far as I'm concerned, there is an assumption that you're already willing to make some pretty big characterization-related concessions, so there's no need to tag for it.
Anyway. The third fic....
[At this point I had to go to bed, and then continued in the morning]
Third on the list is Алые ленты by the same author duo who brought us Принятый дар, Aerdin & Mi_two. It's a sequel to that, and it's 11k, and when I saw that wordcount my eyebrows shot up because oh man, I sure am curious.
Unfortunately, the majority of that wordcount was porn, but again - beggars can't be choosers.
While I am on the subject of this fic, apparently the Russian version of Qin Banruo's name transcribes back to English as Qin Banjo and I can't help laughing whenever I see it, because it makes her seem as if she belongs in one of those silly anime where everyone has puns for names.
Anyway.
"This is the smallest thing I can do for you. Sometimes I wonder why you do not allow more." Ahh, Jinghuan. :') IF ONLY YOU KNEW.
(Ooh, lingering descriptions of Mei Changsu's cold and pale hands, yes, very good.)
Arrgh there's this one bit where they're talking about plum blossoms and it's full of metaphor/innuendo and it really doesn't translate well, but I think that if I could understand Russian, I would like it quite a bit. How frustrating! \o/
(And once again, moth imagery!!!!)
There's this one bit where Jinghuan says that he decided that he would have MCS, as soon as he saw him - "You had no chance of escape, even if I had to visit you three times seven times" (something to that effect). And I just... really liked that; it plays into the whole thing he does where he gets an idea and doesn't let go, pursuing it even if it can (and will) end disastrously.
And then after a whole lot of scrolling - toward the end... Hmm. Never would have imagined such a thing, but it's a rather interesting idea, death -> Prince Yu waiting for him -> "I wanted to understand you better/ Why did you come to see me off? / I wanted to know what was true and what was false". And the whole... [/vague handwave] 'The political advice was a lie. Mostly. And the rest was not a lie - and it frightened me' -> YES PLEASE. I don't know, there's just something about all this that I find really appealing.
(The 'spending eternity' part is perhaps a bit much, but I like the final few paragraphs enough that I'm willing to overlook it.)
Ah, anyway... I'm rather glad that I took the time to bother with this, because even if none of it really hits precisely what I want, at least it exists. And there are enough little bits that I do like to make it worth reading. (Or, well, "reading".)
I still maintain that my ideal for this pairing - as I've discussed with Tik before - would be... the tension, but a bit more; pressure and pursuit and never quite getting there, attempts to reach for and - this is important - possess, and never quite managing it. Something like how I wrote it in "Brilliance"*, but more. Basically a mixture of "to have you is to have everything" and "I will send a fully-armed battalion to remind you of my love" so to speak.
And on MCS's part, the whole thing with not being able to keep as much emotional distance as he wants, with lots of emphasis toward the end on "I didn't want this for you; you didn't have to fall this hard", that sort of thing. Perhaps with a bit of "If you weren't the way you are, this could have turned out very differently" (in many different ways, for many definitions of 'differently'.)
It's the sort of thing where it's hard for me to articulate it; the only thing I can do is gesture vaguely to the way it plays out in canon and say, "Like this... but more." Like adding salt to food to make it taste more like whatever it is.
Ah, well, the only thing I can do about this is write more poetry. I think I promised it to Tik, anyway. We'll see what happens. ;p
Yuu. Fic writer & book lover. M/Canada.
no subject
Date: 2018-05-21 09:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-21 10:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-05-22 01:24 am (UTC)It occurred to me that I’ve not seen moth metaphors used in english or chinese fics hmmmm. Plum blossom metaphors though, exist in copious amounts in c-fics.
(NiF is totally the kind of show where everyone has puns for names. Well, wordplay at least, if not puns :D)
no subject
Date: 2018-05-22 02:05 am (UTC)Yeah, this dynamic isn't typically my thing either - and I'm usually not into villains - but with these two in particular, it's what you said. Their relationship is very compelling; it has so many layers. And considering how Jinghuan pursues him (in a manner of speaking) in the beginning, well... it isn't hard to build on to that if one wants to.
Ah! Though I've used moth imagery in my own work, I haven't seen it in any of the English things I've read either. Which surprises me, because adding up the clothes, and the cloaks, and the fragility, and the transformation, I'm unable to shake the idea of Mei Changsu as a furry grey moth! xD