Other Sons

[anteros_lmc]

Title: Other Sons
Author: Anteros
Characters: Archie Kennedy
Rating: R
Notes: This was inspired by eglantine_br's beautiful piece Fathers and Forgiving.

Comments

[esteven]

Now, I'm afraid I would like to read the letter from one of Archie's shipmates....

[anteros_lmc]

My goodness that was quick!

I would like to read the letter from one of Archie's shipmates....
I was hoping someone else might write that ;)

[esteven]

*g*
Not I, dear, not I.
Nodbear or mylodon, mayhap?

[anteros_lmc]

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps... *g*

[rikibeth]

Oh dear. It's so sad! And, nicely done, integrating Jamie's "third son of a lord" with the line about Drury Lane, and his fate as an impoverished midshipman instead of getting a pair of colours. I came up with a different backstory, because the lack of accent troubled me, but this is very good.

I've already done one letter to Archie's family. I don't know that I could bear to do two.

[anteros_lmc]

Oh thank you! There has been endless speculation over Archie's origins. Why would a boy with an apparently aristocratic background be left to rot in a hell hole like Justinian? If you're interested in my version of Archie's origins have a look at The Factor ;)

Oh and btw don't worry too much about the accent. The Scottish aristocracy invariably have posh English accents! Though that was probably slightly less the case then than now. Also Captain Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassillis was actually American as was his son!

I've already done one letter to Archie's family. I don't know that I could bear to do two.
Well if you do ever get the urge.... ;)

[rikibeth]

I didn't know that, about the accent! And since Denis Lawson's as Dreadnought Foster was so noticeable, it puzzled me.

Americans wouldn't have sounded AS American, then, although there was already a difference.

I posited an English gentlewoman who'd married a Scottish laird, who'd managed to run through his money and mortgage his estate through gambling and drink, and their carriage overturned when Archie was barely breeched. He was brought up in London by his mother's sister, who'd married a wealthy member of the East India Company; he grew up in comfort and privilege (what was another small mouth to feed or body to clothe, when they'd already engaged a governess for their own brood and he could ride Edward's outgrown pony?) but was not provided with capital, and John Company's influence only goes so far in His Majesty's Navy.

I probably ought to post this as meta, except I'm trying to work up a sequence set after The Frogs and the Lobsters that should let me bring a lot of it in. Now I have to read yours!

[anteros_lmc]

I didn't know that, about the accent!
Yep, it's a well known fact that posh Scots sound like Sassenachs! Denis Lawson is from Perth but he has a much broader accent than most folks from that part of the country, I think he has developed it over the years ;)

I like your back story very much, it's both plausible and original. Feel free to post meta to the comm btw! It's always interesting to hear other people's ideas :)

[eglantine_br]

Oh, thank you. I can see this so clearly. They did love him, of course they did. They did the best they could-- Archie as a young teen must have been a roller-coaster of pride and worry for his parents.
I have an almost 14 year old. She is pretty and lively, and very sure that she is right about everything. She feels truly oppressed that I will not let her take the subway to Manhattan with friends. ("But mo-o-m...")

BTW, Anteros. I have recorded a small pod of my own. I am trying to pick between your stories for one that is not too long. In the meantime, I have gotten a terrible cold. I sound like a turtle! So I am waiting for my voice, (such as it is,) to come back.

[anteros_lmc]

Glad you liked this :) I know you and I have different back stories for Archie but I hope this ties in with your writing on some level. As soon as I read your fic I had a very strong image of Archie's father staring out the window at the sea on a clear bright day. His parents did love him I am sure, but I suspect in his father at least that love is buried deep.

She is pretty and lively, and very sure that she is right about everything.
Of course she is right about everything. She is 14! In nine years time I will be coming to you for advice on how to deal with "But mo-o-m..." :}

I have recorded a small pod of my own.
Yay! How exciting! Do I get a preview? Or do I have to be patient and wait? I haven't had a chance to record any more but I did manage to edit another of yours that I recorded at the same time as Knives to Think About. I'll e-mail it over to you.

I sound like a turtle! I'm not sure what turtles sound like! Awww sorry you have a cold. Go and make yourself one of those hot toddys I recommended. Otherwise I

[nodbear]

full of great things -the high clear view and the brigh tlight , the attempts of tehe earl to jsutify himself to himself -wonderfully handled as I would expect.The different messages of those sets of letters - and especially the ones from the Indy made me smile and cry

We know that they really exist = the ones that begin every other sentence with Sir Edward says , Sir Edward thinks
and Nicholsa who was a fourth son and George who was an 8th son

and the ones Sir Edward had to write that never got easier.
" i cannot bear to write " as he once wrote to his brother

I know you feel as I about the boys of the Indy and that Archie is a shining version of them is a special thing indeed1

And as for Horatio's - that is perhpas bewteen him and Lady Catherine - though who knows:)

very sad and with hope because of Archie#s indomitable nature and with a poignant feel at the " other sons" .

Am glad you got this posted

[anteros_lmc]

Oh I'm sorry if I made you cry :'( I hadn't intended the letters to play such a prominent role in this fic when I started writing it. They just found their way in there. And now I reflect on it, I guess in some ways this is a small memorial for all the "other sons" of the "father afloat". For those who made it through, those who didn't and all they endured along the way.

As for Horatio's letter to Lady Catherine...perhaps one day it will come to light in the Bamber Special Collections Archive ;)

[donnaimmaculata]

Oh, look, it only took me a month to get back to this fic and to comment. I read it when you first posted it, and I've just re-read it, and I so much admire how much thought you put into crafting Archie's background. It's so plausible and, ultimately, so sad. Your Archie brings to mind Tom Jones, but without the happy ending.

[anteros_lmc]

Oh thank you! I do appreciate you coming back to comment :)

I've kind of shied away from writing too much about Archie's background for ages as I know everyone has their own ideas as to his origins. Although I have already written a little about Archie's family here: The Factor ;)

[donnaimmaculata]

I've always planned to comment on it; only I haven't been LJing at all for the last few weeks. I was looking forward to coming back, though ;-)

[anteros_lmc]

Very glad you did! I'm hoping to post something later today that may be of interest to you. Remember that breeches vs trousers debate we had a while back? It's time to settle it once and for all! ;)