RAGGED LOVER

While I am not usually a fanfiction reader (this is because of some unimportant shenanigans I may explain in any other occasion), I tend to stick to the pairings I cherish most in the rare instance I do read something. Very rarely do I venture out of my realm and my zone of comfort to read other works for other pairings. However, I find it that I should do it a little more often, if I get to find quality works such as this one. In this occasion I am reading a fic from an author I recognize as the author I bastardly stole a title from. The Edge of Glory was (and still is) a fic for Seulrene that Shippingtrashboat wrote and it stuck so hard to me that I grabbed the title and ran with it unconsciously when I made the third installment for The Big Bear trilogy. It was a hilarious coincidence that we still laugh off to this day, but I will always feel eternally sorry for stealing the spotlight. 

This one is named Ragged Lover, a WenSeul fanfiction that focuses on Son Seungwan mostly. Son Seungwan is a sugar baby and Seulgi is the Sugar Mommy's daughter. It's a fic labelled with Trigger Warning, so that is not a fic for the faint of heart or the softies (my brethrens) that have not been hardened to some roughness. Do not worry though, it is not chaotically depressing.

I wish to start off by stating the following: Ragged Lover is both a very enticing title and a particularly interesting choice of words there for starters. It catches on, right away. Normally, I have to go back and re-read the title to remember it, but this one gripped me for some reason. So, hooray to you, authornim!

The very first paragraphs are exquisitely detailed, setting the tone immediately and gripping your ankle enough for you to stay in your spot and read. It packs a punch, the carefully chosen words are nothing short of fantastic. The theme is already quite strong at first glance, but the beginning is one that even made me feel the bleak and helplessness of the character. Most importantly, I felt humiliated along with Seungwan and that is a strong emotion I personally repudiate. However, I soldiered through, I ain't no weak . 

For this, the tone of the fic becomes somber and enraging, quite saddening. Personally, the description of Seungwan's shame and her frustrated attempts to erase such shame spoke to me to a level that made me--only for a split second--absolute saddened to the core, deeply devastated by her state, for sure. This may be the author's self-proclaimed 'sad attempts' at angst, but I think they have a gift for this. Considering the immediate impact the sequence left on me, leaving an impression that I must grab the edge of my seat well so I could withstand the rest of the ride. However, the fic continues and progresses and the severity (or what I fondly call the 'cruelty' of the author) ceases and fades slowly, gradually, as the romance begins to brew. This is personally not something I mind; I am not one to read angst or sad works of fictions, so this for my tender heart was more than fine! 

Though I can see how it could be a bit of a problem to some hardcore veterans of the genre. The powerful statements that are made at the beginning sequence remain as powerful up until one point in the fic where everything starts to switch into a more happy, more positive prospect and somehow the raw start feels inadequate to the rest of the work. What I essentially am saying is that if the author ever desires to make a longer stretch of angst work, they should use that gift for gripping openings and extend the rawness and despair for a longer period, with some up and downs, before it smoothly rolls the knot out into one straight line. For example, and this is a personal criticism, the conflict between Mrs. Kang and Seulgi starts with a blow to the face, like dynamite. However, when Seungwan leaves Mrs. Kang to date Seulgi, no mention of this conflict or their dynamics are made again after, not even in a little epilogue note of the sort. Normally what I would do is to give Seungwan a taste of real love, something fervid and spontaneous yet very careful. Then, we jump back to Seungwan suffering with Mrs. Kang. Instead of having her let go right away, I would apply some growing tension. At first, Seungwan starts to feel that the situation is untenable and slowly starts to rebel more, to find alternatives to the situation (to no avail) and starts contemplating preemptively the change in her life's condition if she were to really leave. She outweighs the odds, the pros and cons. Then, after perhaps a few shenanigans, maybe a small little fight between the two love interests, Seungwan breaks free from the shackles that bound her. 

It adds to the drama factor, which we all love, and it brings a dimension to the whole ordeal. Leaving an abuser like that is no easy task and while I do feel glad Seungwan stands up to herself, I feel like in the realistic sense it would take a little more time. Perhaps the time is stretched, but the lack of recounting of previous incidents before the final blow makes it seem like it happened shortly after and with little consequences or events leading up to it, yes? In these occasions, a little description can greatly help round up the events without necessarily describing it entirely. Like: "This is the eleventh time this month they have disagreed this way. Or, as Mrs. Kang lovingly puts it, this is the nth time Seungwan has been a selfish little brat. It had all started shortly after Seungwan got with Seulgi, when Mrs. Kang's ideas and insatiable libido started to really take a toll on Seungwan..." and it goes on from there.

I will also mention that I would prefer to have known more of the characters' history and life. Perhaps just a little more. The information we did get was cleverly spread through the fic in tiny bits that made total sense and did not feel shoved in our faces. This, of course, is always a delight. But I would have wished to know more about Mrs. Kang (for example: if she became this way because of her failed relationships, trauma, or something as simple as how ruthless she is in the business world and what makes Seulgi mildly respect her in a way), and especially more of Seungwan, our tortured soul who we sympathize and root for. I sympathized, absolutely, but I wanted to know more of her and really feel the rage of the situation and the subsequent relief of finding that Seulgi (who I also wanted to know more of)is there to take a good care of her and give the good girl the appreciation she needs.

Though I can understand why the shorter route was taken. Perhaps it was too complex and the author wished to get on with it already. It is the fear of making the fic a bit too long maybe, see? Afraid that one might get bored reading it or that they get too busy to finish it. One cannot please everyone, however. I'm an author too and I have that very same fear as many other authors do. I did learn something over the years though: just write it all down, put it all out there. There will always be an audience for it, and if your devoted audience is there you will have people reading it from bottom to top for hours on end. Much against their better judgement, of course. Everyone, remember to take pauses and drink water. 

All of that aside, I do find that the fic is otherwise absolutely brilliantly executed. The premise was already good, but the way it was carried out made it all the more satisfying and tantalizing. I made mentions of the angst being geniously written, sometimes with just a short interjection between one division and the next, a short interjection that speaks miles and volumes of the dynamics between the Sugar Mommy and the Sugar Baby. Something subtle like that is just what you need to showcase a really toxic and sickening relationship, instead of graphically describing it and turning the stomachs of people in the most distasteful way. Showing crude scenarios like that is an art within the writing community. The author has mastered that skill down to a T and we respect that in this household. 

Their talent extends to the gooder and fluffier side of life. Yes, yes. Now, it is time for the romance and the fluff! This one section I have no complaints of. The relationship between the two of them was tender, sweet, humane and fervid in its most natural way possible. The author took the time to craft a beautiful connection and made sure to give our punished Seungwan the love and protection she deserves, through Seulgi we vicariously comfort Seungwan. Seulgi is the anti-thesis of her mother and I absolutely loved that this behavior showed not only in the ual parts and the flirting, but in her personality overall since the very beginning of the fic. It is quintessential Seulgi, not something that is just shown during , much like how her mother shows her rotten personality even outside the affair. Seulgi's character interested me a lot; it supports the notion that while you may live with the devil, you may never become one. It is not always set to stone you are as rotten as your peers. That is a notion I am a fan of since always, so this is a plus for me! 

Speaking of the ual part, we're getting to the here! As picky as I am with the sections in angst fics and, well, in fics in general, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised but then I remember Edge of Glory and I wonder why I was surprised at all. The author is clearly not inept in the ual department. Basically, I'm saying you got game, sweetie. The words used to describe everything are not raw and dirty like I normally use, but they are still charged with intense imagery and vivid visuals that may have anyone curling in their seats even if they are not the recipient of such endeavors. The length in itself is satisfying, at least personally. After all the cruel, I appreciate it. The was tender, careful, well described and it played a little on the habits and customs that Seungwan is used to. I also like that, despite it being a in a fanfiction, this one was grounded in its realism and felt as real as the entirety of the story. sometimes takes a wild fantastical route where s twitch sometimes and people come gallons. I am certainly not knocking off that kind of (I have written little else over the years, c'mon), I am just saying that for the tone of this fic--so grounded in a real scenario that could be happening anywhere--, a realistic scene that matched the rest was needed. I also like that Seungwan did not magically forget about Mrs. Kang during the brief tangents that she occasionally remembers the previous incidents. She remembers, absolutely, but she pushes the intruder out of her mind for her own well being, helped by the tender caresses of Kang Seulgi. That is another aspect I liked about that scene. It showed, in its implicit terms, the key difference between the Kangs. Seulgi asks and takes care while Mrs. Kang demands and takes savagely. They both harbor a possessive passion (some may disagree, but all humans are SLIGHTLY possessive when it comes to a loved one), but they express it in vastly different ways. Mrs. Kang wants some stimulation--not even , maybe--while Seulgi wants to worship the beauty before her.

The ending? The absolute fluffest ending which I cherish after that horrid blow at the beginning, so thank you. I personally like the inclusion of Seungwan's parents at that last bit. It is quite reminiscent of their real life counterparts and many of you do not know but I am personally a total er for when Seungwan gets to see her parents after a long period of time. This ending brought me a lot of joy and I found the finishing line to be fitting. Succinctly puts the situation into one line. It is a far better life to live it like this.

If this was a 'sad attempt' at angst, then I do recommend that you continue to gloriously provide with 'sad attempts' more often. Even if I am not a WenSeul shipper or a reader, I think you will be doing a great disservice if you forbid such quality stories to the fandom and even I would be devastated by that.

Rating: Why would I rate it? Whatever its symbology, numbers are for scientists and dweebs. I am a dork, not a dweeb.

No, but seriously. It's a read that I personally liked a lot, despite the author's request for me to demolish it. It is hard to demolish a foundation that is created very well, but I did my best to criticize and give grounded advice. Because, you know, I could've easily said:

your fic suxs lol.