Saiyuki thought

[louiselux]

I should be working (just because I've had 3 weeks to do it, doesn't mean I can't finish it off on Sunday night!), but a fragment of fannish thought interrupted me, as they so often do.

Someone on my flist recently (very recently I think, and I'm sorry I can't remember who it was) mentioned that the whole Gojyo being kidnapped by youkai plot is an exact parallel to what happened with Kanan, and here Hakkai is, in the same situation again, the poor sap.

I'd never thought of that parallel consciously before, or had forgotten about it if I had. The cosmic irony of it all and Hakkai's line, 'It's harder to not kill,' actually struck me as being very funny, in that very dark way that Minekura does so well.

I wonder how Hakkai feels afterwards, when he puts his limiters back on? There's a case for saying that the killing is a release for him. I don't think I mean to say that he enjoys it, although... maybe he does.

I love that 'you're really not cut out to be a villain' line to Gojyo at the end. I like to think Gojyo stops pretending to be Mr Tough Guy after that, at least to Hakkai.



eta: a translation of the autumn 05 Ward by flemmings that's making me teary-eyed.

Comments

[cicer.livejournal.com]

I adore Burial Arc so damn much. And yes, I definitely think that the situation with Gojyo being kidnapped and Hakkai having to rescue him is an echo of what happened with Kanan, and that has always thrilled me. And I loved that Hakkai took off his limiters to fight the guys. I mean, I'm sure he could have done it without going full-on youkai, but he chose not to. That's very telling to me, and really reinforces the similarity of the situation with what happened to Kanan. And it definitely sends a strong message: if you screw with someone Hakkai cares about, he will fuck your shit up, even if he has to become a monster to do it. He cares that much.

And I think what happened there really showed exactly how much control Hakkai has over himself in youkai form. He seems to think he's not able to control himself and can't be trusted when he'd like that, but I think he's selling himself short, there. As someone else said, Gojyo was tied up and on the floor. He would have been an easy target, but Hakkai never went near him. In fact, Hakkai was fighting to protect him. Hm.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Mmm, I love his protectiveness - that loyalty and love is what saves him, I think, and possibly keeps him sane. I was thinking also the other night that his decision to go and live with Gojyo might have not just been for hmself, but because he knew that somehow Gojyo needed saving from his own life, and literally too, as it it turned out.