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.)
I think your version of the student AU (a silly prompt, to be sure) absolutely makes sense with Hotspur. So much of his character is developed based on battle and responses to combat, and while there are other strongly military characters in the plays, Hotspur is notable for the, ah, bluntness of that role, and how furiously he seems to hold to it. Which really makes sense with the PSTD aspect, then. There are lovely hints here about what Hotspur was before the war, and I think that's really telling. There was something else there, the something that intrigued Hal, but after the war, and in Hotspur's own narration (seriously, still !!! over that) he has been reshaped, and can never return to the model of young, handsome aristocracy. That all comes though in your writing, and I think it's a mark of how good this story is, that I'm still trying to articulate what I think of it. Well, beyond totally excellent.
The horror gets put aside, leaving only the anger and the feeling of having been betrayed by someone. This is really compelling, especially in the context of the coup and the enduring theme of bloody instruction. I would just like to join the chorus here, and say that this AU is so rich, and those few lines about the run on London hint at something so much morel and now, not only am I clamoring for more of this, but realizing how truly damaging that must have been. For not only are external forces antagonizing the nation and Hotspur, but there's a terrible internal struggle, and faced with that, Hotspur takes the only possible option, leaving altogether. (As I think about it more, there are basic war story commonalities, and one of them is an rift in the body politic and simultaneously, the personal body. So, any reflection on war faces a huge psychological disconnect.)
That was rather serious. Um, I think it is time to commiserate over Hal's canonical obnoxiousness. Hooray, though, I am not alone in this! Admittedly, Hal's contradictory behavior makes him very compelling, and in a tetrarchy full of interesting characters, one of the most enchanting. The idea that Hal and Hotspur are functioning on totally different levels in their conversation is very interesting, for lack of a better word. Hal wants people to like him, he doesn't obviously misstep often. Or, really, he never missteps in his own opinion, which is the one he values most; possibly the reason he is kind of a jerk, despite all populist leanings. Hotspur, in addition to his radically different evaluation and perception of the run and all of their other interactions, was less, and will never be as, devoted to the almost abstract search Hal has for power and some sort of nebulous good. I'm still parsing your comments about this, but their divergent approaches to meaning and action are very enlightening. Damn, now I am seriously thinking about Hal's personality. I feel sorry for him, too. I can only imagine what his version of these events might run to, in light of his attention to consequences, and yes, trying to anticipate everything, even when it's impossible, like in interpersonal relationships.
I am quite possibly, the only person who really does like Northumberland Sr., and his cameo appearance was fun, even. I'm not sure about his eventual role in this; he's so clearly mercurial and complex in RII, and later proves to be a tremendous liar, at the very least. There's probably no way to really write him and not go a little crazy, I imagine. And Kate! Sorry, I just really like Kate, and I have nothing clever to say about any of it. She's clever and excellent and, oh, a reflection of what everyone who isn't Hotspur thinks, which is a valuable viewpoint.
Seriously, people. There is a time-honored way of resolving these conflicts. It's called a threesome. I am a jerk, okay. But, really.
Yay! I have been run ragged from work all week, and was totally slow in responding to this, but I just love this story, and am somewhat incoherent at this point. Thank you so much. So much!
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I think your version of the student AU (a silly prompt, to be sure) absolutely makes sense with Hotspur. So much of his character is developed based on battle and responses to combat, and while there are other strongly military characters in the plays, Hotspur is notable for the, ah, bluntness of that role, and how furiously he seems to hold to it. Which really makes sense with the PSTD aspect, then. There are lovely hints here about what Hotspur was before the war, and I think that's really telling. There was something else there, the something that intrigued Hal, but after the war, and in Hotspur's own narration (seriously, still !!! over that) he has been reshaped, and can never return to the model of young, handsome aristocracy. That all comes though in your writing, and I think it's a mark of how good this story is, that I'm still trying to articulate what I think of it. Well, beyond totally excellent.
The horror gets put aside, leaving only the anger and the feeling of having been betrayed by someone. This is really compelling, especially in the context of the coup and the enduring theme of bloody instruction. I would just like to join the chorus here, and say that this AU is so rich, and those few lines about the run on London hint at something so much morel and now, not only am I clamoring for more of this, but realizing how truly damaging that must have been. For not only are external forces antagonizing the nation and Hotspur, but there's a terrible internal struggle, and faced with that, Hotspur takes the only possible option, leaving altogether. (As I think about it more, there are basic war story commonalities, and one of them is an rift in the body politic and simultaneously, the personal body. So, any reflection on war faces a huge psychological disconnect.)
That was rather serious. Um, I think it is time to commiserate over Hal's canonical obnoxiousness. Hooray, though, I am not alone in this! Admittedly, Hal's contradictory behavior makes him very compelling, and in a tetrarchy full of interesting characters, one of the most enchanting. The idea that Hal and Hotspur are functioning on totally different levels in their conversation is very interesting, for lack of a better word. Hal wants people to like him, he doesn't obviously misstep often. Or, really, he never missteps in his own opinion, which is the one he values most; possibly the reason he is kind of a jerk, despite all populist leanings. Hotspur, in addition to his radically different evaluation and perception of the run and all of their other interactions, was less, and will never be as, devoted to the almost abstract search Hal has for power and some sort of nebulous good. I'm still parsing your comments about this, but their divergent approaches to meaning and action are very enlightening. Damn, now I am seriously thinking about Hal's personality. I feel sorry for him, too. I can only imagine what his version of these events might run to, in light of his attention to consequences, and yes, trying to anticipate everything, even when it's impossible, like in interpersonal relationships.
I am quite possibly, the only person who really does like Northumberland Sr., and his cameo appearance was fun, even. I'm not sure about his eventual role in this; he's so clearly mercurial and complex in RII, and later proves to be a tremendous liar, at the very least. There's probably no way to really write him and not go a little crazy, I imagine. And Kate! Sorry, I just really like Kate, and I have nothing clever to say about any of it. She's clever and excellent and, oh, a reflection of what everyone who isn't Hotspur thinks, which is a valuable viewpoint.
Seriously, people. There is a time-honored way of resolving these conflicts. It's called a threesome. I am a jerk, okay. But, really.
Yay! I have been run ragged from work all week, and was totally slow in responding to this, but I just love this story, and am somewhat incoherent at this point. Thank you so much. So much!