sakura_no_miko

Title: The Wrong Man

Author: Lucy Hale

Fandom: The Invisible Man

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: Darien/Bobby

Warnings: explicit sex (gay), unhealthily co-dependent relationships, martyr complexes, lots of angst, mild stalking

Other notes: break-up, self sacrifice, a-chronological order

Length: 169k

Summary: Darien’s gland free and out on his own. But what about Bobby?

I was reading some Due South fanfic and I started thinking about other tv show fic. Back in the day, I saw an interesting fanfic summary for a show called “The Invisible Man,” and one of the characters was named Darien, a name I have a soft spot for, so I clicked. It ended up being a massive angst fest about attempted suicide followed by some really hot sex. Sadly I haven’t found that particular fic again, but I was inspired to go and read some other stuff from the series.

This is the type of angst I like to read. Logically, I realize that a relationship where both partners are trying to die to save the other one isn’t really healthy (see This Deadly Innocence for a much better explanation than I can give). And yet, emotionally, something pulls at me. It’s that martyr complex–that willingness to sacrifice your health or happiness to make someone else happy. Of course, as this fic makes abundantly clear, it’s not always the best idea to try and push everyone else away for their own happiness. In fact it generally makes things worse. I think that’s what really gets me about this fic: like This Deadly Innocence, it sort of revels in how the martyr complex can make you feel like you’re doing a great thing, but at the same time, it’s kind of a cheap way out. Dying is easy. That sounds a bit callous, but it’s true. Dying means you don’t have to face boredom or falling out of love, old age or jealousy, all those things that a relationship can have. A martyr complex means you can push someone away before you get hurt, still feel like you’ve done something good, and keep this shining image of your beloved and the happiness they must have found.

Yeah, I like this kind of angst, problematic as it is. It’s just–it’s pleasing to read, on a gut level, because everything is so heightened, so dramatic, so full of love and agony. I was almost sad when it ended happily.

(Looking for more fic recs?)
Originally posted on tumblr on 02/03/13