fab-ernathy

[fab-ernathy]

new fic again

the next installment in my postcanon series. a little bit more lighthearted than last time; today we're skipping to a few years after francis' divorce so we're less in the trenches and more in the aftermath.

relationships: papenathy

tws: references to suicide attempts and self-harm, family drama.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/66028207

[fab-ernathy]

thinking about 'François,' again......

[fab-ernathy]

"She was still a girl, a slight lovely girl who lay in bed and ate chocolates..."

imagining her like this

[fab-ernathy]

new fic

my next batch of fics is set in a post-canon-divergence setting, with papenathy as an established couple and their lives after hampden. we're setting the tone of this series with this one shot, so don't expect any of the rest of these to be much less painful.

relationships: papenathy, nonconsensual francis/priscilla

tws: sexual trauma, bad times with the concept of consent (not exactly sa, but not a fully consenting time either, too noncon for the dubcon label, nothing graphic though), emeto

https://archiveofourown.org/works/65235028

[fab-ernathy]

ok so i got good news and bad news.

good news is new fics on the way!!

bad news is i'm in wip development hell for 6 fics at the same time because i only decided to actually write what was in my head for months two days ago..

[fab-ernathy]

haha what no im totally not getting too invested in a papenathy parents hc/au......

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why is francis framed so predatorily in the 'matters progressed' scene?

okay so. we all know that scene. the one where richard is high on demerol and francis kisses him and 'matters progressed' until charles interrupts them. one thing is that if you read it, especially out of context, it doesn't seem consensual. the scene is much beloved by papenathy shippers and yet here's richard saying repeatedly that he doesn't want it. so what about this is reading romantic?

personally, i think it's the classic bodice-ripper kidnapping fantasy. richard reminds me of a trend in romance readers (who are often women in the case of het romance), where their desires have been so shamed that they feel that in order to not feel guilty, they have to have the pretense of not wanting it. so, in tsh, we get a lot of 'i'm not gay, but he basically forced me' and 'i kissed him back, but i was really high so that must have been why'. within the context of the rest of the book, where he (albeit in an extremely repressed way) describes how attracted he is to the majority of the characters, francis included... hm. combined with the way he so fervently denies any and all attraction to him, despite us being in his head and knowing what he thinks of him, it doesn't read as much like coercion, but more like an attempt on richard's part to rewrite himself as having less 'blame' for the situation.

now. don't get it twisted. francis is absolutely not a close friend with the concept of consent. even if charles was 'manipulating' him, deliberately getting someone drunk so they'll have sex with you is fucked up and predatory. and he probably shouldn't have tried to sleep with richard in this scene, either, given he was obviously high. this is by far the worst thing about his character. but i think it's worth examining why papenathy shippers read this scene as something other than horrific on francis' part, and why non-papenathy shippers (& francis dislikers) don't draw much attention to that scene compared with the stuff with charles.

[fab-ernathy]

thinking about how richard says francis' eyes are 'a great deal sharper than my own' (paraphrasing)

... does richard need glasses?

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yepppp

i think what makes papenathy so appealing to me is that francis is the only one out of the group that richard comes to know as a person. he's the one that tends to be most vulnerable around richard. he's the only one (besides bunny) that richard can see as complex within the same timeframe*, a needy, dramatic rich kid and the aestheticised, 'exotic' guy he wants to be like and his anxious friend who has a crush on him.

it almost feels like, after bunny's death, he needs to fill the role of 'real human being' and francis was the second to least mythologised. henry is (and always has been) godlike, charles becomes a monster, camilla becomes a victim, and bunny is dead, so francis is the default. not super romantic, but it is what it is.

the way richard talks about his interactions with francis, especially the more romantic ones, don't help though.

*as opposed to someone like charles, who he first sees as purely kind but morphs into, well, book 2 charles as the story progresses.

I don't think that Richard was in love with any member of the Greek class in The Secret History. He idealized them. He was in love with the idea of them, the aesthetic, but he wasn't actually in love with any of them for who they were. It's most obvious with Camilla, who is so idealized that we barely know her, but he does it with Henry, and Francis and Charles too. He wasn't any more in love with Francis than he was with Camilla, nor did he know any of the group as well as he thought he did, it was all just an extension of his obsession with aesthetic and, as he puts it "morbid longing for the picturesque". Bunny is the only one who seemed to escape this over idealism a bit, and that's because Bunny wasn't as 'in' with the rest of the group and didn't fit Richard's aesthetic.

The person he had the most authentic and genuine connection and friendship with wasn't even a part of Julian's class-it was Judy Poovey. Richard repeatedly chose what seemed 'aesthetic' and what fit his ideal over genuine interactions.

(I do think Henry and Camilla loved each other though, because she was the member of the group who was the most like him, but that's a different post entirely)

[fab-ernathy]

one thing i find really interesting about soulmate aus, especially in the context of queer relationships, is how would society react to it? i think francis' grandfather would disapprove, regardless of if they were soulmates or not, but what if he didn't? the thing is, so much of the plot of the epilogue is surrounding francis not living up to what's expected by society that to change it on such a fundamental level would mean major canon divergence. idk where i'm going with this sorry lol.

a half fleshed out papenathy soulmate au

the concept: every year on your birthday, starting at age 8, you have a dream where you learn something about your soulmate, that's at least true as of the time you meet them. it's different for every person what you learn each year, but on your 21st birthday, you find out their name.

Francis

Francis' first dream is the knowledge that his soulmate is a boy, and from the start he recognised that he would have to keep a lot of things secret. Next he dreamed of a bland town with nothing but a hot climate and bad memories. Then, the flavour of yellow cake and jarred chocolate frosting. Something about English class. A safe, stable feeling, one of being known and loved anyway. He dreamed of hands in his hair and a head on his chest. An aching longing for the aesthetically pleasing, willing to do just about anything for it. A confused, slightly horrified, "What?" to something he said, though he can't remember what prompted it. His soulmate is a liar. A side profile silhouette. He senses a father's disappointment. An ordinary life, so different from his own. The snipping of nail scissors on hair. Knowing, deep in his chest, that he will meet him in the next year.

Francis' 21st birthday falls just 10 days before they kill Bunny. He could tell that this was coming; he noticed Richard and could recognise that, if he wasn't his soulmate, he at least bore a striking resemblance to him. The trouble was that he never showed any indication that he was even into men. It's not like he hadn't tried, that day on the lake. What is he even supposed to do with a soulmate who won't even admit his attraction to him? So he pushes harder, kisses him, tells him it'll be fun.

And he gets told that really, Richard isn't attracted to him. (Maybe he's broken. Maybe this is one of those times where it's not mutual. Oh God, what is he going to do?)

He resigns himself to the uncertainty and waits.

Richard

Richard dreams first of red hair. Then just a colour - red, but not the same as last year, a deep wine. The smell of cigarettes, which before he hated, but now he knew the girl he was destined to love smelled like them, he learned to appreciate. Next a burst of laughter, raspy and light at the same time ("So," he thought, "guess she smokes a lot, if her voice is that deep"). Eyes that seemed to change from blue to grey to green to hazel under different lights. A frantic, yet lazy energy. Soft, bony hands that fidgeted and shook but were held with such grace. Some vague figure stalking across a field, gothic buildings in the background. Handwriting: "Forgive me," He dreamt he felt an absolute emptiness and devastation over things that usually wouldn't bother him. Whispers in French, Latin, Greek (Should he study Greek?). How a narrow waist feels under his hands. A sense that they've already met.

After the events of the previous year, Richard expects to see Francis maybe a handful of times ever. But when he wakes up with a start on his birthday, the only thing he can think to do is get to Boston ASAP. He doesn't even get properly dressed, just pulling on whatever's scattered on the floor, and practically dives into Henry's (well, his now) car. About 4 hours later, he's at the address he'd been sending letters to for the past few months, knocking rapidly. Someone answers, but it isn't him. Clearly, though, it's the right house, because the woman at the door looks like a relative.

"Is Francis here?"

"Who's this?"

"Please, I need to talk to him."

At that moment, Francis comes up from behind him. "Richard?"

He turns, hair and eyes wild, "It's you." His voice is barely above a whisper.

Francis nervously glances at the door, clears his throat, and takes Richard by the upper arm, "Let's take a walk."

When they're out of sight of the house, Richard can't help himself; he flings his arms around his friend, his... he would hesitate to say lover just yet, but that's what this is, right? Love? Some kind of gnawing feeling that's been brewing since he was 8, this thing he's never let himself name when it came to them. He runs his fingers through the hair at Francis' nape, presses his nose into the crook of his neck.

[fab-ernathy]

a half fleshed out papenathy soulmate au

the concept: every year on your birthday, starting at age 8, you have a dream where you learn something about your soulmate, that's at least true as of the time you meet them. it's different for every person what you learn each year, but on your 21st birthday, you find out their name.

Francis

Francis' first dream is the knowledge that his soulmate is a boy, and from the start he recognised that he would have to keep a lot of things secret. Next he dreamed of a bland town with nothing but a hot climate and bad memories. Then, the flavour of yellow cake and jarred chocolate frosting. Something about English class. A safe, stable feeling, one of being known and loved anyway. He dreamed of hands in his hair and a head on his chest. An aching longing for the aesthetically pleasing, willing to do just about anything for it. A confused, slightly horrified, "What?" to something he said, though he can't remember what prompted it. His soulmate is a liar. A side profile silhouette. He senses a father's disappointment. An ordinary life, so different from his own. The snipping of nail scissors on hair. Knowing, deep in his chest, that he will meet him in the next year.

Francis' 21st birthday falls just 10 days before they kill Bunny. He could tell that this was coming; he noticed Richard and could recognise that, if he wasn't his soulmate, he at least bore a striking resemblance to him. The trouble was that he never showed any indication that he was even into men. It's not like he hadn't tried, that day on the lake. What is he even supposed to do with a soulmate who won't even admit his attraction to him? So he pushes harder, kisses him, tells him it'll be fun.

And he gets told that really, Richard isn't attracted to him. (Maybe he's broken. Maybe this is one of those times where it's not mutual. Oh God, what is he going to do?)

He resigns himself to the uncertainty and waits.

Richard

Richard dreams first of red hair. Then just a colour - red, but not the same as last year, a deep wine. The smell of cigarettes, which before he hated, but now he knew the girl he was destined to love smelled like them, he learned to appreciate. Next a burst of laughter, raspy and light at the same time ("So," he thought, "guess she smokes a lot, if her voice is that deep"). Eyes that seemed to change from blue to grey to green to hazel under different lights. A frantic, yet lazy energy. Soft, bony hands that fidgeted and shook but were held with such grace. Some vague figure stalking across a field, gothic buildings in the background. Handwriting: "Forgive me," He dreamt he felt an absolute emptiness and devastation over things that usually wouldn't bother him. Whispers in French, Latin, Greek (Should he study Greek?). How a narrow waist feels under his hands. A sense that they've already met.

After the events of the previous year, Richard expects to see Francis maybe a handful of times ever. But when he wakes up with a start on his birthday, the only thing he can think to do is get to Boston ASAP. He doesn't even get properly dressed, just pulling on whatever's scattered on the floor, and practically dives into Henry's (well, his now) car. About 4 hours later, he's at the address he'd been sending letters to for the past few months, knocking rapidly. Someone answers, but it isn't him. Clearly, though, it's the right house, because the woman at the door looks like a relative.

"Is Francis here?"

"Who's this?"

"Please, I need to talk to him."

At that moment, Francis comes up from behind him. "Richard?"

He turns, hair and eyes wild, "It's you." His voice is barely above a whisper.

Francis nervously glances at the door, clears his throat, and takes Richard by the upper arm, "Let's take a walk."

When they're out of sight of the house, Richard can't help himself; he flings his arms around his friend, his... he would hesitate to say lover just yet, but that's what this is, right? Love? Some kind of gnawing feeling that's been brewing since he was 8, this thing he's never let himself name when it came to them. He runs his fingers through the hair at Francis' nape, presses his nose into the crook of his neck.

[fab-ernathy]

surprised more people haven't openly acknowledged the pederasty situation in this book. like that was clearly what was going on between julian and henry.

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thinking about papenathy during lockdown. richard teaching over zoom and having to mute every 20 minutes because francis keeps interrupting. on that note, richard having to figure out how zoom works. francis has never kept a journal, but he starts one in april when it starts to seem like it'll be going on for some time (it's borderline unreadable ramblings). richard is spiralling without outside contact but won't tell anyone and keeps acting like it's fine. francis takes benoit blanc style hours long baths. richard cutting francis' hair. francis pacing around for hours, panicking about the slightest cough from richard (it was all the smoke in the air; francis insists on the windows being closed so the germs don't get in and has chainsmoked for something like 3 weeks straight). them watching the worst movies because there's nothing else to do. calling camilla every now and then to make sure she's okay. the arguments over nothing. missing the kids in their lives growing up. bringing up the past over and over again, as tends to happen when you're bored. you know?

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rip greek class you would've hated hadestown (mostly because of the socialism but also a little because it's a modern retelling of a myth)

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perfumes/colognes that remind me of tsh characters

(as in, i think they’d smell like this)(also very likely that it’s not time period accurate but whatevs)

based off of vibes and descriptions from the book!! p.s., fragrantica will give u some wonderful insight on the notes

francis abernathy — ombré leather, tom ford

henry winter — tobacco vanille, tom ford

bunny corcoran — dior suavage.

richard papen — CK one, calvin klein (or very faintly of deodorant and moth balls. sorry not sorry)

charles macaulay — burberry london, for men

camilla macaulay — jardin clos, dyptique (alternatively: daisy, marc jacobs)

judy poovey — candy gloss, prada

hmm

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guys, do you ever think about francis' accent? i know richard describes it as bostonian, but then he adds 'almost british' which (to my non american ears) aren't even close to similar. add to that the fact that he went to schools in europe, and it suddenly makes sense.

francis has an international school accent.

[fab-ernathy]

The Secret History Through Fragrance

Okay, so one thing I'm obsessed with is perfume. Another is this book, and Francis in particular. So I thought, why not combine the two? Here's the smell journey I put together for some aspects of the plot, with a focus on Francis' storyline. If you want another scene, tell me and I'll make more.

Cubitum Eamus? - L'Eau d'Hiver (Frederic Malle) + Ilham al Oud (Zimaya)

Before he meets Richard, we see Francis in this mythical light that makes him almost ghostly. This fragrance combo has this cold refinement, it's delicate and aloof with a little complexity and mysteriousness.

Country House - Euphrates River (Steve Martin)

This fragrance has a journey, much like how Richard sees the country house. We start off with this refreshing, spicy thing, that then turns into this romantic spiced floral, and then dries down into warm, comforting vanilla and tonka. It's got tobacco and rum notes, too, which really hit the spot for this.

Vermont Winter - Fleur de Peau EDP (Diptyque) + a tiny bit of Eau de Minthé (Diptyque)

Very light, cold but also hospital vibes. Don't have much to say about this, just that this is what freezing to death smells like.

Bacchanal - Under My Skin (Francesca Bianchi) + Tank Battle (Lush) + From the Garden (Maison Margiela)

My initial pick was just for Francis during the Bacchanal, but then I thought it would make more sense do make it match all of them. Anyway, this is a combo of green notes, heavy scents like sandalwood and leather, and a kind of dark, sickly sweetness. I'm gonna be honest, this would smell gross to me, but then again I find nothing appealing about a sex ritual in the woods so that tracks.

Killing Bunny - Chypre Mousse (Oriza L. Legrand) + Coeur de Noir (Beaufort) + Trinity Blood (A La Lune)

Okay, so I fully admit that the addition of Coeur de Noir (my HC of Henry's signature scent) is purely there for symbolism. Apart from that, it's exactly what it smells like to kill a guy in the woods, you can't change my mind.

Matters Progressed - Narcotic Delight (Initio) + Sellier (Byredo)

Francis' signature scent combined with what Richard said he tasted like (and some extra warmer, darker notes for that feeling of discomfort and tension that I like to attribute to that scene). Not super inspired, but in my defence I think it's perfect.

The Albemarle - Hotel Cotton (Villa Erbatium) + Inexcusable Evil (Toskovat') + a touch of Portrait of a Lady (Frederic Malle)

The smell of the hotel juxtaposed with the gunpowder. I'm right, you agree.

Abernathy - Esencia EDT (Loewe) + Gris Charnel (BDK)

For Francis' ending, I went with something that Priscilla would make him wear, and combined it with something that he chose as a tiny rebellion to reflect his misery. In my mind, he wears the Gris Charnel literally all the time and lies, saying it's just his skin chemistry. The lack of tobacco notes is deliberate. This scent combo makes me sad.