Sign A New Agreement With iTunes [1a/4]
anonymous
August 24 2010, 14:30:06 UTC
OP, I am so late. - Internet-less vacation is a bitch. On the other hand, this is a lot of fun to write. :D :D I’m currently in the process of writing part 4 and editing parts 2 and 3, so the delay between updates should be pretty short, too. Hope you’ll, uh, enjoy?
(The title is mostly there for the lulz, btw. I could go on about words and meanings, but it’s mostly silly referencing. <3)
Sign A New Agreement With iTunes
Excerpt from Francis Bonnefoy’s master thesis on History of a mutual obsession: France & England from Hastings till WWII
( ... )
Sign A New Agreement With iTunes [1b/4]
anonymous
August 24 2010, 14:51:36 UTC
The bathroom smells of cologne from when Francis spent an hour grooming himself earlier; there’re clothes on the couch and history books on the coffee table and Arthur picks them mechanically. The flat carries traces of Francis everywhere, when he’s gone: it’s in the hair lotion bottles lined up on the bathroom sink, the neat, shiny shoes on the living-room carpet, the fashion magazine half-open on the couch cushions. When he goes to work, Arthur will leave traces of his own, mixed with Francis’, all over their flat, like exhibits at a crime scene
( ... )
Sign A New Agreement With iTunes [1c/4]
anonymous
August 24 2010, 14:57:38 UTC
Francis’ girlfriends (or boyfriends, for that matter, but Francis’ boy-relationships tend to last longer than anything between one night and a week, and are therefore rarer) usually like Arthur. He’s the considerate flatmate who’s always up early on weekends and sensibly lays out tea and toast and jam out for them; reads them their morning horoscope in the newspaper and lets them steal Francis’ shirt (the green one, the one he’s got tens of between he says it makes his waist look slimmer.)
Francis exactly calls one tenth of them again. Arthur has got it down, in diagrams.
“She break up with you again?” Francis asks from the doorway.
“T’rn the fuckin’ lights down,” Arthur blares, and then rolls and promptly falls off the couch, or very nearly. There are three empty bottles of beer on the carpet and one on the couch, on the cushions, one standing upright on the coffee table like a funny soldier and two presumably half-open, on the floor, pooling little puddles of beer on the parquet slats. Francis wrinkles his nose in disgust
( ... )
Sign A New Agreement With iTunes [1d/4]
anonymous
August 24 2010, 15:04:43 UTC
(They stumble through the front door, laughing, kissing, touching, breaths warm and damp with alcohol and each other’s mouth. They knock over two chairs on their way to the living-room and then slam into the door, hands wandering over thighs and hips and arses-
Nothing happens. There isn’t anything meant to happen. Anything. Ever. And even if there was they don’t remember it in the morning, anyway.)
There’s a moment.
Francis can pinpoint it to the minute, the second, the intake of breath, the exact moment when It Changes, shift and re-alignment, the afterburn of revelation. He catalogues for nights afterward, calculates the situation into mathematical sections, articulates it into enumerations and lists to give it perspective/sense/value/anything, really. The finished product, after much digressing and butchering and a complete re-enactment of numbers, goes something like this
( ... )
Re: Sign A New Agreement With iTunes [1d/4]
anonymous
August 24 2010, 15:46:13 UTC
Holy shit, when I got the first couple of notifications for this I thought it was just spam. Because of the title, you know? I'm so fucking glad I checked to see what it was, because this is fabulous. I haven't seen anyone write this sort of realistic, nuanced uncertainty in a relationship in ages. I don't have time to give a really long review now, but I love this! Realistic AU FrUK? What is this madness? <3 And FrUK I actually like, for that matter? Inconceivable! ;D
Can I come back later to quote your own stuff at you? Y/Y
Re: Sign A New Agreement With iTunes [1d/4]
anonymous
August 24 2010, 16:23:55 UTC
Oh my god, I really hope for your sake that the title doesn't turn people off because this fic so far is magnificent. I've been waiting to see it filled since you claimed the prompt, and so far you have not disappointed at all. It's a weird way of saying it, but I'm incredibly charmed by this - your prose style, the subtle nuances of their relationship, the way you crafted both of their characters and lives, etc. Please keep it up!
And how much do I agree with the excerpt from Francis' thesis. What the hell, you managed to sum up a lot of what I love about FrUK in the FIRST TWO PARAGRAPHS OF THE STORY.
Re: Sign A New Agreement With iTunes [1d/4]
anonymous
August 24 2010, 16:47:03 UTC
Um, I'm the person who commented about the title above; I don't think there should be too many worries about the title turning people off. I was only deceived because I have comment notifications, and the subject line of her comment (the title) showed up as the subject line of the email. So I think only people with comment notifications would be confused, probably! Other people would just be seeing it on the Fills List with a nice handy summary and stuff, so it's all good. I was mostly just commenting to mock myself, a bit!
Re: Sign A New Agreement With iTunes [1d/4]
anonymous
August 24 2010, 17:05:03 UTC
Aah, sorry anon, I didn't mean to single you out or make you feel awkward or anything! I did read your comment and understood the circumstances, but I know that some people do judge based on title and this title is a little sillier than the fic is. (Not that I'm criticizing authornon for the title, either; s/he seems to know that it's silly too.) That's all.
Re: Sign A New Agreement With iTunes [1d/4]
anonymous
August 24 2010, 17:13:11 UTC
Ah, I see, then. No, you didn't single me out or anything; don't worry about it! ;D I'm just new to the whole comment notifications thing (on a particular thread), so I'm keenly aware that some people don't know quite how it works. Or even that it exists! (Like me just a couple of weeks ago, heh.)
Re: Sign A New Agreement With iTunes [1d/4]
anonymous
August 24 2010, 18:02:24 UTC
Ahhh, thank you so much for filling this! I absolutely love the idea of them being roommates. The UST and your writing style are lovely. Please continue!
Re: Sign A New Agreement With iTunes [1d/4]
anonymous
August 24 2010, 18:34:04 UTC
This is amazing, authoranon! I kinda want to see a lot more of this verse. Arthur working at a music store, and having a band composed of Alfred, Toris, Tino and Natalya is fan-tas-tic <3 (at least all these characters lend themselves to stories of their own, and all of them have family members that could show up too ^^)
You really brought home the feeling of 'home-iness' they have going on, their affection for one another, in simple touches. And it's great how absolutely themselves they still are. The beginning, with the thesis introduction, was an awesome touch ;)
I simply can't wait for the next installment! With Francis already onto what's changing between them, but Arthur still stubbornly keeping his taste for men a secret (though I wonder if someone as observant as Francis would already know, anywayXD), it's only going to become more interesting, next part!
Re: Sign A New Agreement With iTunes [1d/4]
anonymous
August 24 2010, 19:15:07 UTC
Oh the intricacies of their warped, little minds...
You made my day author-anon. I feel like another track on the broken record, but the details (blue, peeling wallpaper, par example) are astounding.
I love your ability to explore the differences in Arthur and Francis' lives without making it seem hokey; it feels real and true and like they've really been living together forever.
(The title is mostly there for the lulz, btw. I could go on about words and meanings, but it’s mostly silly referencing. <3)
Sign A New Agreement With iTunes
Excerpt from Francis Bonnefoy’s master thesis on History of a mutual obsession: France & England from Hastings till WWII ( ... )
Reply
Reply
Francis’ girlfriends (or boyfriends, for that matter, but Francis’ boy-relationships tend to last longer than anything between one night and a week, and are therefore rarer) usually like Arthur. He’s the considerate flatmate who’s always up early on weekends and sensibly lays out tea and toast and jam out for them; reads them their morning horoscope in the newspaper and lets them steal Francis’ shirt (the green one, the one he’s got tens of between he says it makes his waist look slimmer.)
Francis exactly calls one tenth of them again. Arthur has got it down, in diagrams.
“She break up with you again?” Francis asks from the doorway.
“T’rn the fuckin’ lights down,” Arthur blares, and then rolls and promptly falls off the couch, or very nearly. There are three empty bottles of beer on the carpet and one on the couch, on the cushions, one standing upright on the coffee table like a funny soldier and two presumably half-open, on the floor, pooling little puddles of beer on the parquet slats. Francis wrinkles his nose in disgust ( ... )
Reply
Nothing happens. There isn’t anything meant to happen. Anything. Ever. And even if there was they don’t remember it in the morning, anyway.)
There’s a moment.
Francis can pinpoint it to the minute, the second, the intake of breath, the exact moment when It Changes, shift and re-alignment, the afterburn of revelation. He catalogues for nights afterward, calculates the situation into mathematical sections, articulates it into enumerations and lists to give it perspective/sense/value/anything, really. The finished product, after much digressing and butchering and a complete re-enactment of numbers, goes something like this ( ... )
Reply
Can I come back later to quote your own stuff at you? Y/Y
♥
Reply
The way you described their relationship, the details about their flat, work, clothes, routines, everything just perfect.
Will be stalking this and most probably cry with joy when I see an update.
Reply
And how much do I agree with the excerpt from Francis' thesis. What the hell, you managed to sum up a lot of what I love about FrUK in the FIRST TWO PARAGRAPHS OF THE STORY.
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That was GORGEOUS, I loved every word of it.
Reply
You really brought home the feeling of 'home-iness' they have going on, their affection for one another, in simple touches. And it's great how absolutely themselves they still are. The beginning, with the thesis introduction, was an awesome touch ;)
I simply can't wait for the next installment! With Francis already onto what's changing between them, but Arthur still stubbornly keeping his taste for men a secret (though I wonder if someone as observant as Francis would already know, anywayXD), it's only going to become more interesting, next part!
Reply
You made my day author-anon. I feel like another track on the broken record, but the details (blue, peeling wallpaper, par example) are astounding.
I love your ability to explore the differences in Arthur and Francis' lives without making it seem hokey; it feels real and true and like they've really been living together forever.
Reply
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