Saiyuki Fic: Why Is It Always Bananas, Anyway?

[thenakedcat]

Fandom: Saiyuki
Title: Why Is It Always Bananas, Anyway?
Author/Artist:  thenakedcat
Pairing(s): Implicit 585, future 393 discussed.
Rating: PG-13, suggestive produce but no sex acts onscreen.
Summary: It’s all perfectly natural. But that doesn’t make it any easier.
Notes/disclaimer, etc: I’m Unitarian Universalist. Comprehensive sex ed is kind of a

Comments

[kellyzat]

OMG that was funny. I can visualize Hakkai writing the book and Sanzo trying to shoot him for it.

Thanks for the story.

[thenakedcat]

Hakkai sez he's uniquely qualified for the job! Thank you for reading!

[tara_bella]

Excellent job, sweet and believable. I'm a UU, as well, although I don't get to go often because of the distance. We really do have a fabulous way of dealing with sex ed. Thank the gods there are no trigger happy priests involved.

[thenakedcat]

Yes, these talks are certainly much easier without gunfire. Thank you for reading!

[lykotheia]

This was lovely~ Your light, humorous style is done in a very professional way that showcases your vocabulary without your having to venture outside of the boundaries of character context. Reading through this, I was reminded of a novel I recently picked up that attempted your style and pretty much fell on its face. I thought, wouldn't it be nice if the fellow could write as well as you?

[thenakedcat]

Thank you! I've got a background in linguistics and I love learning new words and finding the right occasions to use them, but I try to keep it all in-character.

[4bdnsn0wflake]

But only Hakkai, with his ability to radiate wholesomeness even while shivving you in the kidney

^ LMFAO

Very fun and funny fic!

My only issue would be that Gojyo's vocabulary is too good. He is by no means stupid, but he didn't have much formal education, so I don't think he would know words like "pedantic", if that makes sense. And he may sometimes need an explanation when Hakkai uses words that are very advanced.

Hope that is a little helpful!

[thenakedcat]

Thank you for the feedback!

I have a degree in sociolinguistics so the speech styles for the characters are important to me. While I was writing I thought about how much street edge I wanted to give Gojyo's speech and whether he'd be confused when Hakkai used academic jargon. In the end, I went with a style that was less elaborate than Hakkai's but also not very rough in order to speed up the flow of the dialogue back and forth, since this is a very talky fic and my skills with slangy speech are a little shaky--it's an area I could definitely improve on.

[purpleicicles]

Actually, I disagree - I thought Gojyo's vocabulary was just right and reflected how much time he had spent around Hakkai; surely he'd pick up stuff quickly, the ability to learn quickly being kinda crucial when young and living on the street? Besides, a Gojyo with a better vocabulary than a street punk is a smexier Gojyo in my mind! ;3