“augustine was one of john's grad school professors” oh ho HO I will be turning this one around in my head during family dinners
WELCOME to my club! this headcanon is based on 1) contextual clues in htn that imply Augustine looks visibly older than John and 2) the fact that I, personally, think it's extremely hot. You've heard of: God manipulating his followers; now get ready for: whip-smart uncool nerd somehow talking that sleek young professor into several office blowjobs. And then later a cult.
Also you didn’t ask, but academia Augustine was That One Guy in the department who has a lot of industry contact and is a networking goldmine. He’s never in the office when the students need him but they all suck up to him because his reference letters burst doors open. He knows all the recruiters and his grant success rate is 90%. Nobody knows what he does exactly but he looks very good doing it. He gets laid at every conference he goes to.
(do feel free to share any thoughts. will save ME from family dinners)
For the spotify top 100 fic, how about John/Augustine and your #4 song? Or a different song on your list if that one doesn't fit well :)
For spotify top 100 fic meme! (Still taking these!) A little under 500 words. Warning for mentions of suicide, alcohol.
Hum Hallelujah by Fall Out Boy
And one day we'll get nostalgic for disaster
Augustine finds him on the roof, standing near the edge and humming a song he can't make out.
They're still adapting to living under this… dome of flesh and bone. There's not much to see outside, so he didn't expect him to be out here, in the dark that stinks like a slaughterhouse. When Augustine realized, sometime past midnight—so they'd been drinking for at least twelve hours—that he couldn't see John, he'd gotten worried. He'd looked everywhere in the facility, his beer-hazy panic growing slowly, until he tried the roof.
John turns around slowly as Augustine walks in his direction. His hummed song ends abruptly as Augustine gets closer, and Augustine stops with a few metres between them.
Even in the dark, John's eyes are bright.
"I needed some air," he says, before Augustine can say anything. Augustine exhales.
"I thought you might've fallen off," he says. "How much were you drinking?"
"Not enough for that." John takes his hands out of the pockets of his sweats, and puts them back in, a nervous gesture. "Did you think I was going to jump?"
It hadn't even occurred to him. John bringing it up himself sends a bolt of fear through Augustine, but he just forces a smile. "No. Who knows what would happen if you died? Maybe this would dissolve and we'd all end up arrested. You wouldn't do that."
"No, I wouldn't," John agrees. He turns away, looking at the wall again. It's lit up by the floodlights outside the facility, but only from the bottom. Tall shadows are cast on the wall. It's creepy.
Augustine knows he shouldn't—knows it's a pointless question—but he still asks it. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," John says, exactly as Augustine expected. He pauses for a long moment. "Did I fuck this up?"
"Fuck what up?"
He gestures broadly enough to encompass the meat wall and the facility. "All of this."
Augustine has had about three too many beers and nowhere near enough sleep. He's not in his right mind for this conversation. "What's done is done, man."
John laughs softly. "That's a diplomatic answer." He turns around and walks past Augustine, their shoulders brushing on John's way to the door back to the facility. The brief touch leaves Augustine wanting more. John stops, his hand on the door handle, and Augustine just looks at him.
"I know we can't go back," he says, "but I'm nostalgic, I guess."
Augustine thinks of a lot of things at once when he says that. The first discovery of John's powers. The early days of their work together. Their late nights in college. The taste of John's mouth, seasoned with beer and cigarettes.
There was a time when he thought he was in love.
"Go to bed," Augustine says through numb lips.
John smiles. "Goodnight." He resumes his humming, and vanishes.
It takes four cigarettes for Augustine to feel human enough to go back inside.
PLS talk to me abt pre res john’s scheming advisor augustine. PLEASE i am begging
OK LISTEN I have a whole very elaborate headcanon about how Augustine (who canonically looks older than John!) was one of John's grad school professors. Mayhaps even his thesis advisor. I just think it'd be soooo hot.
Underrated Jod moment is when he tells Augustine “So, I know I just blew up Mercy for trying to kill me and I know you also wanted her to kill me, but you and I are cool right? You still like me?? Right?? Here’s my hand in friendship” and it’s just casually dripping with bits of Mercy’s lungs
hello I loved your post abt Augustine being John’s grad school professor!! do you have any further thoughts/headcanons on the subject??
This ask made me SO happy!! :D Professor Augustine lives in my heart and I want nothing more than keep talking about it. I’m manifesting it!
(The original headcanon post was born from a vague idea that several people contributed to, so I'm going to @augustmourn and @gravitasmalfunction if they have Thoughts to add + anyone else who might see this... u know who you are)
Most of my thoughts around this backstory are just elaborate smut scenarios and pure Vibes, but some mostly sfw ideas:
NtN brings up specifically that Augustine’s contribution to the project was research in the use of glycerol as a cryopreservant, so I’ve decided that he had a background in biochem. John had an undergraduate background in biomedical sciences and did his PhD on something like cryopreservation of organs for transplants or something else in that wheelhouse, and that's how they ended up working together. John’s thesis advisor introduced them, maybe? Anyway, yhey absolutely hooked up straight away (props to tumblr user augustmourn and her 3rd meeting office blowjobs hc) and had a fwb thing going. If anyone caught feelings it was Augustine. He never had a chance.
I go back and forth on how big the age difference is, but probably in the 10 years range. Augustine was much better off financially (hedge fund brother and posh vibes vs. scholarships guy who played with hand-me-down toys as a kid) and he probably did stuff like always offering to pay for dinner in a very casual, no big deal, what-are-friends-for kinda way. Maybe in his head those were dates. The entire time John was getting his PhD he never dated anyone seriously, but Augustine had a semi serious relationship with someone else that almost progressed to engagement. At some point he told John that he and the current partner were exclusive, and was mildly disappointed when John was like "good for you mate!". The relationship didn’t last, but before it ended officially Augustine cheated on this partner with John at least once. They got drunk and fooled around, or something. (Alternatively: there was no serious almost engagement but there WAS a brief marriage in his late 20s that lasted like 2 years).
John did a fellowship abroad; they kept in touch and Augustine “occasionally” sent him emails with links to more local job opportunities that he “casually” stumbled on because he's just that good at networking that he always knows whatps going on. (The good at networking thing is true but he went looking for those). Also, I've decided that Mercy and Johh met as undergraduates and she met Augustine through him a few years later. He either tried to set them up, or they bonded by talking shit about him, or both.
Anyway. I will conclude with this absolute gem of a quote, by @camgoloud
I read your post about A- being John's professor and I'm obsessed with the hc thank you. I know that it wouldn't fit John character all that much but I have this mental image of him finding out that A-'s almost engagement fell apart bc of him and he goes "I'm a homewrecker" like Gideon does in gtn with the "Dulcinea"/Sex Pal situation
I'M DELIGHTED TO SEE THIS ASK I love spreading my grad school professor augustine around like it's a fungus. Also listen maybe younger John actually had a sense of shame. Maybe he DID feel like a homewrecker. He got drunk and vented to M about it and she was like, no actually it's not just your fault, that guy absolutely sucks at relationships
wait wait wait, sorry, but you have a pet fic idea where the river makes Augustine remember everything? Because oh my god that concept is making me go off the rocker
SAME!! I think about Augustine's memories way too much!! And I have so many feelings about it!! Remembering Earth and knowing that it's gone! Remembering John as he was and knowing how he’s now! He decided a long time ago that John had to die for the good of literally the whole galaxy, and even though Augustine the Lyctor definitely loves John to some extent it’s all tangled up in resentment and fear and bitterness and a bit of awe. And then remembering there was a time when John was a vulnerable human being who still made bad puns and everything was less complicated. And knowing that John took this life away from him. And asking himself if he’d have done differently in his place. And realizing that he actually loved John all along, even as a human! (*)
Anyway. I’m IN MY FEELINGS about it. Possible scenarios for fun and angst:
1) Augustine remembers at the end of HtN when they crash into the River. This is because of the tragedy of it all (he’s literally in the middle of trying to kill John. John just killed Mercy in front of him!) IDK why it would happen *this time* vs. all the other times he was in the River except for the drama
2) John makes Augustine remember at the end of HtN because he’s pissed off that Augustine asked him to let go of his revenge quest and he was like “the man you were on Earth would’ve HATED what you say just now, here I’m gonna show you”. No idea what would happen here except angry sex at some point
3) Augustine remembers at any point between the Resurrection and canon events, and John mindwipes him again. He’s very sorry, but it’s for the best
4) At some point while teaching herself how to deconstruct God, Mercy figures out how to recover their memories from Earth. She’s not about to fuck her own brain so she experiments on Augustine first. This is juicy because presumably he and John aren’t in the same location, and Augustine doesn’t know what the hell he should do, and also it’s not a life or death situation so he’s free to have an existential crisis, but also Mercy is there to witness it and it’s humiliating! Also probably Cythera is still around.
OBVIOUSLY all of these are extra juicier with your headcanon that Augustine died telling John he loved him and John was so spaced out on death energy he actually didn’t even listen and has no idea. So thanks for that, I love pain
(*) My hc for Augustine plotting Dios Apate is that sometimes he tells himself that whatever feelings he has for John are probably artificial, and John did it on purpose during the Resurrection. He doesn’t even know if he believes it but he wants to. He never brings it up with Mercy because she knows too much about how brains work and will disillusion him immediately.
(Anyway me: I have Feelings about Augustine remembering Earth.§
Also me: all these Feelings are about John, sorry Alfred sucks to be you )
specifically the fact that augustine is described as looking older than john. what if he IS.... and they were longtime friends pre resurrection... what if augustine had been nursing a lowkey crush since he was a postdoc when john was a very annoying undergraduate
