"Once Upon a Time" Lasts Forever

mood: lethargic

Title: The Bottom Line
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: Swear words, m/m groping, and smutty suggestions
Rating: PG-13
Pairing(s): Hakkai/Gojyo
Spoilers: Absolutely none
Notes: smillaraaq and I were discussing shopping scenes in fic and fiction, and the idea that although Hakkai would enjoy dressing Gojyo well, he's actually probably pretty tight with a budget. And that grew into this. Beta by smillaraaq.
Summary: Gojyo needs some new jeans. Hakkai's going to make sure they get their money's worth.

( It was the best menswear store in town. It had actual dressing rooms ... . )

mood: working

Title: The Tide
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: bloody raving, insanity, angst, swearing
Pairing(s): n/a
Spoilers: The end of "Be There"
Notes: Written for saiyuki_time challenge #17, Sanity and insanity. Time allowed: 50 minutes. I fail big time: it was more like 70.
Summary: During his time in the Temple, Hakkai's sanity ebbs and flows.

Cho Gonou walks calmly into the chamber of the Three Aspects... .

mood: sick

Title: Nothing To See
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: worksafe; violence, blood, a cussword
Pairing(s): n/a
Spoilers: Events at the end of Reload 6 and beginning of Reload 7
Notes: Written for saiyuki_time challenge #16, the Sixth Sense. Time allowed 30 minutes; actual time: about that, but I ended up tinkering with it a little bit afterward for maybe 5 more minutes, because I originally wrote it in dribs and drabs.
Summary: It's hard to blunt the sharpest of senses for long, but sometimes a moment is all that it takes.

The night was alive with the tiny, mindlessly content sounds of insects ...

mood: sleepy

Title: Antiphony
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: Gojyo's mouth
Pairing(s): n/a
Spoilers: Nothing much. The Gojyo verse was directly inspired by the end of the scene at the site of the Centipede King's fortress in "Be There."
Notes: Written for saiyuki_time prompt #15 Sense of Hearing. Time allowed: any. Form required: Haiku. Time taken: 12 minutes
Summary: The sound of a voice can take you someplace you never expected.

mood: sleepy

Title: Memorandum
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: oblique mention of sex
Pairing(s): Hakkai/Gojyo
Spoilers: A bit of Hakkai's history.
Notes: Written for saiyuki_time prompt #14 Sense of Taste, and originally posted June 20. Time allowed: 5 minutes. Time taken: actual writing, maybe 5 min. Wrestling with the strange keyboard at the hotel ... longer. About the title ... "memorandum" in Latin actually means "that which is to be remembered."
Summary: Many things can jog one's memory.

Hakkai wakes in darkness ... .

mood: stressed

Title: Skin-Hunger
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: not-quite 585, oblique mention of bodily functions
Rating: PG-13
Pairing(s): [pre-Hakkai/Gojyo]
Spoilers: A bit of Hakkai and Gojyo's history together (primarily "Be There," but also their Burial Arc)
Notes: Written for saiyuki_time prompt #13: Sense of Touch. Time allowed: 10 minutes. Time taken: 14 minutes. I'm taking too long again - need to force myself to drabble.
Summary: Hakkai wonders about the peculiar nostalgia he's feeling.

After what Hakkai had come to think of as the Banri Affair, everything grew a little
easier ... .

mood: sleepy

Title: Flesh of My Flesh
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: Fluff! Crack! Schmoop! And a semi-technical discussion of mpreg! You have been warned.
Pairing(s): Hakkai/Gojyo
Rating: PG-13 for two guys canoodling in bed and strange biology
Spoilers: bits about Hakkai's and Gojyo's respective families.
Notes: smillaraaq and I were talking about andmydog's two-part Kink Meme fic (Green Thumb) about Hakkai and the plant babies. We were both in agreement that the bit in Part 2 where Hakkai seems pleased that the plants resembled Gojyo in at least one respect was especially charming. That thought grew into this story. smillaraaq did the beta read.
Summary: Gojyo inspires Hakkai to a peculiar flight of fancy.

( Hakkai was thinking ... . )

mood: groggy

Title: Perspective
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: Description of a grisly event
Pairing(s): n/a;
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Hakkai's history
Notes: Written for saiyuki_time prompt #12: Sense of Sight. Time allowed: 15 minutes. Time taken: 18 minutes. I guess I'm still not finished with Goku's headspace! [And as thewriter0 pointed out, I originally had the wrong eye missing for Hakkai ... thanks!]

Goku still remembered the day that Hakkai had lost his right eye ...

mood: tired

Title: Solace
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: none to speak of.
Pairing(s): hints of Goku/Sanzo, Gojyo/Hakkai
Spoilers: Some of the events at the end of "Even a Worm" 19; takes place partway through "Even a Worm" 20
Notes: Written for saiyuki_time prompt #11: Sense of Smell. Time allowed: 20 minutes. Time taken: 20 - 25 minutes or so.
Summary: Goku, scents, and memory.

"Gojyo was stomping out the door of the half-ruined little farmhouse with a bundle of clothing in his arms ... .

mood: grateful

Title: Loving-Kindness
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: nothing, really
Rating: PG
Pairing(s): A breath of 10K, if you listen hard.
Spoilers: nothing much - PG solely for mention of 10K and a curseword
Notes: Written for saiyuki_time prompt #10: Kenren. Time allowed: 45 minutes. Time taken: a little more than 50 minutes, plus 5 to look up a definition for the intro theme. This ended up being about all four of them really, but Kenren's at the center. (Is there a word for all 4 of them in Gaiden? Because they aren't the Sanzo Ikkou yet ... .)
Summary: Kenren has warmth enough to spare.

Konzen, hurrying through the gardens in the late afternoon with a sheaf of reports for the Bosatsu, nearly passes him by ... .

mood: pensive

Title: Fairy Tale
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: swearing and m/m foreplay
Rating: Mild R at the very end
Pairing(s): Gojyo/Hakkai
Spoilers: a little of Hakkai's history
Notes: This was inspired by saiyuki_time prompt #9: Magic, but the previous thing I'd written for saiyuki_time was also 585 fluff, so I decided to do something else for the prompt. Then smillaraaq asked me very nicely to go ahead and write this anyway, so I did. I feel that it's pretty similar to my earlier story Night Watch, but I had fun writing it, so I hope that at least a few people will have fun reading it! Not too surprisingly, smillaraaq did the beta. Will be crossposted a couple of places.

Summary: How the hell did Gojyo know that Hakkai needed him, back home? Must be ... magic.

( The thought came to Gojyo as he sat at the card table ... . )

mood: calm

Title: Taking Wing (Challenge #9: Magic; Nii Jianyi [Ukoku] - PG
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: A bit disgusting to anyone sensitive to the idea of dead, rotting things. However, PG at most - work safe
Pairing(s): n/a
Spoilers: a bit about Ukoku Sanzo
Notes: written for saiyuki_time challenge #9: Magic. Time given: 1 hour. Time taken: 65 minutes, I think. There were many interruptions. This owes at least as much to my role-playing gaming geek background as it does to Saiyuki - it's mostly wild speculation.
Summary: The Muten Sutra is in no mere tool, and Ukoku has a long, hard road to travel before he gets where he wants to go.

When he defeated his master, he wept ... .

mood: sleepy

Title: Cast-Offs
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: borderline worksafe; swearing, mild m/m interactions, implied offstage sex
Pairing(s): Gojyo/Hakkai
Spoilers: a small bit of Gojyo's history
Notes: saiyuki_time challenge #8: Spring cleaning. Time given: 2 hours. Time taken: closer to 2.5 hours. This is actually a long-after sequel to A Real Adventurer, which I wrote last autumn.
Summary: Hakkai wants Gojyo to get rid of some baggage, but Gojyo's not the only one who needs to let go.

"Hey, it's us!" said Gojyo, cheerfully ..

mood: sleepy

Title: Apparitions
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: brief mention of child abuse
Pairing(s): n/a
Spoilers: through vol. 3 of Saiyuki: Gojyo's history
Notes: Written for saiyuki_time challenge #7: Ghosts. Time given: 25 minutes. Time taken: just about that. Yay!
Summary: He was only trading one sorrow for another ... but somehow it felt a lot better.

( It had been the better part of ten years since Sha Jien had abandoned his baby brother ... . )

mood: tired

Title: Chilling
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: Sanzo's mouth
Pairing(s): n/a
Spoilers: really nothing
Notes: saiyuki_time challenge #6: Humor. Time given: 50 minutes. Time taken: closer to an hour. I think I need to learn to think in terms of scenes or vignettes rather than stories for these ... ,.
Summary: There's no better cure for a stifling summer night than a little monkey business.

( Night lay over the Temple, deep and soft and stiflingly hot ... . )

mood: worried

Title: Withdrawn
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: probably not worksafe - sexual situation
Pairing(s): Gojyo/Hakkai
Spoilers: none, really
Notes: Written for saiyuki_time. Challenge #5: Addiction. Time allowed: 30 min. I wrote this on Wednesday night, right after the challenge for the week was posted ... not good. I ran overtime (about 40 min.) and when I read through it, I could swear I saw bits of other people's fics in it, although I'm not sure whose. It's not freaking me out as much now, 3 days later, so I'm posting it, but if you see something you recognize, please forgive, and I'll try to do better next time.
Summary: It's early in their relationship, Gojyo is out for the evening, and Hakkai is having ... issues.

Hakkai was glaring at the spotless kitchen floor. ... .

mood: pensive

Title: Overcrowded
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: Swearwords. Worksafe.
Rating: PG or PG-13
Pairing(s): n/a
Spoilers: none
Notes: For saiyuki_time challenge #4: Opposites. Time given: 45 minutes. I'm not very happy with this: it went overtime (about an hour), and I lost any ending I had in mind somewhere in the middle of it.
Summary: Four tired travelers and a noisy, busy taproom. Heaven, or hell?

"Well, I must say that the only thing wrong with this inn is the lack of vacancies," said Hakkai ...

mood: rushed

music: "Eyes of Mercy" - October Project

Title: Lighter
Author: opalmatrix
Rating: PG or PG-13
Warnings: Worksafe (very mild m/m interaction; a couple of swear words)
Pairing(s): a bit of 585, a hint of 393
Spoilers: a bit about Goku's origin
Notes: This started, I think, with this picture. Things were also nourished along by some discussions this past couple of weeks with kispexi2, who also provided the Beta read. Thanks!
Summary: You can't always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need.

( It was a cool, bright day in early autumn... . )

mood: lethargic

Title: Scented
Author: opalmatrix
Warnings: possibly not worksafe - allusions to m/f sex - R
Pairing(s): Nii/Gyokumen Koushou
Spoilers: some history of the Kou-tachi and their associates
Notes: Written for the saiyuki_time community. Challege: post coital. Time given: 1 hour. Time taken: 55 min? I'm trying to factor in time I spent thinking about it ahead of time. I typed for about 40-45 minutes.
Summary: The Lady of Houtou is finding it harder and harder to wait.

"Get out." Her own words echoed in her ears ...

mood: productive

music: "Good Enough" - Sarah McLachaln

Title: On the Road
Author: opalmatrix
Rating: PG
Warnings: worksafe; mild Gojyo innuendo
Pairing(s): n/a; Sanzo POV
Spoilers: none, really
Notes: Written for saiyuki_time Challenge #2, Unexplored Territory: time allowed, 40 minutes.
Actual time: About that - 5 minutes planning, 30 minutes writing, 5 minutes revision. This time, I beat the temptation to think too much ahead of time by plotting out an entirely diffrent story than what I wrote!
Summary: Sometimes, the lesser of two evils might be just what the doctor ordered.

Sanzo stared silently at the white vehicle that had been a small winged reptile just moments before ...