SongFic: By Your Side by Shade

[torre85]

Click to view

There was someone who posted in one of the Saiyuki communities that she wanted to do an AMV based on Hakkai and Gojyo's burial arch and was asking for song suggestions. Someone offered this song, and I thought that it was so appropriate. Now that was a long time ago, and I haven’t seen what song this poster decided to use. But still I wanted to see

Comments

[purpleicicles]

Seriously liking the Hakkai POV on not getting blood on himself and Gojyo's shirt... he is terribly weird like that. The small part of Gojyo POV was very telling - rebuking himself for hoping for the better in someone else seems a very Gojyo-ish situation to be in!

[torre85]

I'm glad you liked Hakkai avoiding blood on clothes POV. I remember reading the original and wondering, "How the heck did he kill all those people and not get blood on himself?" and this was my conclusion.

Thank you for reading!

[sharpeslass]

Very sweet and a nice picture of the pair of them. Made me want to hug them both hard. I think this would work well as a non songfic all on its own actually (though I have to admit to a mild loathing for songfics in general). I really love the way you see Hakkai. Is your Manga dialogue from the Tokyo Pop versions? It seems like a better translation than I've seen, but I may be thinking of the Anime, since I've seen it more recently than I've read it. Also, I always thought Hakkai was leaving for good when he stepped out of the house and it started raining. Wasn't he holding a suitcase? (That is so very not a criticisms of your fic!! I loved it exactly as it is, but I am interested in different perceptions of what is going on in the Manga).

[torre85]

You think it'll work as a non songfic? I might do that so I can post it on fanfiction.net. You can't post song lyrics on that site.

I was actually struggling if should post this or not. I hear a lot of flack about songfics, and I was afraid it was too teenieboppish, but my beta convinced me otherwise.

I got the dialogue from both the English dub of the anime and the scanlation, and I picked out the version I liked or fitted the most. I also cut out a lot of it.

Did he really have a suitcase? I didn't realize. Damn. If he was fixing to leave, he must be a true pestimist!

Thanks for reading!

[sharpeslass]

It was either a suitcase or a briefcase and I don't see why he'd have a briefcase. (Definitely a pessimist - especially at that point in time!!)

I do understand the trouble some folks have with songfics. I can get past the label and read them when they are done the way you've done it with lyrics as sort of breaks in the narrative, but when the characters actually have the lyrics coming out of their mouths it always feels a bit cheesy and really out of character (to me - all just one person's opinon) and, as you said, a little teen-angsty. The day someone writes a song titled "I am going to kill you," or "Silence, now!" I will consider accepting putting song lyrics in Sanzo's mouth. Until then... just, no.
That said, this works and it would definitely work without the lyrics, so go for the ff post! And if a songfic inspiration is what it takes to get you to write and post Saiyuki fic, then bring on the songfic!!

[torre85]

If it was a briefcase, maybe he was going to an interview. He did say he needed to look for work. Most likely respectable work. If that was the case, the scene would have been more potent. Symbolicly(sp?) he would be at a fork in the road and wow he so happen to be on the road. or I could be looking way into it again.

I'm not really sure if the way I did it was how you're suppose to do songfics. I tried to correlate the scene with the lyrics right before it. Initially I had mixed up the lyrics in order to make it fit. But then I was afraid someone would say I broke a songfic writing rule. So now the lyrics don't fit totally. fail?

Ahahaha! "I'm going to kill you" would make a very interesting song. But you're right. Having characters say the lyrics would be too OOC. I did try to use the same wording as the song.

[meobnal]

That was lovely <3

[torre85]

Thanks!