Fanfic: Fighting the Odds

[liralen]

Title: Fighting the Odds
Fandoms: Saiyuki and Bleach
Summary: Sanzo stumbles across a beautiful hungry ghost outside his tent. How will he and his companions deal with Ulquiorra and his attitudes?
Characters: Sanzo and Ulquiorra, 2metaldog's prompt was "a card game that goes perfectly and horribly wrong."
Genre: General. Humor and adventure? Perhaps...

Comments

[2metaldog]

Oh wow. That was an awesome ride. I enjoyed it very much and I think you nailed Ulq in the way that he'd be bewildered yet still striving to make sense/order of things around him. This was much better than anything I thought would come of the prompts I gave you.

[liralen]

*happy sighs* Oh good...

I'm very, very glad that this pleased, and that you thought it was that good. *grins happily* I had fun falling back to my action-oriented stories, and it's fun having the boys go all out against someone they could go all out against. I had the hardest time with that darned card game once I figured out Ulq wouldn't be able to bluff worth a darn. *shakes head*

But I'm very, very glad that this pleased. Thank you so much!

[jakondas]

This is sooooo good. I love Bleach almost as much as Saiyuki, so to see the two of them blended so nicely... well, I've got this huge grin on my face! ^______^

Love the fact that Ulquiorra got a limiter and was alive. That worked so very well. You also did a great job of describing how Sanzo uses the sutra.

Great job, thank you for sharing!

[mei_yanohi]

I agree, the description of Sanzo using the sutra was possibly the best part of the fic. Really great.

[liralen]

XD

Thank you, so much.

[liralen]

*smiles* I'm so glad this worked so well for you, it's hard mixing the two and getting them to make sense. *laughs*

I am glad that how Ulquiorra's limited worked worked for you. After seeing how Hakkai's worked, I hoped it would parallel. It was also fun trying to figure out how it would *feel* to use the Sutra... as all we see is him chanting and then things happen, since I rather enjoyed learning more about the actual Darkness Sutra too.

I think it was that moment when Sanzo chanted for the living mourning the dead at Hakkai's castle that I figured he really puts a lot into his religious recitations.

Thank you so much for commenting! I always appreciate it, and I'm glad to know that the story pleased.

[mei_yanohi]

Saiyuki fic!! I don't get enough of this! And I don't get enough crossovers either (at least ones where I know both series). A very fun read. I have to admit I'm fond of Ulquiorra when he's used to humorous effect. You and Gen and Soph can make me fond of any character though.

If I were less lazy/less busy I'd write out bits of the crossovers that have been flying around in my head for a while...

[liralen]

Hee. Crossovers are often those neglected bastards of the fanfic world... far fewer people know both fandoms, so it's always great when someone reads one of these and enjoys them.

Ulquiorra kept slipping from my grasp in this one. I started this in some modern casino with him right up against Sanzo, but then he wouldn't deign to bluff... even with that poker face of his, and I had to throw that whole start out as it just wasn't working. I'm glad that we can get you fond of nearly anyone... *laughs* I think, sometimes, that that is why I love working with them. On the most part, we all really respect pretty much every character in Bleach.

Oooo... crossover fly-bys! They're fun to catch.

Thank you, so much!

[lawless523]

This was very nice. I'm not that familiar with Bleach, but you did the Saiyuki world and how the ikkou would deal with an intruder from a different dimension justice. I also LOL'd at Sanzo realizing that maybe he was more of a Buddhist, and a more powerful Buddhist, than he thought!

[liralen]

*grins* I'm glad that you tried this even if you didn't know Bleach that well and that it worked for you. I'm glad that you felt that I did the ikkou justice in this.

Sanzo makes so much noise about how stupid it all is, all stuff I have to agree with, sometimes. *laughs* Still, there are those moments... like when he chants for the living, not the dead, outside Hakkai's castle, that make me think he's more... spiritual than he says. *laughs* But that's my take on him.

Thank you! I am glad that the story pleased.

[lawless523]

He rejects the outer trappings of Buddhism (other than wearing the traditional Sanzo garb, that is), rejects ritual, rejects doctrine; hell, he even rejects most of the applicable precepts (I did a post on this in my journal recently), yet he still makes it work.

Actually, Buddha warned his followers to find their own paths to enlightenment and not blindly follow his (hence the "if you meet Buddha, kill Buddha" remark). The proof of the pudding is whether you make it work, not what you do. I once wrote a story about this from Hakkai's viewpoint called "Buddhist Virtues" that came to the same conclusion as yours did.

[liralen]

Mmm...

That is very cool to know about the warning, and, yeah, what you've said lines up really well with how I see him too. Very cool.

There's a lot that the Buddha said that his followers don't quite follow, just as there's a lot of things that Jesus said that his followers don't exactly follow, either. *laughs* I like thinking of Sanzo knowing the sutras and knowing the teachings and understanding the heart of them rather than the appearances of them. I shall have to check your fic out!

Thank you again!

[incandescens]

That was a great read. Thank you!

Many excellent lines, but my personal favourite was "No wonder we make no sense to him."

[liralen]

*smiles* I finally got to that at the end. *laughs* It seemed to just finally make sense as to why they had to help him get back home, too, and seal the gap. Thank you, so much, for helping me see that ending.

I'm glad you enjoyed the actual story as well!! Thank you!