#i did peak into the arasawa tag on ao3 and i probably did skip past it Because it was in chinese

[todayisafridaynight]

It is from Jo's perspective! I don't read much fic myself, and even when I come across one I like I'm terrified to look at the author's other work Because Of The Nature Of AO3, so I'm only aware of the "original" 3 fics I saw, but... I can't even lie, those 3 were hugely influential in my conception of AraSawa. (Fair Warning, you have Unlocked Something here. Also sorry for infodumping this much about a fic you've probably never read, jesus)

2 of them were "end-of-life monologues" from Jo and Arakawa's perspectives covering the progression of their relationship. I mean, not that Jo's life is over, but he wishes it were, right. So there's a lot to chew on in terms of--exactly--getting a first-hand account of those complicated feelings and how they navigate them.

I'm incredibly, incredibly biased, but I adored their analysis. It's plausible to me that for Jo it'd primarily be about guilt, gratitude, respect, giri; there's love in there somewhere, but would he recognize it for what it is beneath all that? While for Arakawa it's more straightforward, more "pure," this sentimental and "innocent" yearning for the future he was robbed of: getting to raise his son(s) with someone he loves.

It's not quite pure to him, because he regrets his hand in turning Jo into who he is, and there's always this nagging feeling about pursuing a subordinate as devoted and closed-off as Jo--like, if he didn't want any of this, maybe he wouldn't say so, and that thought is scary. And he's enduring his own guilt and keeping his own secrets, but still waiting for the day Jo opens up, though it never comes. It's not pure, but it is earnest, and a mutually supportive relationship can still be formed from these foundations. Fascinating to see it all play out.

What can I say... you got dads... you got Jo coming into his role as a father and bonding with Masato... you got Masato's internalized ableism and how Jo approaches calming him in his own way... you got Jo rising through the ranks... you got Arakawa picking out Jo's suit and fixing his hair... you got conflicting feelings at every turn, disagreements... you got Arakawa's reckless, persistent tenderness... you got the roots of Jo's resentment for Ichi and Arakawa keeping the peace...

You got everyone's paths diverging and Jo and Arakawa having to see Masato turn into Aoki and blame themselves... you got Jo having to find his own place and his own answers, symbolized by picking out his own suit... you got Jo finally, finally being honest to Ichi after telling lies his whole life. What's Not To Love. It's everything I wanted to see, and in lieu of RGGS not exploring them further, I kind of just accept a great deal of it.

Also. They have "That Conversation." About Jo not having a girlfriend and about Akane. It's in summary, so it and the fics as a whole go by fast, but when I got to that I was just like sgkahglHJGSHKGHSGHJLSFK [ROLLING ON THE FLOOR IN AGONY] YOU

this is such an illegal ask because LITERALLY those are ALL aspects i enjoy so much about arasawa and things i so badly either want to explore myself someday or have wanted to see other people explore and

UGH