#sober ii

[quidfree]

i love the old married couple portion of your follow up to sober ii (melodrama)! outsider povs just tickle the brain, especially in tsh where the characters are so just disconnected from normal society. out of curiosity, have you thought any more about how students/peers/other people view francis and richard throughout that au?

i love that portion too i think the idea of them as this long established couple (for all intents and purposes, altho they may have deviated from certain aspects of a nuclear family monogamous relationship) is so funny & interesting. like sober ii already does so much legwork from canon and then the followup even further so by the time we hit middle age it’s a free country for what is allowed.

you’re right in that the tsh cast are deep weirdos to anyone normal interacting w them. i think they have naturally changed somewhat by the time we reach them in that portion bc for francis he’s now (gag) middle class and sort of domesticated / for richard he’s like.. in a long term relationship w a man (it’s funny they have reverse things to get used to) & plus yk there’s the whole thing where they’re both deeply troubled individuals with abusive childhood drama and bad relationship history so probably sticking it out together has done some healing / good down the line. so in some ways they’re a little more Normal mentally. but that said they are still weirdo murderers with terrible personalities who would both annoy and enable each other so not that normal.

talking abt how they go from sober ii to where we see them in their 40s is a separate post so in terms of outsider pov specifically i’d say they do kind of stick to themselves (codependent freaks) but like in the neighbourhood / on campus / in montreal classics circles they def have relationships and certain uhh reputations that go with them.

richard’s students are a fairly niche group so i think as a whole they tend to like him- if nothing else he’s genuine in his love of the material and he’s attractive and kind of reserved so he’s probably at his least annoying / cringe / questionable when teaching despite his inner monologue. he probs has bad timekeeping (cf his flop job at hampden) and pretentious grading but generally okay. we know he comes across much more sane and sound to people who don’t know him well (very tartt, we love). and then they don’t know francis at all apart from Maybe as f. abernathy the classics translator guy. so realistically to the students they’re actually quite a cool addition to the student rumour mill. i think over the years there have been random glimpses of them but never anything interesting until the fic incident, or similar ones that make it obvious professor papen has what seems to be a boyfriend. then everyone is ‘literally obsessed’. i don’t know if anyone ever IDs them as witnesses to the hampden murder-suicides on a true crime podcast and then gets excited about their tragic backstory and inspiring romance, but that would be fun.

professional peers see more of them obviously, but they do still keep to themselves a lot. richard’s colleagues’ opinions vary depending on how much interaction they’ve had with him and in what context, bc he definitely has beef with administration and some colleagues whose courses he doesn’t respect. he’s professionally respectable though. francis is a fairly lowkey presence in translation- he got initial buzz from the julian student clout but he only sporadically networks. he definitely has culture friends who gossip amongst themselves about him vanishing from boston so close to the wedding and no one hearing from him until his book got published. alex from NY wants to fuck both of them but finds them annoying as talents and good in small doses as friends. most of that author circle is at least a little jealous of them as a couple, maybe because they flourish when amongst people they can close ranks on.

in terms of other canon charas… some of that feels like its own post too. judy does not particularly get why richard is into francis but she thinks they’re a hot item and she overall likes them and their weird little bohemian* lifestyle (*misrepresented). she thinks they’re a good match. charles would not have very nice things to say. i think he’d think richard ‘fell for it’ with francis. his own complicated relationship with francis would predispose him to think they weren’t a genuine item. if he saw them down the line as an established couple he would probably just find it funny. and camilla… she’s sort of like “good for you crazy kids”. like it’s completely random to her but it tickles her nihilistic brain. later esp if she’s around them in person for some reason she’s just completely on board with it and has a strong fondness for their relationship bc it’s like, this one weird positive thing to have come out of the whole hampden disaster, AND it’s taken a lot of the strain out of richard’s relationship to her even though he never especially lets go of his camilla-shrine. richard’s naturally Very Embarrassed about being in any way datey with francis around her but it tapers off with age/habit despite his best efforts. francis on the other hand perversely enjoys making richard uncomfortable around camilla. guess which one she enables.

[supermusicallee]

lorde: we told you this was melodrama. you wanted something that we offer.

me, having experienced every single emotion available to human beings in 40 minutes:

[bitingdown17]

i realized i didnt post my spotify wrapped yet this year

[liarwholiescauseimaliar]

iconic

[royal-husbands]

Aegon, speaking on the phone: how did people live without technology before? Aemond, rather tired of Aegon's constant calls: pretty fine [in the past] Aegon: you can't be reached! why don't you answer?? Aemond: stop climbing through my window!

[skamp3r]

Old vid👽👽👽👽👽👽ab🤔badop🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥AAAAHHH🔥🔥🔥🔥ignird my hwircut

BAS abdnfcop badncop cup a bad coo and... gc.... sigh..

bad🥹 #Im sane

(this was apparently in my drafts... im posting it.HEHHEHHEHAgod.. hey guy!s!)

[welcomefortune]

I have so many thoughts as someone who grew up with an alcoholic about Aegon and his relationship to alcohol and how it affects his actions.

[visiosatanae]

Someone called him Mr. Worldwide again...

[quidfree]

Hello!!! so I love your story Sober II… I was re-reading it back to back with TSH and the way you wrote them felt so true to Tartt’s characterization of them I was absolutely floored to how you captured the essence of the characters in your writing and your extension to their dynamic.

I have a question about your own personal head-canons between the two because I also read your spin off fic of sober II and found myself wondering who you think is the more physically affectionate of the two? I get the feeling that both your Francis and Richard kind of shy away from showing the other affection, or at least quite hesitant in doing so. From what you’ve written I feel like it’s Francis because of little moments like him placing his feet on Richards legs when they’re both on the couch… but in my re-read it’s Richard usually reaching for Francis, or Richard keeping Francis’ hands on him out of instinct. And that bit where they’re in their 40s and Richard suddenly becomes paranoid about how close they were in front of his students. Anyway, sorry for the tangent but I’m simply curious about who you think is the more affectionate of the two!

Also, don’t laugh at me but when you mentioned Anne Carson in your story I fell into a spiral of purchasing a few of her novels and translations and now I’m obsessed. She’s pretty popular but she’s never really be on my own personal radar, so thanks for that!

ahh thanks so much anon- and what, i’m delighted you discovered anne carson through me, not laughable at all!

that’s an interesting question and your analysis is good haha- made me sit and think about my subconscious choices in writing them. i think you’re right that i don’t necessarily see them as affectionate with each other from jump, due to all of richard’s sexuality hangups and francis’ weird relationship to physical affection.

in my head francis is definitely more touchy but it’s like, following a specific set of rules- he’s flirtatiously touchy (see: initiating all his hookups), and casual with the touches if you’re an unthreatening figure in his life (his mother, camilla, etc), but i feel like bc richard is a bit of a complicated situation as of post-canon he’s more withdrawn with him than he might otherwise be (and might have been back in early hampden when he gave less of a shit about richard and also was prodding at him to see if his gaydar was right). he has a lot of walls in place mixed in w his sexual traumas (childhood and otherwise). altho he does tend towards softer than richard, what with the blanket coverings and such.

richard’s thing is 1) he’s the outsider, so he’s more yearning for other people to bring him in than secure in reaching out 2) Men are not for Touching. hes so happy to be part of the pile of limbs in the backseat or get his hair ruffled or hand held or whatever but even in hampden i don’t recall him initiating that very often except when his emotions just overpower him (see the camilla kisses). that said, to your point, i think especially w the benefit of their history and also the traumatic losses they suffered, richard is very reachy- the whole sober ii thing is like. the kind of panicked / instinctive motion to keep what’s left of his hampden days with him. and how that melts into holding onto francis specifically.

anyway they both have that going on. richard is probably more classically touch-starved? but they’re both more comfortable with sex than other touch from what we see- like, it is kind of ironic that the day francis comes to hook up with richard seeking that connection to distract from murder hell is Literally on the heels of richard seeking out a random girl to do the same thing with. they are soo.

they grow into it tho. francis starts it off bc hes like oh right this is someone im hooking up w now so i can do x y and z. but richard’s probably first to go sort of, ah, romantic about it, which then sends francis skittering back a bit. i have a lot of Thoughts abt their physical scars & how those play in.

[karouvas]

now pick a song from my Adansey playlist part 1

(both bluesey song polls still up for an hour or so)

[supermusicallee]

how we kissed & killed each other

[elalalune]

do you know any songs that you think would fit your wonderland au?

I have some!! I mostly put these based off a few lines from their lyrics for my wl playlist

Also most tend to be shanks centric for some reason 🙈

Fish in a Birdcage - Rule #9-Child of the Stars

Freddy Mercury - The Great Pretender

Halsey - I am not a woman, I’m a god

Jaymes Young - Don't You Know

Lorde - A World Alone

Lorde - Ribs

Lorde - White Teeth Teens

Melanie Martinez - Carousel

Owl City - I'm Coming After You

Ricky Montgomery- Talk to You

Taylor Swift - Wonderland

Troye Sivan - FOOLS

Troye Sivan - YOUTH

Will Stetson - Lower One's Eyes (his eng cover of flower's lower one's eyes)

[strawberryjampire]

so im from missouri and i know a lot of people from missouri, and we all have times whenwe start randomly speaking in a very southern accent despite our usual generic america accent and its something ive obly noticed with people from missouri (my dad does it too! my friend from illinois does not do it) so

[katt1281]

no way i jsut listened to this ytber say 'i think theres too much corn (CORN?? jesus chirst just say porn or smut or anything but fucking corn) i think theres too much corn on the internet, which is just gross because theres children on the internet' and i. what the fuck??????? because kids exist and use the WORLD WIDE WEB, all porn needs to vanish? like teens dont also get horny and jack off and thats perfectly normal what the fuck. people need to get off tiktok like this guy isnt right wing. says he's pro gay and the like. im fucking flabbergasted. also he said like, 'porn (corn) is so avaiable nowadays compared to the old days' like humanity hasnt been making and spreading porn since the day we discovered jacking off are you KIDDING me. this guy isnt as bad as this other ytber who dresses up goth but also kinkshames heavily like girl come on. she also said corn. youtube please stop showing me these blueballed people i cant take it. one more tiktoker-turned-ytber brings up maize amnd talks about how its 'gross' and im gonna. turn of youtube ig.

[hawksheadcanonblog]

Headcanon - Roller Ricky relapsed briefly after Whistling Night. He was worried it would be harder to come back from if not impossible without Teddy to help him out like he did before, he just couldn't trust him again knowing what he knows now, but was able to find the path back to sobriety just fine without him. It was oddly enlightening for him.