'Underword' Fanfiction - Ne Me Lache Jamais

[last_archangel]

Title: "Ne Me Lache Jamais"
Fandom: Underworld
Characters: Selene, Michael
Rating: M for sexuality and course language.
Words: 1,291
Summary: After a two month separation, Selene and Michael reunite and make a decision about their future. Takes place immediately after Endless War, the Underworld anime that takes place nine years after Evolution and

Comments

[wrongly_amused]

<3 Awww. I really love how you show the change in their dynamic, the shift from the tentative, wary young man that Michael was to the bolder, aggressive hybrid. The rules have changed, and for the first time Selene finds herself having to compromise, inviting it even.

It's on YouTube, actually! I'm watching it now. :D (IT IS SO DELIGHTFULLY BAD.)

[wrongly_amused]

OKAY, NEVERMIND, MOST OF IT'S BEEN TAKEN DOWN BY COPYRIGHT LAW. (STILL AWESOMELY BAD EVEN IN SMALL SEGMENTS)

[last_archangel]

Changed it just a little after rereading it. Not too much. Thanks!

I had fun writing "nine years later" Michael. It's good knowing that he'll eventually be on even footing with her.

[darkfrog24]

That is actually my great hope for the canon.

I realized today that they actually were on closer to even footing in the first film. In the original UW, Selene was never shown as a leader. She was a follower, part of a team, could work independently, but it wasn't until UW that they established her as the sort of person who had the authority to exile someone.

[last_archangel]

Selene was the sword hand, not the head. She would have done anything Viktor said. I greatly doubt whatever authority she had had anything to do with kicking people out. Plus, for all we know, Tannis's exile involved a lot of Death Dealers and Selene was just part of the group (unlikely; this is Tannis after all), or it involved Selene telling him to pack his shit and go or she'd shoot him in the nuts.

[darkfrog24]

I've been thinking a lot about the Michael-Selene dynamic and what he would be like. One possibility is that Selene's found a guy who doesn't mind her taking the lead. Usually, at least in fiction, the man is the more aggressive of any pair and the one who comes up with most of the plans.

This would be a foil for Kraven, at least, always trying to dominate things. He never paid enough attention to what Selene was really like to figure out that that was her turnoff.

[last_archangel]

It's an interesting thought.

I've noticed that occurrence in fiction, though: hero is new to culture and trusts that heroine who is native to culture will show him the ropes. The Paul Atreides-Chani dynamic. The main difference with this story is that it's told from her perspective, not his. I'm fairly sure, however, I'm reading too much into it.

As it is, I just recently rewatched Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and I stand by my old hilarious comparison between Kraven and Gaston.

[darkfrog24]

Yes, but Paul became the leader with Chani as his lieutenant. So far, Selene has called all the shots. We know that Michael was the one on the docks making the deal, but as to who came up with the plan and who's following it? It's not resolved. Which means we get to fill in all the blanks. They could be partners, they could be Team Selene with Michael as her obedient blue muscle, with anything in between. I'm sure there are fans out there making the case that Michael ran the show after UW:E; it's a stretch but it can be done.

I saw part of the B&B movie. If Kraven does resemble Gaston, then he needs to invest in body waxing. It's worth the pain, dude.

[last_archangel]

I wasn't going that far with the Paul and Chani thing, simply making an example of the native-vs.-adopted culture trope presence within both stories.

Personally, I like the idea of a partnership. Yes, for a while, there are going to be moments when Selene has the obvious advantage of living in this particular world for so many centuries, while Michael just has a few decades under his belt with which to work. From what little is shown of them together post-Evolution, Michael seems to have gotten his bearings. Or perhaps that's just wishful thinking on my part. But it looked like Michael was the one arranging an exit from the city.

[darkfrog24]

Yes, but what I was going for was that, while it is usual for the hero to follow a woman for a while when he is still learning the ropes, the dynamic usually changes once he's got his bearings; Dune and the recent Avatar movie are both examples.

In the book Cryptonomicon there's a side plot with the modern protagonist's rather troubled love life. When the story begins, his girlfriend of eight years, Stephanie, has just dumped him for a Finnish social philosopher. The protag is a bit confused because he can't figure out what went wrong. He and Stephanie had the perfect mid-nineties, liberal, young professional, Californian relationship: totally egalitarian and enlightened, partners in all things

[last_archangel]

I see what you're saying. It's simply a question of, "Did Selene take charge with Michael because she felt she had to?" vs. "Did she do so because that's her personality?" The way I see it, she is more inclined to being a member of a team. She had fellow soldiers, and certainly didn't seem to mind the offers of help from the Cleaners and David. The same could go with Michael. The only time she outright tells him what to do is over his feeding habits, and she was obviously right.

[darkfrog24]

I was more thinking about Michael's reaction to all of this. The way society is, a lot of men are still a bit meh about a woman who takes the lead, especially if they're the ones who are expected to follow. I'm wondering if Michael is one of those guys who finds that a take-charge woman is what works for him.

[last_archangel]

There's zero evidence to support that Michael chafes at Selene taking charge. He'd be a serious fool to disregard what he could learn from her. Yes, he disobeys about the blood thing, but that's more about distaste than a resentment for her giving the order. He follows her around, lets her do the majority of the speaking to Corvinus.

Plus, it would rather undermine the whole idea of the series if the romantic interest was averse to what the lead is pretty much to her core, which is a soldier who knows what she's doing.

[darkfrog24]

Exactly. The question that remains is does Michael just not mind Selene taking the lead or does he actively dig it?

[last_archangel]

Ah, I see. That, I think, is entirely up to the fan.

As for myself, I see her as someone who doesn't particularly seek an authority position. I like to think that, once Michael has more familiarity with the world and his new self, they're pretty much equals in the relationship.

[darkfrog24]

The canon certainly leaves it open. In UW:E, it certainly looked like Michael had fun playing the musclebound backup while they were scaring the crud out of poor Tanis.