In an earlier post, I compared Mochimune to Kurosawa. Today I came across a reference to another famous Japanese director who reminded me a bit of Mochi. I was reading a book called Asian Cinema by Tom Vick. There was, of course, a chapter on Japanese films, and the author spent some time discussing the works of Yasujiro Ozu, who directed such films as I Was Born, But... and Tokyo Story. Vick wrote: "Ozu's directing style allowed for very little freedom for his actors. He dictated every gesture, movement, and line reading, sometimes putting actors through such grueling rehearsals that they were reduced to tears. And yet he repeatedly worked with a handful of dedicated thespian collaborators who understood the value of this harsh treatment." (p.43)

Title: Yoshizumi's Night Out, Parts 1-3
Author: geri_chan
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita, When a Man Loves a Man
Pairing: Kenzaki/Yoshizumi
Characters: Yoshizumi, Asano, Kenzaki, Kikuchi, Onozuka
Word count: ~6,855 for Part 1; 5,240 for Part 2; ~4,190 for Part 3
Warnings: spoilers for the When a Man Loves a Man series
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, First Date (Part 1 and Part 2), Going Steady (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6), Audition (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Cookout (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Press Conference (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Sanctuary, The Prince vs. the Groupie (Part 1, Part 2), and Family Visit: Tokyo (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5), and Gigolo (Part 1, Part 2). The series also includes two side-stories that are outside of the main timeline: Valentine's Day Surprise and Strictly Business.
Summary: Yoshizumi grows restless during a night of drinking with the cast, and decides to seek out some companionship at the host club Rusty Nail.

Follow the links to my journal: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Title: Birthday Surprise
Authors: geri_chan and snapelike
Pairing: Iwaki/Katou
Rating: Mild NC-17
Word count: 2,700
Warnings: Public and slightly rough sex
Notes: For the lovely and supportive minhha on their birthday. Congratulations, minhha
Summary: Katou is disappointed. It seems as if all his friends have forgotten his birthday...

( Birthday Surprise )

Recently, a friend and I were talking about the latest Studio Ghibli film, which led to a discussion about anime and Japanese films in general. And then my friend, who is something of a film buff, started talking about Akira Kurosawa and claimed that Kurosawa hated actors, and that Toshiro Mifune was the only one that he really respected.

I'm working on a Yoshizumi/Kenzaki fic as part of my "Comeback" series, and I had a question about the end of the WMLM series...

Here's the latest fic, a crossover with the Hana-Kimi manga (a shoujo title by Hisaya Nakajo):

Title: Gigolo
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Title: Gigolo
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Characters: Kikuchi, Onozuka; Akiha and Ebi from Hana-Kimi
Word count: ~6,190 for Part 1; ~5,260 for Part 2
Warnings: Spoilers for the Hana-Kimi manga
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, First Date (Part 1 and Part 2), Going Steady (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6), Audition (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Cookout (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Press Conference (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Sanctuary, The Prince vs. the Groupie (Part 1, Part 2), and Family Visit: Tokyo (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5). The series also includes two side-stories that are outside of the main timeline: Valentine's Day Surprise and Strictly Business.
Summary: Kikuchi and Onozuka's day off is interrupted with the unwelcome news that the Gigolo photo shoot has been moved up.

Follow the link to my journal: Part 1, Part 2

Sorry this took a little longer to finish than I'd planned, but hopefully the extra chapter is worth it! ^_^

Title: Family Visit: Tokyo, Parts 3-5
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Word count: ~6,390 for Part 3, ~5,850 for Part 4, ~5,810 for Part 5
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, First Date (Part 1 and Part 2), Going Steady (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6), Audition (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Cookout (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Press Conference (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Sanctuary, and The Prince vs. the Groupie (Part 1, Part 2).
Summary: Kikuchi surprises Onozuka with a visit to his parents.

Follow the links to my journal: Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

In my Kikuchi/Onozuka series, I made Kikuchi's father a retired detective. Recently, in this comment (*swats away Sawa and crossover bunnies. I swear...*) on one of my fics, bronze_ribbons reminded me that Sawa used to be a detective--giving me more plot bunnies to add to the gazillion already clamoring for attention! >_<
( Read more... )

This is still a WIP, but as it's turning into something of an epic, I thought I'd go ahead and post the first two chapters. I estimate that it will take another two chapters to wrap up, and I'll try to have it finished by next weekend.

Title: Family Visit: Tokyo, Parts 1 and 2 (of 4?)
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka, Iwaki/Katou, Miyasaka/OFC
Characters: Kikuchi, Onozuka, Yoshizumi, Asano, Miyasaka, Iwaki, Katou
Warnings: Non-graphic het, exhibitionism (sort of)
Word count: ~6,270 for Part 1; ~6,550 for Part 2
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, First Date (Part 1 and Part 2), Going Steady (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6), Audition (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Cookout (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Press Conference (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Sanctuary, and The Prince vs. the Groupie (Part 1, Part 2). The series also includes two side-stories that are outside of the main timeline: Valentine's Day Surprise and Strictly Business.
Summary (Part 1): Onozuka has to deal with a jealous coworker, and the movie studio receives a surprise visitor.
Summary (Part 2): Onozuka has a plan to manipulate both Katou and the paparazzi; Miyasaka is tired of the being the odd man out, and seeks companionship to console himself.

Follow the links to my journal: Part 1, Part 2

Title: The Prince vs. the Groupie, Parts 1 & 2
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Characters: Kikuchi, Onozuka, Yoshizumi, Asano, Takashi, Ayumi
Word count: ~4,840 for Part 1, ~6,080 for Part 2
Warnings: Spoilers for "Groupie"
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, First Date (Part 1 and Part 2), Going Steady (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6), Audition (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Cookout (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Press Conference (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), and Sanctuary. The series also includes two side-stories that are outside of the main timeline: Valentine's Day Surprise and Strictly Business.
Summary: A crossover with the "Groupie" manga. The famous groupie Takashi sets his sights on Kikuchi, much to Onozuka's displeasure. Takes place immediately after Sanctuary.

Follow the links to my journal: Part 1, Part 2

Title: Sanctuary
Rating: PG
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Characters: Kikuchi, Onozuka, Yoshizumi, Asano
Word count: ~5,160
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, First Date (Part 1 and Part 2), Going Steady (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6), Audition (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Cookout (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), and Press Conference (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). The series also includes two side-stories that are outside of the main timeline: Valentine's Day Surprise and Strictly Business.
Summary: Kikuchi tells the younger men a story about how he took sanctuary in a church ten years ago.

Follow the link to my journal...

After first reading Boku, I made this post in which I said that I found Jouchi really irritating. Now that I'm getting ready for the RPG, I went back to read the manga more closely, and I think I have to revise my opinion slightly.

I was working on Katou's and Iwaki's profiles for the Boku no Koe RPG, and I realized that Katou's profile was very easy to create--in fact, I had to pare it down a little, because it was getting too long. But I was filling out Iwaki's profile and I realized that there are some things that I just don't know about Iwaki.

I read Groupie once and didn't care that much for it, so I set it aside and didn't plan to go back to it again. But then I got a plot bunny about Takashi (the "groupie" that the manga is named after) hitting on Kikuchi and making Onozuka jealous, so I went back and took a closer look at it.

Title: Press Conference, Parts 1-3
Rating: PG
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka, Iwaki/Katou
Characters: Iwaki, Katou, Miyasaka, Kikuchi, Onozuka, Yoshizumi, Asano, Mochimune
Word count: ~3,735 for Part 1, ~6,050 for Part 2, and ~1,450 for Part 3
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, First Date (Part 1 and Part 2), Going Steady (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6), Audition (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), and Cookout (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). The series also includes two side-stories that are outside of the main timeline: Valentine's Day Surprise and Strictly Business.
Summary: Iwaki, Katou, and Miyasaka watch the press conference for Kikuchi's and Onozuka's upcoming movie--as does Onozuka's family, unbeknownst to him. Mochimune watches the press conference in Part 3.

Follow the links to my journal: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Title: Cookout, Parts 1-3
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka, Iwaki/Katou
Word count: ~6,060 for Part 1, ~7,160 for Part 2, ~6,200 for Part 3
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, First Date (Part 1 and Part 2), Going Steady (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6), and Audition (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). The series also includes two side-stories that are outside of the main timeline: Valentine's Day Surprise and Strictly Business.
Summary: Iwaki and Katou invite Onozuka over for a cookout, and Onozuka secretly plans to bring along Kikuchi as his date.

Follow the links to my journal: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

This is somewhat OT, as it doesn't deal directly with Harudaki, but a recent scandal involving a real-life Japanese pop star shed some interesting light on the geinokai (the Japanese entertainment industry) and the pressures that Japanese celebrities face. So I thought it could serve as a reference for Haru fanfics.

Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, a member of the extremely popular boy band SMAP, was recently arrested for public indecency--basically, he got very drunk, and somehow wound up naked and "whooping noisily" in a public park.

Title: Dreams
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Masahiko/Fuyumi
Word count: ~4,000
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Summary: In Book 3, Iwaki's father said that Masahiko "also had dreams of his own that he gave up, for the sake of succeeding the family". One day, Fuyumi discovers what those dreams were, and wants to help him rediscover them.

Author's note: An omiai is a sort of formal matchmaking meeting set up between two potential marriage partners. In Book 3, Iwaki's mother was apparently trying to set him up with one (or several) of these meetings before she died.

Thanks to: snapelike, who helped spawn the plot bunny with this post about the Iwaki family and our musings on what Masahiko's dreams might have been.

Follow the link to my journal...

Title: Audition, Parts 1-3
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Word count: ~1,700 for Part 1, ~6,090 for Part 2, ~3,915 for Part 3
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, First Date (Part 1 and Part 2), and Going Steady (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6). The series also includes two side-stories that are outside of the main timeline: Valentine's Day Surprise and Strictly Business.
Summary: Onozuka and Miyasaka both compete for the role of Kikuchi's lover in his latest movie.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

W00t! I finished my entry for the Embracing Spring Fest--please head on over and check it out. I had a great time writing a pairing I would never have come up with on my own! ^_^

Title: Substitute
Author: geri_chan 
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Asano/Urushizaki; Iwaki/Katou in the background
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Warnings: Voyeurism
Word count: ~7,820
Prompt/Summary: "Asano has never forgotten his semi-crush on Iwaki. When he runs into the young Iwaki-look-alike paparazzi Urushizaki, sparks fly."

Notes: Much thanks to bronze_ribbons , who betaed this fic! ^_^ Any remaining mistakes are mine, not hers.

Follow the link to the story...

Title: Strictly Business
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka, Katou/Onozuka (in the fictional movie only)
Characters: Katou, Kikuchi, Onozuka, Mochimune
Word count: ~410
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Prompt: Business
Summary: Katou and Kikuchi clash on the set of Mochimune's latest movie.

Author's note: This can stand on its own if you haven't read the previous fics, but it's sort of a sneak peek at a future sequel in my "Comeback" series, taking place several months after Going Steady Part 6, after Director Kitamura's film is finished, and Kikuchi, Onozuka, and Katou have all signed on to make a movie with Mochimune. I didn't intend to write the series out of order, but the "Business" prompt sparked a plot bunny that was just too good to pass up. See the afterword for spoilery details about the movie if you're interested.

Follow the link to my journal...

Finally finished the fic!

Title: Going Steady, Parts 5 and 6 (Epilogue)
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Word count: ~8,055 for Part 5, ~2,045 for Part 6
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, and First Date (Part 1 and Part 2).
Summary: Kikuchi and Onozuka finally consummate their relationship.

Follow the links to my journal: Part 5, Part 6

Here's a little Valentine's gift for the comm, slightly belated!

Title: Valentine's Day Surprise
Rating: R
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Iwaki/Katou
Characters: Iwaki, Katou, Miyasaka, Onozuka, Shimizu
Word count: ~2,060
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Prequel to: Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2)
Summary: Katou decides to make homemade chocolate for Iwaki on Valentine's Day.

Author's note: This is set in my Kikuchi/Onozuka series, which I've collected together under the tag "comeback series," named after the first fic in the series. I set the story in this series because I wanted to use the history I invented for Onozuka, of him belonging to a family of famous confectioners. However, it takes place prior to Onozuka and Kikuchi's first meeting in Part 2 of "Comeback".
Follow the link to my journal...

Okay, it does look this is going to run 5 chapters, because Kikuchi and Onozuka were a little more long-winded than I had planned. ^_^

Title: Going Steady, Part 4
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Word count: ~3,175
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, and First Date (Part 1 and Part 2).
Summary: Onozuka and Kikuchi resume their postponed date, but has Kikuchi really forgiven Onozuka?

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Follow the link to my journal for Part 4...

Title: Going Steady, Part 3
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Word count: ~5,320
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, and First Date (Part 1 and Part 2).
Summary: Onozuka confronts his father's apprentice, and attempts to get back into Kikuchi's good graces.

Part 1
Part 2

Follow the link to my journal for Part 3...

Here's a belated birthday gift for Iwaki and my fellow Haru fans. ^_^

Title: Strange Bedfellows
Rating: PG
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Iwaki/Katou, Kikuchi/Onozuka, hints of Yoshizumi/Asano (?!)
Characters: Iwaki, Katou, Kikuchi, Onozuka, Yoshizumi, Asano
Word count: ~2,870
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Realism (Hamlet Done Haru-style)
Prompt: Iwaki's birthday/Development
Summary: Katou and Kikuchi get into a drinking contest.

Follow the link to my journal...

Title: Going Steady, Part 2
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Word count: ~7,500
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, and First Date (Part 1 and Part 2).
Summary: Onozuka goes home to see his sister.

Author's note: An izakaya is basically a bar that serves food--see the story meta for more details.

Part 1
Follow the link to my journal for Part 2

Title: Going Steady, Part 1
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Word count: ~6,620
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, and First Date (Part 1 and Part 2).
Summary: Onozuka and Kikuchi decide to take their relationship a step further.

ETA 1/21/09: Added the summary to the headings, which I forgot. *headdesk* But by this time, you guys know what to expect from this devious pair, right? ~_^

This fic is turning out a bit longer than planned, so I decided to go ahead and post it as a WIP, but I should have at least one more chapter done by this weekend, and hopefully the whole thing wrapped up within a couple of weeks at most.

Follow the link to my journal...

Title: Realism (Hamlet Done Haru-style)
Rating: PG
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Characters: Katou, Kikuchi, Onozuka, Yoshizumi, Asano
Word count: ~1,975
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part. Should be obvious, but Hamlet dialogue was written by William Shakespeare, not me. ~_^
Summary: Katou's portrayal of Hamlet is perhaps a little too realistic.

Author's note: I blame this fic all on bronze_ribbons for feeding the plot bunny! ^_^ This was inspired by her drabble More Than Kin and Less Than Kind--I couldn't get the image of Katou and Kikuchi acting in Hamlet together out of my mind, and this is the result. I borrowed the director's name, Ninagawa, from the original drabble.

(Please note--although Kikuchi and Onozuka are a couple in this fic, it is a stand-alone story and not part of my Kikuchi/Onozuka series that begins with Comeback.)

If you're a bit rusty on your Shakespeare, you can find a summary of Hamlet here, and the dialogue for the complete final scene here.

Follow the link to my journal...

Title: First Date
Rating: NC-17
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Word count: ~6,260 for Part 1; ~5,565 for Part 2
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), and Firsts
Summary: Onozuka's first date with Kikuchi does not quite go according to plan.

Follow the links to my journal: Part 1, Part 2