[FIC] Between the Lines

[mikkary_bones]

Title: Between the Lines
Characters/Pairing: Francis, Arthur, FrUK
Rating: T+ / PG-13
Word Count: 4329
Summary: Francis is a writer, Arthur a critic; Francis is asexual, Arthur... confused.
Notes: Written for qichi for what_the_fruk's October lovefest; this prompt.

I meant this to be some sort of portrayal of an asexual/non-asexual relationship based more on conjecture

Comments

[qichi]

Aaaaah so I wish I could temporarily steal Eva's comment-abilities because this is really, really good and I think I lack the articulation to thank you enough for it?

I almost did that thing where you point out all the bits of a fic that were like YES, YES, THIS - but then that was maybe half as long as the fic itself and, well.

I will pick one: Arthur ends up spending the night. He tells Francis he needs some more time to think about things, really think, and that he's not sure he understands all of it. But by the time they're finished talking (and they don't only talk about sex; somehow the conversation meanders to movies and high school and where they thought they'd be by now)

Just - that, yes. This, I think, is everything that lacks in most ace!fic? That, yes, there's an inherent split between what each partner wants sexually, but... relationships are about things that aren't sex, too. I could kiss you for this most-of-a-paragraph alone, lmao

[mikkary_bones]

ffff thank you!!

As for that one bit, I haven't read much ace!fic, so I was sort of going off, I don't know, feelings and personal experiences and wishful thinking and sorts of things. But honestly every relationship is about more than just the name of that relationship (i.e. a sexual relationship is more about sex) because there are two people in it and so...??? I'm not sure where that thought was going but I think it could have been cool.

Anyway thank you! :D I'm glad you enjoyed.

[iamelegentmess]

I have always wanted a fic like this, and now that I've read it, I think I may never be the same again- no but in all seriousness, this was wonderful. Just, everything about this, I love it all. I honestly wish I could put into words how brilliant this is, but I don't think anything I say could do justice to it, so, I'll just thank you for writing this. Thank you, so much.

[mikkary_bones]

♥ Thank you so much! And I'm really glad you liked it. I sort of hope to, I suppose, continue this somehow? At any rate, I'm quite taken with the idea of asexual Francis, so we'll see how that turns out.

[pliash]

And it's a year to the day! Wow, how fast this fandom has moved since then...

There's nothing more I can add that other reviewers haven't already said--especially Eva, since her word is golden (and she's always the first one on the case!). I did want to leave a little comment of general appreciation, however--asexual!France (or even ace!fic in the Hetalia) was something I didn't expect to come by, nor something I really even thought about.

And I loved it.

It's funny because I roleplay France wherever I get the chance--while being asexual (and mostly aromatic; sometimes demiromantic). How do you write a character who is incredibly sensual--and extremely sexualized in fandom--when you yourself don't experience sensuality?

Sheer luck, and a lot of trial and error. (That's how it feels for me.)

Francis's boundaries look a lot like mine, actually. /laughs/ Although I'm not romantic so it doesn't get enforced, really.

Arthur's reactions as a sexual were particularly well-done; Francis's lack thereof were spot-on in my opinion. The

[mikkary_bones]

Arghlak;skdjfsjd you have succeeded in rendering me incoherent by the awesomeness of your reviews -- as well as the quantity??? I keep forgetting this (active, incidentally, more or less...) livejournal is hooked up to an old spam email address, so I should change that. But yes ahhh this is the last thing I was expecting when I checked my email at work today.

I roleplay France too, despite being generally asexual, and this fic was honestly, mostly, my wishful thinking -- like, how I wished a relationship could have gone for me instead of a guy saying we should stop messing around because he had been trying to "cure me" of my asexuality whoo things that happened two years ago that I still haven't forgiven. I tried really hard to make this both realistic and happier than a lot of real life things end, so I'm glad I succeeded in both

[pliash]

YOU ARE OKAY. /sorry it took me a week to get back to you it's been a hurricane kind of crazy over here/ /double thumbs up

I'd say that your Arthur is definitely one of those 'what if' types of characters we wished existed in real life (and probably does, somewhere... maybe); even as an aromantic (demiromantic..?), I can see how lonely things can be without a partner ||orz Haha, or the guys who see you as a challenge and pursue you as such. Sigh. It makes me super wary of people who gain an 'interest' in me.

♥ I'm just glad I ran across these! I hope you're going to continue writing this pair because you do it so well I just faceheartexplodinghi.

I love current affairs, but I've really wanted to write--or even better, read someone's writing of--the Crimean War, specifically Charge of the Light Brigade. The possibilities make me run my hands through my hair repeatedly.

And I don't know if this was all supposed to be striked out ♥ But I'll definitely go check those out! And pffft, of course ♥ Although I'm really not that awesome so

[mikkary_bones]

I'M SORRY IT TOOK ME LIKE THREE WEEKS TO GET BACK TO YOU UGH I changed my LJ email address and then forgot to validate it and then lounged in indolence and forgetfulness etc until now when I wanted to join the Skyfall LJ community but couldn't ahaha we all know these feels I hope.

Oh my gosh I think I almost wrote Crimean War stuff-- that's probably a lie, but I certainly remember researching about Lord Cardigan & the Charge of the Light Brigade... Gosh you know you've been in & out of a fandom too long when you can't even remember what you might or might not have written.

Friending you posthaste ♥