[FICATHON] Slovenly Unhandsome, for lite_bright

[angevin2]

Title: Slovenly Unhandsome
Author: gileonnen
Play: Richard II and 1 Henry IV
Recipient: lite_bright
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Hotspur, Kate, Hal
Warnings: Historical AU
Rating: PG-13
Notes: lite_bright's prompt was enticingly nonspecific, so I took a few ideas from it (student AU, unpleasant Hal, Percy Sr.) and ran away laughing. Hope that works for the recipient!
Summary: War

Comments

[lareinenoire]

This is briliant! angevin2 had mentioned this fic to me and I was really looking forward to it. Love the AU setting and how you've adapted the plays, the characters, and the voice to fit it. And Hotspur's PTSD fits beautifully with how he sees himself reflected (badly) in Hal. Well done!

[gileonnen]

Thank you very much! I must confess, I was afraid no one would go for something like this; thanks for letting me know that it worked for you. *grin*

[angevin2]

This is such a great fic. I totally want to see more of this AU, because it rocks.

[gileonnen]

I'd be pleased to write it! Early/mid twentieth-century history, and one of my favorite plays? Sign me up!

[angevin2]

I want to know more about the revolution! Because, you know, I would. ;)

[gileonnen]

Yeah, you would. XD I'll see what I can cook up!

[lite_bright]

OHMY.

OHMY.

SERIOUSLY, I AM FREAKING OUT WITH GLEE HERE. CAPSLOCKING, EVEN.

Okay, I can get myself under control. This is so, so, so unbelievably excellent and fabulous, and ohmy. I am angry at myself for not getting to see this sooner! (Was unexpectedly away, and oh, I was worried that I would miss this. But I did not!)

This is perfect! Not only in a control freak "yay, exactly what I wanted!" kind of way, but in every other way as well. The setting! I am not the only one enticed by these odd AU settings, hooray. I really like the way in which the time, setting, and so many things can be completely changed, but there are still solid constants to Hotspur, and his world. All the rhetoric in the original that seems so, well, weird, and mostly a cover for grabbing power rings true here, and I'm not sure if it's Hotspur's essential honesty, or the political climate, but it finally works, here.

Oh! Let me say a few more adulatory things. I adore the first line in a completely, uh, Platonic way. After the war, Hotspur doesn't trot

[angevin2]

...I am grinning hugely although I did not write this, because SQUEE MAKES ME HAPPY.

And also I totally want more fic in this AU. As I said in my own comment. &hearts

[gileonnen]

Er, I think that this is the comment I've fantasized all my life about getting. You've picked up on everything I could possibly have wanted to see mentioned, and every bit of it meant something to you, and--wow. Let me try to do this in an orderly fashion.

So glad you liked the first line; it was what got me constructing the story, everything else built from that little kernel of a student AU. I thought, Hotspur is a warrior, and not a scholar; if he's not going to be a student, then why not? What else is he doing with himself? When he thinks about the prospect, what does he think? It was a marvelous way to get straight into his head, without going for the more obvious angles like the PTSD or the experiences of the battlefield

[lite_bright]

I really did fall out of my chair with glee on reading this. With that caveat for nonsense, I am so pleased that the comment made any sense at all. Go grammatical autopilot! (Or not so much, but whatever, it is the essence of it all. Or whatever

[speak_me_fair]

I absolutely adored this AU premise, for a start, and the whole rendition of Hotspur here just made me dance around like a mad person, because....that is perfect. And the last line is just beautiful.

[gileonnen]

... yeah, this is what happens when your prompt tells you to write an AU, and you happen to be a history major. I enjoyed writing it so much, and it would be great fun to do more in this universe.

[speak_me_fair]

Oh, I hope you do write more in this AU! If this is what happens, you need LOTS more prompts of that sort!

[gileonnen]

Want to give me a prompt? I'm always open for that kind of thing.

[ems]

Oh God, this is so wonderful. I've just discovered this treasure trove and I'm wallowing in all this wonderful fic. This is just brilliant; the AU setting works perfectly, and Harry's tone of voice is just right -- his impotent, frustrated rage, the way war just fits him.

[gileonnen]

*smile* Thank you so much! I love writing Hotspur--this fic practically wrote itself.

Would you mind if I friended you? You're clearly a reader of excellent taste. ^_~

[ems]

No, please do! I won't be missing a single bit of your fic from now on. :D