Love, Honor, Cherish
Link to entry
Link to MM.org
Link to FF.net
Pairing: Miroku/Sango
Rating: T
Based upon:
mirsanficart’s Summer Challenge | Drabble #1: Heat
Inspiration: “Darling Be Home Soon” © 1967 The Lovin’ Spoonful

I was really excited when
eggplantlady told me her plans to host a community challenge this month over at
mirsanficart, and I think she picked some wonderful prompts! We've got a little something for everyone - drabbles, oneshots, even a lemon challenge - so if you've any interest in the Mir/San pairing, please come over and join in on the fun! =)
I'm really quite pleased with this piece (although one day, I'll learn to not latch onto fully-formed ideas when laboring under a word count, LOL). I don't have a lot of experience writing Mir/San, but gradually I'm growing more comfortable with their characterizations. It certainly helps to be surrounded by people who do a wonderful job with them, LOL!!
This fic may be a bit cliched in premise, but hopefully this is a fresh take on it. I've been intrigued, especially by
eggplantlady's take, on Sango's feelings after the end of the canon story, when she settles into a life of wife and motherhood. She's such a strong person that I'm not sure she could ever be content with just that lot in life. I think she'd want to pick up her demon-slaying ways, even after the birth of her children; when something runs that deep in your blood, you can't just set it aside so easily.
So, in this piece, we have Sango reflecting on her first mission out since having her son, and just how much that event has truly changed her life. Maybe she thought it wouldn't be so bad, picking up where she left off; maybe she didn't realize that bearing a child (much less three!) would fundamentally change her body; maybe she didn't realize just how out of practice she was - whatever the cause, she finds herself doubting her ability to do what she really wants. She's desired it for so long, to get back out there and fight alongside her husband and Inuyasha, but now that she's done it, she's not sure she can continue.
I really like the idea of warring desires (its a theme in most of my work, natch), and for someone like Sango, who is proud but not necessarily self-confident, it manifests itself in a different way. In canon, we see the way she hides her feelings, especially her insecurities; I carried a bit of that over - because I'm of the belief that no matter how much married life might have changed her, helped her grow and open up to Miroku, at the core of it, she still has the tendency to bottle things up.
And Miroku? Now has the patience to understand that. As the summary implies, he's put that silver tongue to good use and now knows how to prod things out of his wife, and make her feel better, without suffocating her with sympathy. As much as I think he'd like to comfort and coddle her, I think he understands she's not that sort of person. Her warrior's pride wouldn't allow her to accept assurances disguised in pity, so he says the one thing that brings her out of her misery and soothes away her doubts, all in one swoop.
This is the first time I feel like I've got a real bead on their dynamic, and I'm excited to work more with this pairing. In many ways, they are the opposite of Inu/Kag or Sess/Kag, and I think it took me awhile to get my brain wrapped around that. But lurking about in the Mir/San corner of fandom, and being exposed to so many wonderful fics via my f-list, has been good for my muse. It's such a laid-back and positive place - who wouldn't enjoy that?
The inspiration song actually came up during the writing/song meme yesterday, and for some reason it just stuck with me for this piece. Not necessary the lyrics, but the tempo of the song, the longing in the lead singer's voice, and the reassurance of the bridge. It also seemed to go well with the idea of a warm soak in a bathtub, the sort of pleasure a lot of folks (myself included!) don't have the chance to indulge in often enough :)
Enjoy! I hope to complete more pieces of the challenge myself, and hope to see lots of interpretations of the themes from our members :)
Link to MM.org
Link to FF.net
Pairing: Miroku/Sango
Rating: T
Based upon:
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
Inspiration: “Darling Be Home Soon” © 1967 The Lovin’ Spoonful

I was really excited when
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
I'm really quite pleased with this piece (although one day, I'll learn to not latch onto fully-formed ideas when laboring under a word count, LOL). I don't have a lot of experience writing Mir/San, but gradually I'm growing more comfortable with their characterizations. It certainly helps to be surrounded by people who do a wonderful job with them, LOL!!
This fic may be a bit cliched in premise, but hopefully this is a fresh take on it. I've been intrigued, especially by
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
So, in this piece, we have Sango reflecting on her first mission out since having her son, and just how much that event has truly changed her life. Maybe she thought it wouldn't be so bad, picking up where she left off; maybe she didn't realize that bearing a child (much less three!) would fundamentally change her body; maybe she didn't realize just how out of practice she was - whatever the cause, she finds herself doubting her ability to do what she really wants. She's desired it for so long, to get back out there and fight alongside her husband and Inuyasha, but now that she's done it, she's not sure she can continue.
I really like the idea of warring desires (its a theme in most of my work, natch), and for someone like Sango, who is proud but not necessarily self-confident, it manifests itself in a different way. In canon, we see the way she hides her feelings, especially her insecurities; I carried a bit of that over - because I'm of the belief that no matter how much married life might have changed her, helped her grow and open up to Miroku, at the core of it, she still has the tendency to bottle things up.
And Miroku? Now has the patience to understand that. As the summary implies, he's put that silver tongue to good use and now knows how to prod things out of his wife, and make her feel better, without suffocating her with sympathy. As much as I think he'd like to comfort and coddle her, I think he understands she's not that sort of person. Her warrior's pride wouldn't allow her to accept assurances disguised in pity, so he says the one thing that brings her out of her misery and soothes away her doubts, all in one swoop.
This is the first time I feel like I've got a real bead on their dynamic, and I'm excited to work more with this pairing. In many ways, they are the opposite of Inu/Kag or Sess/Kag, and I think it took me awhile to get my brain wrapped around that. But lurking about in the Mir/San corner of fandom, and being exposed to so many wonderful fics via my f-list, has been good for my muse. It's such a laid-back and positive place - who wouldn't enjoy that?
The inspiration song actually came up during the writing/song meme yesterday, and for some reason it just stuck with me for this piece. Not necessary the lyrics, but the tempo of the song, the longing in the lead singer's voice, and the reassurance of the bridge. It also seemed to go well with the idea of a warm soak in a bathtub, the sort of pleasure a lot of folks (myself included!) don't have the chance to indulge in often enough :)
Enjoy! I hope to complete more pieces of the challenge myself, and hope to see lots of interpretations of the themes from our members :)
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It's not exactly the same, but its like a switch flipped in my head. I think part of the reason I was having such difficulties with Mir/San was because I was trying to take the same approach to the pairing as I do with the others I'm more comfortable writing...when, indeed, its the opposite - Sango is the one who holds things inside, and Miroku does take something of Kagome's role in coaxing the truth out of her. He does it in a different way, and of course has his own secrets, but yes, you guessed right the first time ;) Maybe it only makes sense in my own head, but I try to work out a strategy before jumping into a pairing, and I finally worked one out for these two.
I saw your review at FF.net (nice and long and whoa - thank you!!) and I'll reply here since you're already here, LOL.
You're going to shoot me, but I couldn't help but wonder if Kagome went with them, too. ^_^ And you have completely sparked thoughts of the way she would most likely be the one in demand when places had a youkai problem. But, I am sidetracking myself.
I am also wondering if their children went with them since Sango seemed to be carrying the boy. THAT right there would wear a person down. LOL!
First of all, realize I was laboring under a word count restraint, LOL :P There was a subtle hint in the piece that Kagome hadn't gone with them (Sango specifically thinks about fighting alongside Miroku and Inuyasha), which, if you follow it to its logical conclusion...leads to Kagome staying behind to watch the kids :P In the original version of this piece, I'd actually included the scene where the trio stops off at Inuyasha's hut first, and Miroku & Sango are reunited with their kids - but, alas, that was far too ambitious to keep in a mere 500 words, when the ending was what I wanted to emphasize.
My other thoughts about her first time out are how did she feel about leaving the kids, if they weren't with them? It's one thing to have a desire to get back to her old life and performing the task she had trained for her whole life, but having children changes more than your body. Sometimes, you find those pursuits that once consumed you are not so burning anymore.
It's an interesting question, but in my mind, it wasn't the foremost concern on her mind, especially if the job was a relatively minor one. She'd been a wife and mother for three years, so she had plenty of time to contemplate whether or not she still wanted to resume her slayer training. I think the desire burned brighter than her need to be a stay-at-home mom.
But, that's just me. Of course, now that she's been out in the field and seen she's not the same woman she was before, maybe she's having second thoughts...
Miroku really impressed me in this. He was very sensitive to her mood to even inquire about her thoughts, and then he was very sensitive and reassuring in his reply to her. That's actually the way I've always pictured him as a husband. He always struck me as being very insightful when it came to his companions and their worries and needs.
Thanks! These were my thoughts exactly. He's very sensitive to the nature of his companions, and I think he'd realize with Sango that, even though he's hardly the womanizer he was when they met, and he has shown his complete devotion to her over and over again, she still has those same sorts of insecurities - and he just knows how to deal with them, how to make things right without upsetting her even more (as he did during their courtship, LOL). I was really, really pleased with the way Miroku's part of this flowed.
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Ah! Good to know I wasn't out in left field there. ^_^ When I re-read what I had written, it didn't sound the same at all, but that could have been my word choice.
And another "aha" moment: I'm not used to reading things that have a word limit, so I never look for them or think of them. I just go with the story as it's presented and follow the sometimes bizarre paths my brain leads me down as I read. *grins sheepishly*
I definitely realized Kagome wasn't with them, but I couldn't really figure out why, since as the most powerful miko of that time and area, she would most certainly have been the people's choice when they had trouble. Of course, I know it was a Miroku/Sango piece, but since you mentioned Sango went with Miroku AND Inuyasha, it just followed for me that Kagome would also go. Know what I mean? Actually, since Sango went, I would have half expected that Inuyasha didn't. (This may be what happens when a 110% Kagome fan reads a Mir/San piece. LOL! Please forgive me!)
The ending was definitely the focus of the piece and I thought it was excellent. Bravo! ^_^
"She'd been a wife and mother for three years, so she had plenty of time to contemplate whether or not she still wanted to resume her slayer training. I think the desire burned brighter than her need to be a stay-at-home mom."
Hehheh! My thoughts about Sango's possible mixed feelings come from my own personal experience. While she might have been thoroughly thrilled to be out being a demon slayer, if it was her first time going off without her kids, I would just about guarantee her thoughts and heart were split. Even after 15 years of being a Mom, when I get a day to myself to do something I want, I still wonder what the kids are doing and get those niggling feelings of guilt that I should be doing something WITH them or FOR them instead of indulging myself. And believe me, it was much worse when they were little. So, my thoughts about her perspective were definitely influenced by my POV. Again, please forgive me--it's not a reflection on your story at all that I had that question, but more a reflection on who your reader is. ^_^
I really enjoyed the story because I thought it was a lovely moment and a great way to show how their relationship has progressed, AND because I like stories that make me think and wonder about other things. To me, this piece, like many of the others of yours I have read, is almost a teaser, giving me a glimpse of the much larger story surrounding the featured moment. To me, that's good writing since it makes me want to read more. I hope my musings didn't sound like criticism--I tend to do that a lot in my reviews. *more sheepish grins*
no subject
No worries, I understand =) Its just when you get used to reading contest or challenge prompts, your thinking changes a bit, to concentrate more on the story being told, and not necessarily the story beyond the story - if that makes any sense, LOL.
And, this is also a "can't see the forest for the trees" sort of thing for me, because there is more to this story than what was actually written - so it all makes perfect sense in my head because I know the backstory, and its hard to take a step back and make sure the piece can stand on its own, you know?
This is the problem when fully-formed ideas spring to mind for word-limit fics :P
I would just about guarantee her thoughts and heart were split.
Oh, I'm not denying they weren't ~ I was just hoping to focus on the fact that she was now doubting her burning desire to fight, although not necessarily for reasons of worrying about her children - but worrying whether or not she could actually do the job anymore.
Again, please forgive me--it's not a reflection on your story at all that I had that question, but more a reflection on who your reader is. ^_^
How intimately I've become acquainted with my readers' projection of their feelings onto my scenarios in the last couple weeks :P
To me, this piece, like many of the others of yours I have read, is almost a teaser, giving me a glimpse of the much larger story surrounding the featured moment.
Well thank you! =) It's always fun to hear that when you have more of the story in mind (like the bits and pieces for "The Wrong Ending" that are somehow finding the light of day), but I suppose its even more flattering when there's nothing more, it was just an attempt to set up the background for a featured moment.
I hope my musings didn't sound like criticism--I tend to do that a lot in my reviews.
Nah - just some good food for thought. I love this sort of feedback, so I say keep it coming! LOL, believe me, I'll let you know if you've offended me in some way - though I doubt that's possible, since you tend to leave such nice and thoughtful reviews :)
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Eek! That doesn't sound good. I hope I'm not in the same crowd with those people projecting a false characterization onto Kagome. ^_^ Rather, I would say that you presented a realistic life situation which made Sango more real, and as a mother who has faced the same situation: desires to return to a former occupation which turned out to be not the same as it was before because *I* was not the same as before, and so I was able to identify with her. ^_~
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You've kept your opinions to yourself, so far as I can see, so I have no idea if you are or not :P
Characterization is always going to be a sensitive area for me, and I guess its time I got over myself and realized that I won't always be successful as I hope to be.
so I was able to identify with her
I'm glad my treatment of Sango rang true for you :)
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I'm glad you've taken the plunge with the challenge over at
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I utterly adore the way you write Sango, and reading your work - not only Identity Crisis, but also some of your canon-set pieces for
You get these characters, and your work is a beautiful way to help the rest of us understand them as well :)
if you were lacking a full understanding of the dynamic and careful balance between Miroku and Sango before, it didn't show in your fics.
Well, its not like I've written a lot of Mir/San fic, either :P
I'm glad you've taken the plunge with the challenge over at
Me, too - I'm excited to be working on these challenges!!