new arashi rps: "the virtue of repetition" (just like verse)

[cimorene]

This is the second ficlet I promised aeslis back last year. Sorry, bb. Love you! The order of fic in the Just Like Verse is: 1) Just Like All Those Girls; 2) Happy Birthday to Me; 3) Like Flying; 4) Just One of the Boys; 5) The Virtue of Repetition. ...



There! Now that I'm sure I have aeslis's attention,


The Virtue of Repetition
Arashi RPS, Matsujun/Aiba
≈4300 words
In which Aiba pays a visit to Sho's house at a busy time. (This is set shortly after the events of "Just One of the Boys" but about ten years after the events of "Like Flying".)

"Are you going to bed now?" says Jun. He doesn't make it sound like a question. Aiba would think he's being told to get out except that there is nothing cool or casual, nothing dismissive, in Jun's face and body.

The Virtue of Repetition

Comments

[aeslis]

Ahahaha, your tactic totally worked. And man Cim, what can I say? I want to flail all over you, but I'm more of a puddle of contentment after reading this. Well, that and a bit of bittersweet, which is perfect since that's what this is all about.

I noticed like, a single typo and had one other thing that I've already forgotten but if I see you on AIM I'll try to remember.

Also, despite the fact that my love is not limited to this fic, it makes me great and warm with SPARKLY LOVE.

Now is there only one part left? o.o

[cimness.livejournal.com]

No, no! There are several parts. Of the parts I have planned right now, there's Sho finding out about Aiba being bisexual, Jun buying the house that he never stays in, an angsty piece before they sort-of-broke-up, and a piece shortly after "Virtue" which develops the realisation of what's going on a bit more in their minds. Not sure if that last one is the same as the piece where they make it back together or not. --I knew my tactic would work. 8D

[aeslis]

This only means more loving harassment from me on a semi-regular basis, you realize! I didn't know (or didn't remember, maybe that's more accurate) that there was so much left to explore. I love how this universe is so fully formed; it keeps existing and there's always the promise of more. And when it comes, it's so satisfying, like a big bite of rich chocolate cake.

I think I want to see Sho finding out about Aiba being bisexual next, but I can patiently wait a few months before I start poking you. XD

[cimness.livejournal.com]

:}

No, you didn't know. I mean, you knew about ... one or two of those, I think.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Also, I'm so glad it worked! I really enjoyed writing this one more than the last one for some reason. Granted, the butterfly clip scene is the lynch-pin of the mood for the whole universe, in my mind it's always been the most important part, but this is a bit angsty, yet it kind of feels more fluffy than the surfing vacation did (to me) because they're on their way to fixing things instead of on the way to breaking up due to tragic misunderstandings. It helps to use Aiba's POV since he's so determinedly optimistic in between his pensive, angsty moments. And framing the whole thing with humourous kidfic was a cheap trick that, in retrospect, I quite like. (For some reason, I don't find kidfic nearly as cheap if it's not the pairing's *own* kids!)

[aeslis]

The butterfly pooping rhinestones? XD I loved that line. It was so wrong and yet so right.

I know what you're getting at. While in the surfing vacation they're having fun and enjoying what they have, you know they're on the path to some fallout that keeps them apart for years and years afterwards, which tangs it with this sort of regret. But with Virtue, it's the opposite--while they're mired in the middle of that regret, you know there's some sort of conclusion upcoming, someday, and they're on the way out, like a light at the end of the tunnel.

What an interesting juxtaposition.

Why is it that it works that way? Kidfic, I mean. I totally agree with you. ... Well, maybe it's the fact that adoption for gay couples in fic is one of those things that's overdone to the extreme. Building that "happy fantastical family". Whereas het couples don't really suffer from that cliche? I'm sure you have better reasoning than I do, and also a much more elegant reason to state it, but that's all I can think of right now.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was thinking about how going back and forth between the two timelines, more or less equally, creates that... idk, upswing-downswing rhythm in the tone, if you read them in the order they're written, that is. "Like Flying" has a couple of uncomfortable moments because at that point in the universe both of them are really a bit uncomfortable already, you know, in that "what are we doing here?" way, wanting to be really dating but not talking about it, and afraid the other one has different expectations.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

And you know, despite having written 12,000 words of Jun/Aiba for you in the past week, when I went into my Arashi folder for the screencap to embed in this entry I got STABBED IN THE HEART (figuratively of course) by the adorable wistful body language of the Jun/Aiba caps I took and the reason I was writing this story in the first place. I got a much bigger sad craving for Jun/Aiba then. JUN'S LITTLE FACE, MAN. :(((

[aeslis]

IT HAS ALL COME BACK TO YOU. Mwahahahahahhh. Maybe I should provoke you to look at images next time, then.

But hey, if you're in the mood for it, I would not protest to more! 12,000 words is a good chunk and I am verily satisfied, but yum. Fic. :D

Plus, when you write, it inspires/motivates/encourages me, too. So. There's that. ♥

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Does that mean YOU will write Jun/Aiba? Because you never have, you know. That would be awesome. ;__;

[aeslis]

Well when I wrote it I meant the Sakuraba fic I was working on, or just writing in general, but you're right. I never have. I haven't the slightest plot idea for it, but I suppose I could work something out if I had an idea and someone at my back.

Elfie seems to have fallen mostly out of contact--she's yet to beta something for me, though she keeps saying she'll do it--and she was definitely my writing support. Now even when I tell people to poke at me, they keep saying, "Well if you don't want to it's okay." :( Not very encouraging.

So, Cim! I am happy to write for you, if you're interested. :x ... And I can think of a premise.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Elfie has moved on to another main fandom. Although that's probably not why she isn't betaing, that's probably just a time issue I'd guess. But anyway, you could have one of my premises! I have lots of leftover ideas from when elfie and I used to make up imaginary stories. My filenames from the Arashi folder look like:

Aiba and Jun are kinky
Aiba's Diner (that's the one where he's a cook, haha)
Amnesia
Personal Assistant Aiba
Jun and Ohno are BFFs
Jun is jealous (of Aiba and Sho being best friends)
Jun the stylist ( jun is japan's hottest celebrity stylist. aiba is a reality tv personality and the subject of a mini-series reality show about having jun re-style every single aspect of his life, with the assistance, of course, of various consultants chosen by jun. )
Kitten!Aiba (Aiba is a kitten Jun adopts who turns into a guy)

Or you could write pic!ficlets like about Aiba and Jun peeling satsumas, or Aiba giving Jun a massage! That never gets old.

[aeslis]

Yes, but even beyond moving into another fandom, she's rarely online reliably these days. Not that I blame her, it's much better to have a life outside of this place. :) I just miss her!

I might ponder on Jun the stylist, or something about amnesia. "Aiba and Jun are kinky" is so relatively normal in comparison to everything else. XD Oh, and the Matsuno BFFery. I tried that once, though.

Kitten!Aiba could be adorable, too. I read a Japanese fic once about how Nino and Aiba were dogs that turned into humans. Nino was a Shiba, and Aiba was a golden retriever, go figure.