![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xparrotOnce upon a time, many Julys ago, I started writing a Saiyuki fanfic. Three years and three days later, I finished that bitch.
The first draft, anyway. Here's the next chapter - and more will be a-coming shortly, soon as I whip the draft into shape.
[Saiyuki] Remembering to Breathe
Chapter 16: Confront: Violet
Gen; angst/drama/X-parrot's favorite cliches
Not gonna say I hope it was worth the wait, because...damn, it would have to be the next Harry Potter for that. Or the next ep of Supernatural, at least. Especially since it's been so long since I've written Saiyuki, and I'm pretty rusty, and Sanzo's as bitchy to write as ever. But here's to hoping someone remembers it...lemme know what you think!
The first draft, anyway. Here's the next chapter - and more will be a-coming shortly, soon as I whip the draft into shape.
[Saiyuki] Remembering to Breathe
Chapter 16: Confront: Violet
Gen; angst/drama/X-parrot's favorite cliches
Not gonna say I hope it was worth the wait, because...damn, it would have to be the next Harry Potter for that. Or the next ep of Supernatural, at least. Especially since it's been so long since I've written Saiyuki, and I'm pretty rusty, and Sanzo's as bitchy to write as ever. But here's to hoping someone remembers it...lemme know what you think!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-07-21 02:16 pm (UTC)Btw: I've been horrible with the commenting lately (sorry!) but I AM still reading things as you put them up, and loving every line. I'll try to be better about that for new chapters: I'm such a horrible (distracted) person.
Oh, also, news: headin' your way for a vacation, next month. Oh no, evacuate while you can! *laughs*
no subject
Date: 2006-07-22 02:32 pm (UTC)Oh! Where are you going in Japan? Gonna be around Tokyo for Comiket, maybe? If you're going to be in Kyoto, do drop a line!
no subject
Date: 2006-07-24 07:17 pm (UTC)As for Japan- it’s Aug. 17th-28th. I’m not even sure when Comiket is (*laughs*), just heading over for a vacation with some friends- been planning on it for years, but we’re finally getting around to it. We're mostly staying in Tokyo, but we're heading up for an overnight stay in Kyoto, so I'll give you a heads up on the dates, if you're interested. ^_~ If I get the cell number we'll be using (rental) before we leave, I'll pass it on- I'd love to get a chance to see ya~
no subject
Date: 2006-07-25 06:21 am (UTC)Ahh, you're missing Comiket by only a few days! it's 11-13th - shame, that. But, yes, lemme know when you're gona be in Kyoto! Won't get a chance to see you at Otakon this year (first one I've missed in six years!) so would be great to catch you here! ^^
no subject
Date: 2006-07-21 04:44 pm (UTC)*races away to read*
no subject
Date: 2006-07-22 02:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-21 05:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-22 02:34 pm (UTC)...now I just got a cubic zillion more things to finish. Oy vey!
THANK YOU
Date: 2006-07-22 01:06 am (UTC)But seriously, thank you. You promised to finish this and it looks like you will. I have waited and watched (and enjoyed your other fics). I think you still have a great feel for Saiyuki. Sanzo's just bitchy because you waited so long.
Thank you.
BTW Ginji will be lonely without Goku, but I will introduce him to Zoro and Sanji. They are kinda just hanging out too ^_^
Domo Arigato
(Did you get to the Gion Festival? Its the best!)
Re: THANK YOU
Date: 2006-07-22 02:41 pm (UTC)And no fears, the story itself is finished - I need to edit it, but the draft is done. So new chapters will be coming regularly from here on. Honest! (And I suppose I should be relieved that Sanzo is being bitchy, he really wouldn't be in char otherwise...) Very glad that you liked this last chapter - I've actually had most of it planned since I started posting the first chapters (the motivation of Hakkai's abductors and such) but it's still almost a shock to finally have written it...
...now I just gotta get to work on all those other stories. Which haven't been forgotten, either, but...one thing at a time!!
And yes, Gion festival was great! My sis & friends & I went out in yukata on the last evening (4 gaijin girls all traditionally decked out, netted us a lot of surprised/entertained/amazed looks ^^) And we went to the parade, too - in pouring rain; it's been unseasonably wet and flooding around here. Still was awesome.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-22 03:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-25 06:22 am (UTC)Only because it's you...
Date: 2006-07-22 04:23 pm (UTC)NOBODY does amazing, fulfilling, non-gratuitous angst like you. The opening chapters were astonishing in how they captured mind-numbing grief. Hooked me right in, even tho', as I said, I am CLUELESS about this fandom and these characters.
I still bow to you and your talent.
I look forward to reading the rest. SOON.
Re: Only because it's you...
Date: 2006-07-24 07:19 pm (UTC)You know, she's done that to me, too; I swear, she's half the reason I got into One Piece.... (Mike shoving a dvd full of episodes at me was the other half... ^_^)
Re: Only because it's you...
Date: 2006-07-24 07:46 pm (UTC)I've been reading her for almost six years now; her "Real Ghostbusters" novella, "Descent", was the first zine I'd bought in YEARS. She's really got universal appeal, no matter what genre she's writing in.
Oh, hell, she just writes the BEST CRACK EVER. :)
::will not get into "Saiyuji", nuh-uh, no way::
Re: Only because it's you...
Date: 2006-07-25 06:29 am (UTC)Though for this story I must give most of the credit to Minekura-sensei - she's the one who wrote the characters that inspired me so. Saiyuki is an incredibly compelling series, one of my top 5 animanga loves. And what I write isn't terribly more angsty than the canon itself...
And you already bought a DVD! yaay! Now I don't haveta try to talk you into doing so XD Though I do haveta recommend that you get the manga as well - it's translated into English (good translation, too, from what I've heard), you can pick it up on Amazon or in Borders... The anime can be a good introduction (it's how I got into the series) but it was done on a shoestring budget and it shows in animation and the filler script quality. Though it does have several of my absolute favorite Japanese voice actors (Sanzo and Gojyo's voices are both pure sex...)
Ah, and there will be more coming. Soo~n! ^^
Re: Only because it's you...
Date: 2006-07-25 07:54 pm (UTC)I say it 'cause it's true. Blush if you must.
And what I write isn't terribly more angsty than the canon itself...
Oh, yum. Canonically sourced angst. ::purrs happily::
Actually, I gathered it was angsty, or at very least had decent h/c potential - viewing the vid box covers and seeing pretty boys covered in blood (yet still looking cocky) seemed a decent sign. :P
And you already bought a DVD!
"Journey Begins". That seemed like the logical one. I also threw "Requiem" into my Netflix queue.
Though I do haveta recommend that you get the manga as well
PLEEEZE don't make me spend any more money. :( I've already spent a fortune on all that damn "Dragon Quest" stuff. (I bought almost $100 of doujinshi... and then DIDN'T LIKE THEM. ::cries:: The yaoi I saw was TONS better than the sweet-het I purchased. Damn my conservative taste in pairings.)
Though it does have several of my absolute favorite Japanese voice actors
I think what I ordered tho' is dubbed. :(
(Sanzo and Gojyo's voices are both pure sex...)
That's how
Ah, and there will be more coming. Soo~n! ^^
N~O~W!!!!!! ::twitches impatiently::
Re: Only because it's you...
Date: 2006-07-27 03:22 am (UTC)Sorry to hear about the doujinshi - dj are a crapshot, I always only really like about half of what I buy at any given time. Which tends to make me all the more eager to get more - ahaha, next time I'll get it right - hence my addiction ^^;;
And if you ordered the DVDs there should be a subbed Japanese track as well as the dubbed (the advantage of DVDs!) I'm anti-dub anyway and the dub of Saiyuki changed the script pretty substantially (at least the first couple discs did, I watched it in a state of shock, what with Sanzo being polite and Hakkai swearing...) And besides, the Japanese has Seki Toshihiko (Sanzo) and Hirata Hiroaki (Gojyo)...mmmmm...!
Re: Only because it's you...
Date: 2006-07-27 03:30 am (UTC)Mmmm.... I thought h/c smarm had died out. Obviously, I've just been looking in the wrong places. ::w00ts quietly::
And if you ordered the DVDs there should be a subbed Japanese track as well as the dubbed (the advantage of DVDs!)
Aha! Thanks for that! The Netflix DVD should be here TOMORROW. ::w00ts NOT so quietly::
BTW, do you have AIM or Yahoo Messenger or anything like that? For international timezone chitty-chat? I'm robinschin on AOL, robinsheart on Yahoo. If you're of a chatty mind, let me know your ID (as I block to keep some Bizarro World denizens out of my face) and I'll add and you can PIMP ME. :D
And now, back to writing my fallen Templar. I'm just LAUGHING at the idea of yet another holy man with vices.... What's up with THAT?
Re: Only because it's you...
Date: 2006-07-28 05:03 am (UTC)I'm not really on any chats ('cept for gmail's on occasion) especially since my apartment's internet is, er, somewhat unreliable (at least up in my room; the wireless comes and goes like the wind...) I might get AIM again someday, will drop a line if so! ^^
Re: Only because it's you...
Date: 2006-07-28 05:13 am (UTC)No.... I have a strict rule (and I know, it's a STUPID RULE) that I don't follow TV series that are on-going. Really negative/disastrous plot twists (like beloved-character-death) mess me up bigtime, so I wait until the canon is closed. I know that makes no sense, but... I'm ::sheepish sigh:: "sensitive." Which gets me into trouble, I know, but... that's the way I am. (Don't you remember, I wouldn't read that one RGB story of yours - "Pieces", I believe it was? - until you reassured me it had a happy ending?)
And that reminds ME... the Saiyuki boys are all alive still in the anime and the manga, right? ::frets::
I'm not really on any chats ('cept for gmail's on occasion) especially since my apartment's internet is, er, somewhat unreliable (at least up in my room; the wireless comes and goes like the wind...) I might get AIM again someday, will drop a line if so! ^^
Hey, if you ever get the chance, I'll appreciate it.
And now I will cease hijacking your LJ and use your kindly-supplied email address for further discussion. Such as OMG HAKKAI RIPPED OUT HIS OWN EYE?!?!?!?!
Re: Only because it's you...
Date: 2006-07-28 05:27 am (UTC)As far as Saiyuki goes...umm. Well, the thing is, yes, they're still alive, but the manga is still ongoing. So there's a chance something bad might happen in the future...I don't think it will; the series is dark, but I think Minekura is too fond of her chars to kill them arbitrarily. I think...can't guarantee. The one thing that gives hope - don't know if you've seen this spoiler yet or not, but they're all reincarnations of gods in heaven 500 years ago (well, except Goku, who is the same person he was) There's a side series about their previous incarnations in heaven (if you see the names Konzen, Kenren, and Tempou, that's the previous selves of Sanzo, Gojyo, and Hakkai, respectively) which is presumably going to end with all of them dying...but they're apparently all fated to be together, so a little thing like death hardly slows 'em down... ^^
Re: Only because it's you...
Date: 2006-07-28 05:42 am (UTC)I know I'm a completely irrational pansy, but... I have "separation" problems in fandom (separating actor from character, separating fanon from canon) and even in fanfic, a (well-done) deathfic will send me into mourning for DAYS. So... I'm cautious.
Go ahead. You have permission to laugh at me.
a lot of us will be finding ourselves unexpectedly 'shipping incest
::laughs at the memory of all the SW Luke/Leia shippers saying back in the day, WTF, they're TWINS?!?!?!?!::
(Then again, doncha know? - incest is the new black this season, sigh.)
As far as Saiyuki goes...umm. Well, the thing is, yes, they're still alive, but the manga is still ongoing. So there's a chance something bad might happen in the future...I don't think it will; the series is dark, but I think Minekura is too fond of her chars to kill them arbitrarily. I think...can't guarantee.
And that is why I probably won't read the manga. The anime is over, right? I'm safe there? :)
The one thing that gives hope - don't know if you've seen this spoiler yet or not, but they're all reincarnations of gods in heaven 500 years ago < snip > so a little thing like death hardly slows 'em down... ^^
Yeah, I'm still piecing all that together, and I can dig it. So if I can just keep a bit of distance, and know that in this uni death doesn't mean good-bye forever.
And... I read your latest chapter, and was in tears. A couple of times. (You still got it, babe.) And, four more to go? Sigh. ::waits impatiently::
no subject
Date: 2006-07-22 09:00 pm (UTC)I feel like I should reread the whole thing from the beginning, but I don't have the time to do that right now... :P But I will do it soon!
no subject
Date: 2006-07-25 06:32 am (UTC)And yah, it does take time to reread - I would've posted it sooner except I wanted to reread the whole thing first to catch any major continuity glitches. I'd forgotten quite a lot of details, even if I remembered the main story...("What? Hakkai has a broken arm? When did that happen?")
no subject
Date: 2006-07-23 12:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-25 06:32 am (UTC)And it is TOTALLY YOUR FAULT
Date: 2006-07-25 03:40 am (UTC)Re: And it is TOTALLY YOUR FAULT
Date: 2006-07-25 06:34 am (UTC)--er...I mean...I'm sorry? I didn't mean to lace that candy with crack cocaine, honest, officer...
Re: And it is TOTALLY YOUR FAULT
Date: 2006-07-25 07:56 pm (UTC)If you didn't mean it to be so cracky, you wouldn't have written OMG HYPOTHERMIA in "And Miles to Go." Jeebus. Talk about pushing Robin-buttons....
(Why yes, this DOES mean I went and read the rest of your Saiyuki fics. So sue me.)
Re: And it is TOTALLY YOUR FAULT
Date: 2006-07-27 03:24 am (UTC)Re: And it is TOTALLY YOUR FAULT
Date: 2006-07-27 03:35 am (UTC)And you say that like it's a BAD THING?! Gah! Good good GOOD YUMMY!!!
I might need to hurt you....
Date: 2006-07-26 10:41 pm (UTC)I've spent WAY too much time on the 'net Saiyuki-ing the last coupla days. Dammit. Damn YOU. :D Such pretty pictures. Such surprisingly good fanfic. Angst and blood and inappropriately-close male-male bonding. Reminds me of other fandoms I've been in. :D
I'm eagerly awaiting two things:
1) The DVDs I've ordered; and
2) MORE OF YOUR FIC. I mean, I can only re-read Gojyo crying (OMG, button-button, pretty boys - who shouldn't cry - IN TEARS) so many time before I need something fresh. ;)
Re: I might need to hurt you....
Date: 2006-07-27 03:38 am (UTC)& bwahah, am I making you a Gojyo fan? He's my fave of the boys (the fandom's pretty evenly distributed between favorites, but Gojyo gets slightly less play than the others. For no reason because he's the nicest of them, such a sweetie, and he's cool and he's vulnerable and OMG hot...)
Guess I better get to work editing that next chapter then, huh? ^^
Re: I might need to hurt you....
Date: 2006-07-27 03:46 am (UTC)You could be, but I'm REALLY trying to stay "neutral" until I've seen the source material. Who knows what will hit me, and how, once I have the DVD in the player?
he's the nicest of them, such a sweetie, and he's cool and he's vulnerable and OMG hot...)
Ha, at least you didn't say WOUNDED, which is Robin's Ultimate Trigger Word (one usage of it describing Angelo, in Dev's LJ, and I was LOST.) But, um, "vulnerable" is Robin's Secondary Trigger Word.
Damn.
Guess I better get to work editing that next chapter then, huh? ^^
Or, ya know, you could just email the fic to me, edited or NOT. :D
hahahahahahaha....
Date: 2006-07-28 03:52 am (UTC)Got and watched "Requiem" tonight. I swear I only understood 62.47% of what was going on, but still, I dug it. :D Big time. I'm not sure it's anything I can get into (and I guarantee I'll never try writing in it as I just don't have the necessary cultural grasp to do anything I'd dare to show anyone) but I can surely appreciate Teh Pretty. Oh, so many buttons pushed! Pretty pretty boys! Blood! Action! Angst-potential by the bucketload! All the things that make a fangirl's life worthwhile.
And I LOVED the music over the last scene (with the paper airplane soaring through the sky) so I might have to get the soundtrack.
And, BTW? I RILLY DIG HAKKAI.
::laughs and laughs and LAUGHS::
Re: hahahahahahaha....
Date: 2006-07-28 04:56 am (UTC)And haw, chalk up another one on the Hakkai fangirl tally. Among my personal circle of friends he wins by a landslide - if you like wounded then Hakkai is definitely your boy. ("broken" works too. And "unbelievably fucked up") Requiem doesn't really go into his history, does it? (not the full history at any rate, because even the anime took out the most disturbing elements of that...) The joy of Saiyuki is that all four boys can play angsty-backstory poker without needing to bluff (though I maintain when the cards come down, Goku's got the worst hand...500 years of isolated imprisonment for a crime he doesn't remember is a straight flush of angst...)
Oh, and there's a new chapter up. Just an FYI. ^^
Re: hahahahahahaha....
Date: 2006-07-28 05:06 am (UTC)Oh, that's totally okay, knew that going in, remember, I've got the anime on order from overstock.com and if the God of the Fangirls loves me, it will be here tomorrow or Saturday and then I can see the series. I read enough online (gawd bless teh intarwebs) to get what's going on in "Requiem."
if you like wounded then Hakkai is definitely your boy. ("broken" works too. And "unbelievably fucked up")
::faints::
I dunno, I just really like his LOOKS, for some reason. Backstory be damned. But I'm still doing all possible to keep an open mind for now.
Requiem doesn't really go into his history, does it? (not the full history at any rate, because even the anime took out the most disturbing elements of that...)
You mean the incest-love thing? That was... bizarre.
The joy of Saiyuki is that all four boys can play angsty-backstory poker without needing to bluff
Hey, in "Dragon Quest", half the cast is irrevocably messed up too. I'm getting used to canonically screwed up beyond all redemption.
Oh, and there's a new chapter up. Just an FYI. ^^
Not like I haven't been OBSESSIVELY CHECKING. I was reading it when your comment came in. (I'm pathetic, aren't I?)
And I really should be angsting-up my DQ VIII story.... These poor pretty boys, suffering such ruination at our hands.
Re: hahahahahahaha....
Date: 2006-07-31 11:13 am (UTC)Ah, the joys of Japanese series. Shoujo or shounen (Saiyuki is somewhere in between; I believe the magazine it's currently published in is considered a josei, intended for adult women...) Hell, my favorite series One Piece at first seems to be a totally goofy and crazy cartoon, and yet still manages to bring on tragic backstories that put much high drama to shame. (OP bears special mention for giving some of the most intensely, emotionally wrenching childhoods to the female chars - and not having romance ever even play a part.)
But the Saiyuki boys are deliciously messed up indeed. And the ways their pasts contrive to make them dependent on one another...even as they try to claim not to be...much, much love!
no subject
Date: 2006-07-28 09:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-31 11:04 am (UTC)So glad you're enjoying the fic - thank you so, so much for the reviews! I'm especially relieved to know that it is "seamless" for you, as a new reader - I've been worried about how well it hangs together, after the hiatus, whether I was able to pick up where I left off. And happy, too, that the 39ing is to your satisfaction ^_^ I love Goku, but I find him a surprisingly difficult character to write, because he's got so much more depth than he initially appears, or that he gives himself credit for...
Anyway, I can't tell you how happy your reviews have made me (I'm a feedback whore, I love & cherish all reviews, but the long ones make me much with the gleeful), so glad to have you reading!
no subject
Date: 2006-07-31 11:14 am (UTC)I'm enjoying your wonderful tale very much, and it is so worth the extra couple minutes it takes to leave a review!