#If Susan doesn't mother who else will

[bibliophilesince2003]

Narnia Incorrect Quotes (1)

Peter: I have a plan. Susan: We're going to die. Lucy: I believe in you, Peter! Edmund: *leaves*

That's it. That's their dynamic.

[rainintheevening]

They're his children of course. Richard still recognizes them; it's only been two years.

And yet...

Peter is a man. Still six months shy of his draft papers, but he stands, walks, sounds like a man. He always has a pocket knife, he tips his hat to all the females, he sings in a baritone that will only get deeper and richer. The tea he makes is decent, but sometimes he drinks coffee now. He talks about horses and crops and reads Augustine. He can drive a car. He gives orders, and expects them to be followed.

They all look to him, to Peter. Helen calls him to open a jar, Susan questions how her hair looks, Lucy runs to him in tears. As for Edmund, he and Peter are curiously joined, they turn to each other with their laughter, their thoughts, their books and newspapers and letters. As often as his family swirls around him, Richard sees them swirl around Peter, a habit, he knows, born of necessity, but that doesn't prevent it from being strange. Even painful.

Peter moves to take the head of table, catches himself. They both start to say grace, stop, glance at each other. Peter takes the newspaper over breakfast, and is a page in before he remembers. And every time he apologises. Each time he smiles at his father, and it is warm, glad, even benevolent.

One of the first nights, shortly after Christmas, Peter finds him sitting in his old armchair, staring into the fire, after everyone else has gone up to bed. "Dad?" comes the question, and he looks up blinking at the tall man, lamplight crowning him in gold, blue eyes deep and dark with knowledge and certainty.

"I'm not who I was," Richard says, a confession, the kind a father shouldn't burden his son with he thinks immediately, but then Peter is down on one knee, reaching for the mangled hand, tender with the three fingers as he clasps strong calloused palms around them.

"Neither am I, Dad. None of us are." Peter's gaze is earnest, bright. "But you are still my father. And I will always be your son. I am forever grateful for that."

It is as if a great burden rolls off of his shoulders, and he finds no shame in leaning on Peter's hand to rise.

When the holidays end, and the four go back to school, Peter says I love you to each of them at the station.

If Peter is a man now, Susan is a lady.

She sits straight, she walks gracefully, she can cook anything as well or better than her mother. She reads the newspapers with Peter, she scolds Lucy for coming home with twigs in her hair and a tear in her stocking and wet shoes.

She talks less than her father remembers, and there is a woman's sadness in her gazing out the window or into the fire. She is also very admiring of the boys in uniforms, and Richard requests her arm on the way out of church with a father's righteous sense of protection.

But she is also gentler than he recalls, she does not shy away from his injured hand, she takes care of him without making him feel as if he needs care. She sits on a cushion by his feet as she braids her hair in the evenings, leans on his knee as she reads aloud, and Richard thinks, Not my little princess, but a queen now.

At the train station, she kisses him goodbye, and he hugs her close, and there are tears in her eyes as she says I love you.

Edmund is the closest to unrecognizable, the once-obvious four year span between he and Peter seemingly halved. He greets his father wordlessly, all shining eyes and bright smile, and his face is so close to Richard's own it makes his heart break a little.

Ed is no more little boy, he is tall, slim, oddly graceful, but his handclasp is strong. He holds himself the same way Peter does, with squared shoulders and lifted head, but he wears that nobility in a quieter fashion. He's quick to see, quick to hear, quick with a wisecrack that makes Peter laugh out loud. He plays the violin now. He returns the family Bible to the living room with an apology for having kept it since the summer holidays. He reads Agatha Christie as a personal challenge, whispers to Susan in French, and his chess games with Peter are fierce battles of strategy that Richard cannot keep pace with.

In discussions of the war and its movements, he is sober and considerate, he meets each of Peter's moods with a balancing counter, he has a way of phrasing questions that pull out stories Richard had never planned to tell.

A few nights before the children return to school, Richard sits up in bed, certain he has heard a faint cry, and he slips away from his exhausted wife to check on his children, remembering how Edmund had suffered from night terrors as a child, imagining little Lucy inflicted with some dark dream.

But all he finds is shadows in the boys' room, and quiet whispers—Peter's apologies, Edmund's reassurance, and allusions to things Richard has no context for. He lingers by the door, an outsider in his home, until silence falls, and he returns with morning light to find them curled together in Peter's bed, Pete with an arm over Ed, and the father's love is bittersweet.

They have fought their own battle over here, on the home ground, Richard reminds himself. In their own way they have each faced terror and learned to conquer or be conquered, but perhaps he can meet them somewhere in between. Only time will tell.

On the train platform, Ed hugs his father tightly, gives him a smile, tells him to keep out of trouble.

Lucy is the least changed, though she too is taller and stronger, and her eyes are deeper. She still sings, still dances, still tries to make friends with all the animals, still smiles and speaks kind and stares dreaming at the Christmas tree.

She still gives fierce hugs, still climbs into her father's lap, though her head comes up higher on his chest, on his shoulder.

But then he finds gaps in his library, and Lucy returns the medical books with a winsome apology, she asks questions about his practices in the field, she winces but does not shy away from the blood and broken things he speaks of.

Then she recites long poems, words spinning off her tongue until they become half song; she dances swift and graceful, she and Peter laughing and stepping and clapping and spinning in intricate patterns to the swing song on the radio; and it is she who, breathless, quotes Byron: "On with the dance! Let joy be unconfined!"

Her comfort is both generous and thoughtful, and she strokes her father's hair with a motherly hand that makes his eyes sting, and he kisses her fingers, looks up at her to whisper, "Don't- don't grow up quite so fast, my darling."

When she hugs him on the platform, Susan waiting for her, the boys already gone, she doesn't want to let go, and there are tears on her cheek, that he wipes away gently. "Be careful, Daddy," she whispers. "Get strong. Take care of Mummy."

"Yes, little mother," he smiles back.

And then they are all gone, and he takes a cab home, weary of his still-recovering body.

He will have to learn his children all over again, he thinks. But he is proud of them still. That has not changed.

[the-jules-world]

thoughts on the Pevensies returning home

Peter Pevensie was a strange boy. His mind is too old for his body, too quick, too sharp for a boy. He walks with a presence expected of a king or a royal, with blue eyes that darken like storms. He holds anger and a distance seen in veterans, his hand moving to his hip for a scabbard that isn't there - knuckles white. He moves like a warless soldier, an unexplained limp throwing his balance. He writes in an intricate scrawl unseen before the war, his letters curving in a foreign way untaught in his education. Peter returned a stranger from the war, silent, removed, an island onto himself with a burden too heavy for a child to bear.

Only in the aftermath of a fight do his eyes shine; nose burst, blood dripping, smudged across his cheek, knuckles bruised, and hands shaking; he's alive. He rises from the floor, knighted, his eyes searching for his sisters in the crowd. His brother doesn't leave his side. They move as one, the Pevensies, in a way their peers can't comprehend as they watch all four fall naturally in line.

But Peter is quiet, studious, and knowledgeable, seen only by his teachers as they read pages and pages of analytical political study and wonderful fictional tales. "The Pevensie boy will go far," they say, not knowing he already has.

His mother doesn't recognize him after the war. She watches distrustfully from a corner. She sobs at night, listening to her son's screams, knowing nothing she can do will ease their pain. Helen ran on the first night, throwing Peter's door open to find her children by his bedside - her eldest thrashing uncontrollably off the mattress with a sheen of sweat across his skin. Susan sings a mellow tune in a language Helen doesn't know, a hymn, that brings Peter back to them. He looks to Edmund for something and finds comfort in his eyes, a shared knowing. Her sons, who couldn't agree on the simplest of discussions, fall in line. But Peter sleeps with a knife under his cushion. She found out the hard way, reaching for him during one of his nightmares only to find herself pinned against the wall - a wild look in Peter's eye before he staggered back and dropped the knife.

Edmund throws himself into books, taking Lucy with him. They sit for hours in the library in harmony, not saying a word. His balance is thrown too, his mind searching for a limp that he doesn't have, missing the weight of his scabbard at his side. He joins the fencing club and takes Peter with him. They fence like no one else; without a worthy adversary, the boys take to each other with a wildness in their grins and a skillset unforeseen in beginner fencers. Their rapiers are an exertion of their bodies, as natural as shaking hands, and for the briefest time, they seem at peace. He shrinks away from the snow when it comes, thrust into the darkest places of his mind, unwilling to leave the house. He sits by the chessboard for hours, enveloped in his studies until stirred.

Susan turns silent, her mind somewhere far as she holds her book. Her hands twitch too, a wince when the door slams, her hand flying to her back where her quiver isn't. She hums a sad melody that no one can place, mourning something no one can find. She takes up archery again when she can bear a bow in her hands without crying, her callous-less palms unfamiliar to her, her mind trapped behind the wall of adolescence. She loses her friends to girlishness and youth, unable to go back to what she was. Eventually, she loses Narnia too. It's easier, she tells herself, to grow up and move on and return to what is. But her mourning doesn't leave her; she just forgets.

Lucy remains bright, carrying a happier song than her sister. She dances endlessly, her bare feet in the grass, and sings the most beautiful songs that make the flowers grow and the sun glisten. Though she has grown too, shed her childhood with the end of the war. She stands around the table with her sister, watching, brow furrowed as her brothers play chess. She comments and predicts, and makes suggestions that they take. She reads, curled into Edmund's side as his high voice lulls her to sleep with tales of Arthurian legends. She swims, her form wild and graceful as she vanishes into the water. They can't figure out how she does it - a girl so small holding her breath for so long. She cries into her sister, weeping at the loss of her friends, her too-small hands too clumsy for her will.

"I don't know our children anymore," Helen writes to her husband, overcome by grief as she realizes her children haven't grown up but away into a place she cannot follow.

[theamberfist]

Feeling Faint | Rosie + Reader Headcannons

Familial! Mom! Rosie + Child Reader Headcannons

Description: You are Rosie's adopted child who tends to faint often. Luckily, your mom and the rest of Cannibal Town are always ready to help.

(Notes: CW Alastor, mentions of cannibalism) (gender neutral reader) (Reader is Rosie's adopted child) Happy Mother's Day!!

Words: 1,057

♡ Rosie is very used to handling your fainting spells and, as such, has also made sure the rest of Cannibal Town is equipped to help you if need be

♡ If you can tell you're about to faint you let her know and she immediately jumps into action; appearing very calm on the outside.

♡ But inside she always panics; she's your mom, after all, and she doesn't want you ever getting hurt!

♡ If there's time, she will pull up the nearest chair (if someone was using it they're easily shoved out of the way) and gently take your shoulders, helping you to take a seat in it

♡ If not, she immediately moves from wherever she had been before to catch you before you fall. She's never once failed to catch you.

♡ There was one time Alastor was visiting and you felt a fainting spell coming on so you warned Rosie about it. She had been across the town square at the time but she was as fast as lightning; making it to you long before you even came close to hitting the floor and catching you in her arms.

♡ Even if you can't tell beforehand that you're going to faint, Rosie still somehow manages to catch you every single time if she's around.

♡ She calls it a mother's intuition but you feel like it's more of a psychic power. Either way, she seems to always be able to tell when you start to feel not quite right or are about to faint, which has saved you from many potential concussions due to falling.

♡ There are times where you'll have a fainting spell when she's not around too, which is why she's made sure everyone in Cannibal Town knows how to help you if that happens.

♡ Usually when you have a fainting spell and Rosie isn't around, someone else nearby will notice it and catch you if need be. If you're able to sit down on your own then they'll still come over to make sure you're alright, get you water when you wake up, elevate your legs (what personally helps me come to), etc.

♡ Once whoever is nearby has made sure you're taken care of, they'll either get Rosie themselves, tell somebody else to do it, or (most often) she'll have already somehow sensed what was going on and come to your aid

♡ No matter what she's doing, Rosie will drop everything the moment she knows her child needs her, and moments like these aren't an exception; no matter how common they may be

♡ Even Susan will help you if you happen to have a fainting spell around her and your mom isn't nearby

♡ There was one time you were taking a walk through the Cannibal Colony and passed by her, only to feel one coming on and immediately get seated near a wall before you passed out. Susan noticed it and came over, standing between you and literally anyone else who dared come close

♡ She had her teeth barred and everything; she even took a chunk out of an unfortunate sinner who'd been trying to come over and check on you

♡ Susan may be an ornery old bitch but Rosie is still her leader and she's not going to let her leader's kid get hurt by anyone

♡ Alastor also knows how to help you if needed; after all, he's in Cannibal Town often to visit your mom. And, as her best friend, he takes your wellbeing very seriously

♡ The first time you fainted when Alastor was around, he immediately assumed someone had somehow harmed you and went full demon mode, only for Rosie to come back into the room and assure him it was alright and that this happened often; you just needed a moment

♡ When you woke up after that, your unofficial-uncle decided he was going to learn how to assist you in those situations and made Rosie teach him everything he was supposed to do in every possible scenario

♡ Now he looks just as calm as her when you have a fainting spell near him; using his shadow to make sure you don't get hurt by anything and to fetch whatever you need as he sits nearby until you wake back up

♡ And when you do, he lets you take your time adjusting to your surroundings again. He knows (because Rosie told him) that these spells are not fun

♡ When you seem to have recovered, he'll usually suggest getting you some food or ice cream (vegetarian food, if you prefer) and try to cheer you up a bit. He also makes sure to inform Rosie of what happened every time it does since he knows how she worries

♡ Speaking of worried, Rosie's calm exterior won't drop until you're passed out. Then, she's barking orders at everyone around her the way she was with the megaphone in episode 7

♡ Any nearby cannibals are immediately running about and getting whatever she needs for you so that you'll be as comfortable as possible when you wake up

♡ When you do wake up, she makes everyone else leave to give you some privacy and time to adjust (except your uncle Alastor if he's present; she knows you're comfortable enough around him)

♡ Internally worries the entire time and hugs you as soon as she sees that you're conscious enough again, telling you how mush she loves you and that you're going to be alright

♡ If you don't feel up for continuing whatever you were doing before, she clears the entire rest of the day for you both- no matter what she had going on- to spend time taking care of and being near you

♡ If you insist on continuing with your day as planned before, she will be watching you like a hawk while also trying to make it not super obvious that she's watching you like a hawk

♡ As your mother she just worries and wants to make sure nothing else happens to you again. Rosie can be very protective but it's all out of love so you put up with her fretting over you even when it's not necessary

♡ And plus, it's nice to have someone like your cannibal-overlord-mom taking care of you after all you've been through, so you suppose having her worry whenever you faint isn't the worst that could happen

[radioisntdead]

You mentioned doing Susan and Reader type things, let me bring up to you:

Reader is Susan's adult child or Niece/Nephew. How do you think that would go? Would she be boasting them up like she does to Rosie or would she be nitpicking them all the time? You decide!

Good evening my dear! I'm gonna scream about Susan now, we don't see much of her but I adore grumpy old people characters (in fiction)

Let's start with child headcanons,

You POOR POOR CHILD, Susan definitely has a key to your home, did you give it to her? Probably not she's the type to MAKE a key, or pick the lock, look me in the eyes [?] And tell me this old woman doesn't know how to pick a lock,

She's definitely seen and done some shit in her [After?] Lifetime, you could be making dinner and she just breaks in strolls on in and starts going on about her childhood and it's just the most messed up Parent Susan lore, she also doesn't care for boundaries, doesn't matter who you are, your boundaries are being invaded, she doesn't like when others invade your boundaries through, only she can do that after all she's your mother! She assumingly birthed you,

Or picked you up from the side of the streets

I don't know how she acquired you

If you have a spouse, Mama Susan does NOT like them, doesn't matter if they're the king of hell or whatever, No one is good enough for her baby,

Heaven forbid if it's someone she already doesn't like, like Alastor for example.

That being said she wants grandkids, you don't have to spawn them, just pick one up off the streets I'm sure there are orphans in hell! Especially after extermination day

She's definitely the type to grab your cheek, squish it and just go "Have you been eating at all?!? Fucking skin and bones!"

Then she just gives you some poor demons leg to munch on, yum!

I feel like when she can make a mean cannibalistic meatloaf, but nothing else,

Maybe soup, but who can't make soup?

[I'm so sorry if you can't make soup, Don't worry I'll make you some so your not soupless]

She's definitely the type of parent to send you to your room without dinner, or keep you at the table until you finished up your meal, or smack with the cane

Honestly if we go with if she was alive in the 1800's {?} And not hellborn {also Susan DOESN'T HAVE A WIKI PAGE? GIVE OUR MEAN OLD LADY A WIKI PLEASE- /j}

Depending on your gender you definitely get raised differently, because sexism was horrid back then, woman didn't get the rights to properly vote until the 1920's, She was long gone by then.

if you're born a gal she's all

"Be more ladylike! No man will marry you if you act like this"

She loves you, and in her mind it's for your own good because society is NOT kind to those who act different than the status quo, she cannot spare you the same fate she got, she wishes you were born in a different time, in one where you'd have more freedom.

she'd lighten up after death because, you know y'all are dead, and man fuck social status that's dead now, she prefers cannibal town as to wherever you were during life

If you were born a lad then you got a ton of

"Be a gentleman! Don't be a dick, don't duel people!"

A son meant she got a pat on the back, she was capable of producing an heir, or whatever old timey crap was going on, she hoped you did NOT turn out to be a product of your environment.

I feel like she'd be very active in feminist movements back then from the shadows, she definitely earned her rights to be grumpy old lady

ANYWAYS THATS OFF TOPIC,

All in all, she's not the WORST mom, but she definitely traumatized you, I feel like y'all healed your mother-child bond in hell {that's a sentence I never thought I'd write}

NOW ON TO THE NIBLING {?} Niece/nephew

She's the single probably wealthy Aunt that probably killed her husband but no one can prove it, completely different from above, she did NOT have a child with niblings [I think that's the right term please correct me if wrong]

If she did have a offspring, congratulations your cousin is often compared to you and y'all probably have a strained relationship.

Anyways any time she sees you she either goes in for the hug and if rejected makes a comment about today's youth and respect, or she doesn't go in for the hug and rambles about today's youth being too touchy,

"What the fuck am I supposed to do with this thing."

Susan when near you.

She gives great Christmas presents though, she just like throws it to you and says she got it last minute and then it's just like 200$ present,

Or if she REALLY doesn't like you, your getting one of those cringe tshirts that's like "look out ladies, I'm a gamer"

OKAY SO ANOTHER LOVELY ANON REQUESTED A THING WITH GRANDCHILD AND SUSAN I'M WORKING ON THAT NEXT, I'm gonna take a nap first though, Thank you for tuning in!

[cementarybf]

The woods brothers.

" A duet never played ."

(A series of my headcanons for both the brothers except its not in order AT ALL)

• I was originally just gonna copy and paste my docs of them for this I'm ngl..

• Between the two jeff is the youngest, being three years apart from the older.

• Jeff's a bastard child within the woods family, as his mother committed infidelity making him a foreign mixed child in his home environment (his mother being Chinese, his biological father being Hispanic)

• Liu had been more than excited to be a big brother, even if his mother was less than excited. He would cuddle up with her, mostly to whisper to her belly about how excited he was to be a big brother and that he loved his little sibling already.

• jeff is actually trans his dead name being (junjíe俊傑 meaning elite,high standing) a name he actually prided himself on, but when they moved to Ohio (WHICH ACTUALLY IS CANON?? WHY IS HE IN OHIO) he wanted to be more..Americanized, mainly due to the bullying he suffered for keeping a foreign name- teachers struggling to pronounce it made him disgusted so he chose a simpler name one that they couldn't make fun of.

• jeff was never deemed as "normal", growing up he struggled to behave like other children- diagnosed at an early age with [ narcissistic personality disorder ] and [ early stage child apathy ] which stemmed from a series of neglect given from his parents along with the strict religious household.

• due to this liu had taken up the role of raising his younger brother without much issue, due to taking up the parental role his own view on his parents had easily soured over time when he had gotten into multiple arguments with them.

• liu and jeff were pratically attatched at the hip mostly due to jeff seemingly mimicking his brothers behavior as to appear more friendly to his peers which in the end worked, as he was quite liked in his schools.

• liu had originally been the only one in the family to play piano but jeff followed suit easily only for a moment before he took up learning violin instead as he found it be more suiting. A perfect duet they had made.

• they originally had lived in shenzen before moving to Ohio due to their father getting a job relocation out there (hence jeffs sudden urge to fit ih)

• jeff never actually told his parents he was transitioning due to his mother's heavy religious belief, he'd rather let her believe he was being a "tomboy" then tell her.

• jeff and liu had done multiple recitals together once jeff finally got to understand how to perfectly play the piano. However they never did get to finish their duet that they written themselves.

• liu was the only person he told, along with the one he had asked to cut his hair. He hasn't cut his hair nor let anyone else cut his hair since that night due to the fact he doesn't know how to and is more afraid he'd mess it up (we gotta go bald moment).

• liu was NOT sent to a jail when he took the blame for jeff but instead a boarding school for troubled youth where he may or may have not discovered he may have been bisexual.

• after dying and being revived by a mortician [SUSAN] who was all too curious about death, he met [BALAAM (SULLY)] who had used his jiangshi state against him and encouraged him to eat the woman so she could have her soul.

• after trading a part of his soul and entering a contract with [BALAAM(SULLY] his memory is EXTREMELY bad, similar to a goldfish he's constantly forgetting things and doesn't actually remember how he died outside of the autopsy report. He doesn't remember jeff but he knows he had a brother and that he needs to find him. Even in death he still needs to take the role of worrying for him.

• jeff cannot stand hearing classical music or anything with piano, due to it reminding him of liu and how guilty he is.

• jeff once tried to play violin again but due to his nerves being so badly damaged and the face he was missing his finger on one hand he couldn't play it perfectly, it caused him to have a melt down and he in rage he smashed it to pieces.

[chasingshadowsblog]

"When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." - Embracing your childhood in the 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe'

CS Lewis dedicated the first book in his beloved Chronicles of Narnia series to his goddaughter Lucy with the foresight that, "some day you will be old enough to read fairy tales again." He understood that, although she was growing too old for "childish things" now, some day she would look back on them again with a new appreciation and an old fondness. Although we all go through this process of leaving our childhoods behind they are always there for us to return to and by doing so we may find a joy and simple pleasure that we haven't felt for a long time. What makes the film version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe such a successful adaptation is its understanding and wielding of Lewis' these ideas. The Chronicles of Narnia is, famously, Christian allegory but channelled, in the film version at least, through the Pevensie sibling's individual connections to their childhoods and how this affects their belief in Narnia and in themselves. Each of the four Pevensies experiences a journey revolving around these ideas; Peter is still willing to be a child but is forced into early maturity by war, Susan strives to act older in order to protect her siblings, Edmund wants to be seen as an equal to his older brother, while Lucy, the only sibling who doesn't stray away from her childhood, must endure her siblings' lack of belief. A great strength of the film is director Andrew Adamson's commitment to the childish, fairy tale aspects of the story as well as its ideas of faith. He does not diminish his characters or the nature of the story in order to be taken more seriously, but rather draws on their youth to evoke the sense of terror in war or wonder in discovering a magical new world. Only a child could introduce us to Narnia, with the open, wide-eyed wonder necessary to translate the excitement of being on a practical set into the magic of stepping into a fantasy world. It is their youth as well that makes the Pevensies all the more heroic for stepping up and meeting their duties, whether that is taking care of each other in Professor Kirke's house, trekking across Narnia to rescue Edmund from the White Witch or standing at the head of an army - Peter is baby-faced under his armour but never comes across as silly because we've seen the internal journey he had to go through to reach this point and because the adult characters around him are allowed (by the film) to believe in him as a leader. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe manages to respect the source material, the views of its authour, and its four lead actors by unashamedly embracing its childishness and letting the characters know that it's okay to embrace theirs as well.

"Good man." As the eldest sibling, but still only a child himself, Peter is caught between two worlds. He is the eldest male figure in the house, but not their father; he is a young man witnessing his country at war but still a boy too young to enlist; he is tasked with taking care of his younger siblings but has no idea how to, "Promise me you'll look after them" "I will, Mum." Still, as much as Peter is unable for the responsibility placed on him, he never stops trying to keep the promise he made to his mother. When the Professor tries to offer Peter and Susan help with Edmund and Lucy he initially turns away, insisting that they can "handle it", his mother tasked him with protecting his siblings and, as ill-equipped as he is, he won't share the burden with anyone else. Peter is heart-breakingly aware of the roles that others believe he should be filling - protector, fighter, king - but also of his own limitations; he is unable to control Edmund and is constantly criticised by Susan for failing to take care of the two younger Pevensies, "Well, that was well-handled." His frustrations, hesitations and fears - "Why can't you just do what you're told?" - are all part of this understanding of himself that he doesn't have what it takes; he is not their father and Edmund doesn't have to listen to him; he is not their mother, no matter how much Susan expects him to be, and he is not a king or warrior, no matter how much the people of Narnia need him to be, "We can't go to war without you!" At the train station Peter watches soldiers passing by, not with eagerness but trepidation; he quietly refuses Beaver's call-to-arms, "We just want our brother back", and diminishes himself when Aslan tries to give him courage, "I couldn't even protect my own family". As Peter's responsibilities mount so does his sense of guilt. He is none of these things (and he shouldn't have to be, he is a thirteen-year-old boy) and his guilt stems from the fact that part of him doesn't want to be either; he may hold his sword up in defense of his siblings, but he has little desire to use it. What is most admirable about Peter, is that he steps up anyway. In the woods, Susan and Lucy cling to him when they believe they're about to be attacked and whenever they are about to be attacked Peter pulls out his sword in spite of his fear and does his best to defend them; depending on where the danger lies, Peter is seen taking either the front or rear of the group, and after gaining the confidence to take up the mantle of high-king he tries to convince his siblings to go home while he stays behind to help the Narnians fight the White Witch, "I promised Mum I'd keep you three safe. But it doesn't mean I can't stay behind and help." In spite of all his guilt and trepidation, Peter meets the challenges expected of him and grows in the process. He kills Maugrim at the urging of Aslan and the Narnians "Stay your weapons. This is Peter’s battle" and it is after this point that he begins to fit himself into the roles expected of him. Although Peter had no wish to kill Maugrim - the act of taking a life being such a humongous responsibility and step into adulthood - it is through this act of protecting his sisters that he learns that he is capable of more than he initially believed, that he can protect the people who rely on him. While Peter meets his first duels holding his sword out far in front of him, keeping a distance between himself and his opponents, in the final battle he runs head on against the White Witch after she attacks Edmund, throwing his whole body into the task. Peter is forced into maturity by a war in both worlds and he does not get to re-discover his childhood in the way that Susan and Edmund do, nor does he need to. Throughout the film, Peter remains tapped into his childhood through his playfulness and curiosity, and when he is forced to let it go and be the adult, he remains connected to it through his relationship with Lucy.

Lucy is the sibling Peter is most at ease with; he comforts her with gentle words when she's upset, holds her hand and carries her on his back when they need to run; when they're all bored in the Professor's house, he gives in immediately to her pleas to play hide-and-seek and does so with a smile on his face. At her age, Lucy's needs are simple ones of comfort and a familiar presence but they are needs that Peter is capable of fulfilling and he is happy to be that presence for her. He is more patient than Susan when Lucy first comes back from Narnia, "We don't all have your imagination, Lu", he follows her lead when they all cross through the wardrobe, "Then Mr. Tumnus it is!" and is the only one of the three older siblings who throws himself into the world of Narnia as easily as Lucy did, "He says he knows the fawn." Peter embraces Narnia with joy and curiosity and only pulls back when there is a chance his list of responsibilities will grow longer. For a time, at least, Peter wants to experience the world as a child until those responsibilities catch up with him. After killing Maugrim, Peter does not get the chance to be a child again like Suan and Edmund, but his childhood is not something he ever shies away from. In terms of Lewis' dedication, Peter has crossed over to the other side of adulthood and is ready to appreciate childish things for the source of joy that they are. He remains tapped into his childhood throughout the film in his curiosity, playfulness, his belief in Aslan and his relationship with Lucy. It is fitting, then, that when the adult Pevensies return to their own world and back into the children they were, Peter is the first to follow Lucy through the wardrobe.

"We used to have fun together, didn't we?" As the second oldest sibling and eldest daughter, Susan attempts to make up for the areas where Peter is lacking, an act that is self-imposed as she is not given the same responsibilities as her brother. At the train station, her mother asks her to be a "big girl" but not a 'woman' and doesn't ask Susan to look after everyone as she does Peter. Susan isn't asked but she tries, anyway, to be more grown-up and responsible for the sake of her siblings, particularly during those times when Peter isn't. When he's distracted by soldiers at the station, Susan organises their tickets and smiles politely at the collector; during their first night at the Professor's house, she notices that Lucy is upset and must point it out to Peter; she orders Edmund to bed and Lucy to stop talking about her trip to Narnia, "That's enough, Lucy!" and admonishes Peter for not doing a good enough job with their younger siblings. She delivers phrases and mannerisms that she has likely picked up from her mother - "We could all use the fresh air" - and, in true adult fashion, manages to invent a game that is even more boring than their actual boredom. Like Edmund, Susan wants to separate herself from her childhood and be an adult but out of a desire to be helpful, but, she is also like Peter in that, whether consciously or not, she latches onto childish outlets.She, like Peter is caught between two worlds; she wants to be an adult but without taking on the larger responsibilities of adulthood - she has yet to learn that acting like an adult and being mature are two very different things. She tells the Professor why Lucy is upset because she wants to sort out the issue but also looks for an adult's help in doing so. When they arrive in Narnia, she urges them to turn around again then later uses that as an excuse to blame Peter when things go wrong, "None of this would have happened if you had just listened to me in the first place!" For want of a real adult figure, Susan expects Peter to fill this role since that is what their mother asked of him. When Lucy cries their first night at the Professor's house, Susan is the first to notice but nudges Peter to do something about it then later scolds him for failing to help Edmund without having tried to intervene herself, "Well, that was nicely handled." While Susan expects herself to act like an adult nobody else does, so, when things go wrong she is able to blame Peter who is supposed to be their stand-in adult. She maintains this attitude throughout the journey where she can be seen acting grown-up, but in small ways that she can handle. She helps Mrs. Beaver pack food for them when the others are standing around staring, urges them all to go home, comes to terms with the fantasy world by throwing logic at it (and gets teased for it), and tries to convince Peter to listen to Maughrim if it means keeping them alive. It is only when the children meet Aslan and Susan shares the responsibilty of losing Edmund that she really acts maturely. By taking on some of the responsibility, Susan does a grown-up thing and so is finally able to stop acting like one. Once she does so she is able to relax and revert back to her childhood. She plays with Lucy in the water, follows her to the Stone Table (beginning of the movie Susan wouldn't have let her sister leave the camp) and feels the loss of Aslan as much as her sister does. It is only a short amount of time, but, as soon as Susan stops trying to act like a grown-up she is able to embrace the wonder of Narnia as fully and freely as Lucy and Peter do.

"When are you going to grow up?" Like Susan, Edmund is desperate to be seen as a grown-up, or, at least, as an equal to Peter. He frequently pushes back against his mother's insistence that Peter look after him and tries to separate himself from Lucy. However, unlike Susan who channels her desire to be an adult into keeping them safe, Edmund does the quickest and easiest thing he can do which is to be nasty to Lucy. He also tends to act rashly without considering the consequences. We can see this in the beginning when he opens the curtains during the air raid, then runs back into the house to get the photo of their father forcing Peter to run after him, nearly getting them both killed, "You're so selfish! You could have got us killed!" In Narnia, Edmund leaves his siblings behind to find the White Witch with no thought that they might follow him or that he might be putting himself and others in danger. None of which is to critcise Edmund, it is, rather, the point: Edmund, more than Peter or Susan and exactly like Lucy, is a child. It is why it's so easy for the White Witch to reel him in and, to his credit, it is also why he so easily reverts back to childhood after reuniting with his siblings. "What's done is done. There is no need to speak to Edmund about what is past." After being rescued by the Narnians, Edmund speaks privately with Aslan and although we never hear what is said between them, Edmund comes out softer around the edges, someone who has learned a lesson but has returned to what we can assume is a version of his old self. Even when he was antagonistic and reticent, Edmund showed behaviour that gave us a glimpse of the boy he likely was before the war. He and Peter stifle their laughter together when Mrs. MacReady gives out to Susan and bond again later when he teases Susan about her game, "Is it Latin for 'worst game ever invented'?" and after complaining for all of a second, he throws himself fully into the game of hide-and-seek with his siblings. After speaking with Aslan, Edmund returns to his siblings a more mature version of himself, "I've seen what the White Witch can do. And I've helped her do it. And we can't leave these people behind to suffer for it", but also one that is ready to stop fighting his older brother, "Then you'll have to lead us." The tension between Peter and Edmund plays a large part in Edmund's development; Peter is someone who angers Edmund, but also who he wants to be treated equally by. Edmund's acceptance of Peter as his older brother and leader is the clearest indication that he has accepted his role as the second youngest, allowing himself to take the lead from Peter, and when Peter doubts himself, Edmund is the one to reassure him, "Aslan believed you could. And so do I." When Peter orders Edmund to retreat from the battle, hedoesn't listen but launches himself at the White Witch distracting her from Peter. Edmund considers following Peter's order for a moment then decides against it and while his attack on the White Witch is as impulsive as running into the house during the air raid, it includes that moment's thought. Edmund has learned from his experiences and decides to do the impulsive thing anyway, this time as an act of protection endangering no one but himself, "Peter's not king yet!" As well as maturing in his thoughtfulness, Edmund returns to his childhood by embracing his siblings and his place among them. He stops teasing Susan, accedes to Peter's decision-making (when he sees that it's right) and when Lucy is the first one to run up and hug him after they've reunited, he accepts it easily.

Of the four siblings, Lucy undergoes the least amount of develoment because she doesn't need to; of the fours siblings, only Lucy is unafraid to be a child. Even when she is teased and told off by her older siblings, Lucy never tries to change who she is. She cries and laughs and comforts and experiences wonder and joy with an openness that only a child could possess; she stands her ground, argues on behalf of the Narnians and calls her siblings out on their mistakes and behaviour, "Stop it! None of this is going to help Edmund!" She is Queen Lucy the Valiant because she is never afraid to be who she is, a lesson her brothers and sister each must learn during their time in Narnia. It is only fitting then, that she takes the first step into Narnia, that she, more than anyone, is tapped into its moods and intricacies. She understands that the mice chewing Aslan's ropes are doing it out of love and respect; she thinks to use the draiads to send a message to Peter and Edmund during the battle, and notices, when everyone else is celebrating, that Aslan looks sad after his liason with the White Witch. From the moment she steps foot in it, Lucy loves Narnia and Narnia loves her back and her belief - in herself, in her siblings, in Narnia - is continuously rewarded. Lucy doesn't look for proof but she accepts it with open arms when it appears in front of her and so she is most at ease with herself and the world around her.

The Chronicles of Narnia is, ultimately, about faith; faith in yourself, in those around you, in Aslan, and in Narnia itself. Lucy is strong in her faith and this carries her throughout all of her adventures in Narnia; Peter waivers in his faith in himself and must work hard to develop it; Edmund tries to separate himself from his faith but comes back to it with an even stronger conviction; Susan's faith means so much to her that it causes her pain and so she tries to forget it. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe might be Christian in nature, but its themes are universal. Lewis does not want everyone to find inner peace in God and Christianity, but he does want us to find it in something and the series advocates for faith in general as a path toward inner peace and decency. How that faith manifests is unimportant - Peter has an easy time believing in Aslan but not in his own capabilities and Lucy believes in Father Christmas as much as she does Aslan. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe symbolises this finding of peace in a connection to childhood, but it is a peace that can be found anywhere - in religion, in other people, in trees, in fairy tales or Santa Clause. It doesn't matter where or how you find your find your childhood, only that you open yourself up to the opportunity to do so, "Try me!"

[stranger-rants]

Blocked another Anti repeating the same tired talking points.

"Billy showed no empathy towards other people" is not only phenomenally incorrect, but assumes that low/no empathy folks are inherently violent. Billy is violent, but he does show empathy towards others on a pretty frequent basis. While his trauma could have impacted his ability to feel and express it, he does still show it multiple times.

Billy does empathize with Max, even though he doesn't like her. Not only does he warn Max about Neil in his own way, he tells Neil that she should be able to take care of herself at the risk of him getting slapped. He even tries to reason with Neil in order to keep Neil and Susan calm, understanding that Max going missing is a problem.

We know from Billy's childhood that he also tried to protect his mother from his father's abuse. The sad part about it was that he was abandoned soon after to take his mother's place. That didn't exactly teach him that his actions driven by empathy would result in mutual benefit. No one cared what happened to him, so it was hard for him to care for others.

Despite his violence, Billy fought hard against the Mindflayer in the grandest displays of empathy in the show. He didn't want to kill, and he tried multiple times to slow its power. When the Mindflayer tells of its plans, we repeatedly see Billy crying because it's not what he wanted. He knows killing is wrong, and he doesn't want to hurt people.

Billy's connection with Eleven was entirely possible because it tapped into his capacity to care for other people, and he stood up against pure evil enduring a painful certain death to no benefit to himself. That wouldn't be possible if he didn't care. Anyone who suggests he died for selfish reasons is delusional, because he could have let the Mindflayer win.

Billy has maladaptive coping mechanisms and he doesn't know how to express himself all the time, but it doesn't mean he has no capacity for empathy. You don't need to flat out lie about his ability to feel empathy in order to be distressed by his violent actions. It just shows your own inability to care about and understand survivors like him.

This is all so ironic because the majority of the characters in this show approach Billy with no empathy. The only two people who care about him being hurt are Max and Eleven. Everyone else does not care if he's beaten or shot at or crashed into if it means stopping the Mindflayer. No one empathized with Billy and that's part of the problem.

[plantdad-dante]

Book #132 - Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

(I hope 14 year old me is aware that doing that book presentation was not a mistake, you just wanted to tell your peers about the weird christmas book that you love and it's okay if it didn't go well, you still stood up for the thing you enjoyed and that's really heartwarming and nice, actually, and you were right, okay, you were right in loving it!!!)

I'm back. I'm crying. I'm feeling shrimp emotions. Hi.

Banjo lives. He gets to live without being used or abused or manipulated. The match girl lives. She gets to have a future (an immediate future of "grub at the Watch house", but a future nonetheless). That little girl from The Maul gets a sickass sword and is presumably very happy with it. The Beggars get some fancy food that may have actual nutritional value. Hex gets a teddybear. Gawain gets to play marbles with the glass eye of a serial killer. A happy Hogswatch night for everyone.

... except for the other criminals who got murdered by the Tooth Fairy's nightmare tower. Yeah, okay. (which, their story is mostly "horrible criminals are reverting back to children in the face of horror, haha", but jesus, their childhoods are dark. everytime the Lilywhite brothers bring up their mum's funeral, they're like "we saw her be burried" and someone will think "I bet you watched it closely", and like. hng. they needed to make sure that their mother, their teacher, their abuser, was definitely 100% dead and gone and well deep beneath the earth. I'm Normal about this.)

Also, listen, I, too, love "Humans need fantasy to be human", but I feel we need to put it back into its full context more often. The context of "Old gods do new jobs" (in general, just... the Hogfather being an old Solstice god); "The sun would not have risen [...] a mere ball of flaming gas would have illuminated the world"; "and yet you think that a bed is a normal thing"; "you need to believe in things that aren't true. how else can they become". Also, Susan, early on, yells at Death that Hogswatch is a time for "humans to be human", and I love echos like this.

Gods, I could quote this book for ages.

E.g.: When Susan visits Violet's flat, the narration describes how horrendous the thing is, just from a renting perspective alone, and notes "It was amazing how many people spent their whole lives in places where they never intended to stay". Which.... definitely hasn't gotten more relatable since the 90s. Definitely. Not....

Anyway, to wind this up - the most important thing about this book, the thing that made me cry like a helpless child, is the following realization I had: Very close to the end, Susan asks Death why he did it (save Hogswatch), and he pauses, then answers "I think it's something to do with harvests" ... which is a nonsensical thing to say in the context of this book alone, BUT. But. What is the quote from Reaper Man that has rearranged my brain matter for all future time?

"What can the harvest hope for, if not the care of the reaper man?"

Like, he took that to heart. All the way. And I recall all those little moments in the book where he is happy, positively giddy, that he can give people joy. People are happy to see him! They say Thank You! And they leave again, alive! He practically jumps at the chance to save the match girl. He did it all because he cares, because he has to care, because he is Death, and if Death doesn't care, then there might as well be nothing there at all, and what then? There need to be humans to need to care about, who need fantasy to be human, and so he is going to save fantasy, he is going to save the Hogfather.

Listen. I'm a jaded-ass motherfucker who could not give less of a shit about Christmas, but this book. This book gets it? And I... I just... Yeah. Happy Hogswatch.

[shutyourfacemonsterlover]

Thoughts on Susan Kay's Phantom, part 1: Madeleine

So I thought it'd be more diligent, and my analysis would look more organized if i observed the book as a whole, but considering how each chapter observes in a different facet of his life, with different characters and settings, maybe it'd also be interesting to observe each chapter as its own story. (and my ADHD is out of control and i wanna talk)

And I know the book is...flawed, but it would be interesting to observe and point out what works, what doesn't, and so.

Really saddened there aren't enough fairy tale motifs or dragon imagery tho.

I like this picture imagery Kay suggest with Erik's family at first, that had it not been for tragedy maybe he would've had been a loving, supportive family from the start. His grandfathers and parent sound absolutely sweet, and maybe would've helped with the child from the start.

I also like the nods to the novel and the musical (there's a mention of a grasshopper and mirrors), and a lot of Erik's genius and intellect.

The only thing I kinda don't get is a few elements that i feel didn't work as much as Kay wanted.

Madeleine could be a fascinating character to analyze, since there are shards of a tragic, complex character there. A privileged woman who lost everything in the span of a few months. Knowing how unfair society was back then, how she would resent everything, from her parents to her child to how she was raised. Maybe raise the same question the original novel and musical does, if Erik can still be loved after showin all his flaws; see if we can sympathize with Maddy similarly. But i feel she never develops besides "nasty shallow spoiled brat" and "horrible abusive mother".

Second is Erik's character, in particular his level of intelligence at such a young age. i understand Kay wanted to focus on the idea that he was a "genius", but my suspension of disbelief is a little high when i remember 7 year olds aren't as articulate as he is. (and the mention of him being smart by reading his grandfather's library is a bit of a cop-out). I also feel the moment where he acts "dark" seem a little...strange, like not well thought. i think it's behavior that would appear later on in his life and not so early. If anything he'd be more emotionally / socially stunted and immature than "wicked", if he's lived such an isolated life.

And the elephant in the room...The incestual elements.

I kinda get where Kay is going, and how she wanted to make Erik's abandonment the thesis of her novel, but it comes off as something rather unnerving with the large and erotic focus it gets. (but i guess, if the original source material can play with the Electra complex, this can do it with the Oedipus complex)

It also paints a more tragic picture of Erik, in that no matter which woman he loved, he would always be hunting for the shadow of his mother, and never really love the woman for what she is. And yeah, it's tragic, I get Kay wanted us to sympathize him to the ultimate, but it also diminishes any potential love he might feel for Christine (or anyone else in the realm of phantasies)

I also feel it's kinda incorrect. I might get this wrong, but i often heard children with abusive parents would later grow up to find partners that are very different in personality from their abusers- ea finding the love they were denied in their youth (and that it's often when children have absent parents that they go in search of their "Missing parent figure" in their partners as adults- i might have it wrong, seeing as i'm not a psychologist, but hey, neither is Kay). So Erik would go for somebody kind and gentle, who wouldn't strike him like Madeleine did.

[alwayschasingrainbows]

Hi, @alwayschasingrainbows. I have a question for you again. Do you think if Anne had died after Anne and Gilbert were married, Gilbert would have married someone else? This quote got me thinking:

ANNE, trying to laugh:- “Would you marry as quick as that if I died, Gilbert?” DR. BLYTHE, really laughing:- “Quicker, if Susan would have me. Isn’t it about time for supper?

THE BLYTHES ARE QUOTED

Please don't rush to answer. Thank you.

Thank you for the question!

I must admit that my first reaction was a firm "no, never". This type of behavior simply doesn't suit Gilbert's personality, especially since in Anne of Ingleside he openly confessed to Anne: "I couldn't live without you. Always you give me strength."

And, judging from Gilbert's own reactions each time Anne was close to death, he truly meant it:

(When Anne was in danger during the birth of their first baby): "Gilbert, his face gray and haggard from his night’s agony, came down to tell Marilla and Susan." (Anne's House of Dreams).

(When Anne wasn't recovering quickly enough): "But try to be brave—for Gilbert’s sake. He’s so worried about you. You aren’t getting strong as fast as you should." (Anne's House of Dreams).

(When Anne was seriously ill): "Dad was sitting by the library table with his head in his hands. The nurse went in and Nan heard her say she thought the crisis would come that night." (Anne of Ingleside).

We never saw Gilbert's reaction during the birth of their youngest son, Shirley (which was another life-threatening situation for Anne), but we can assume that it was similar to quoted ones.

What is more, Gilbert was a Blythe and - as Marilla had once noticed - took after his father both in appearance and in personality. And, if we trust Mrs. Rachel Lynde: "Old Mr. Blythe never held up his head after her death...just hadn't anything left to live for. The Blythes were always like that...always set their affections too much on earthly things". (Anne of Ingleside).

Side note: Gilbert's father died only a year after his wife's death.

I don't think Gilbert would have ever married again if Anne had died. Susan would have been quite capable of running the household and taking care of the children.

The question is: would Gilbert have been able to live if Anne had died? It might be speculated that he fell so ill in Anne of The Island because he pushed himself too hard after Anne refused to marry him. It would be even even harder for him to deal with a death of his beloved wife - a woman whom he had hoped to spend the rest of his life with, a mother of his children, who was a sense of his entire existance.

On the other hand; perhaps his children would have been his reasons to keep on living. I believe that Gilbert would have felt that Anne had wanted (needed) him to live for their children.

Because what would have become of them if both of their parents were gone? They didn't have any close relatives; of course there were Marilla, Diana, Leslie, Miss Cordelia. But I don't think either of them would have taken more than one or two children; especially since the kids were still so young and needed so much attention. So, the siblings would have to be separated. They might not have much chances of getting a sufficient education or upbringing, too.

That being said, L. M. Montgomery provided quite a few examples of fathers who were not able to take care of their children on their own and therefore had to remarry; Mr. Meredith (Rainbow Valley), Mr. Irving (Anne of Avonlea), Edward Beck (The Blue Castle).

We have an example of Emily's father - Douglas Starr, whose health suddenly deteriorated after his wife had died (Emily of New Moon). We have an example of fathers abandoning their children because of something that their mothers had done (Dr. Burnley from Emily of New Moon, partly Andrew Stuart from Jane of Lantern Hill).

But we also have the examples of fathers taking care of their children and being hands-on dads, in spite of the fact their wives were not there (Douglas Starr, Andrew Stuart, Old Shaw - from a short story "An Old Shaw's Girl"), perhaps (to some extent) Archibald Murray from Emily of New Moon, after his second wife's death (although it might be speculated that his older children were raising his youngest - Juliet).

But I got side-tracked again. To answer your question: I can't imagine Gilbert ever marrying again. He seems to be a type who fall in love only once in a lifetime.

[rainintheevening]

She expects them to feel different, after three months, but it's a different 'different' from what she was expecting, though if she were honest, she wouldn't be able to say exactly what she was expecting.

She enjoys the train ride through the country, through the bare trees and dark cold earth, and she can relax a little against the carriage window, close her weary eyes and rest. Then the train spits her out into the cold air onto a tiny country platform, and there are her children! Rushing at her, Lucy in the lead as she would have expected, and she drops to her knees to take the full force of Lucy's onslaught in her heart and her arms.

"Mummy!" Lucy cries into her collar, and Helen's vision blurs. She blinks it back, looks up at Susan and Edmund standing over her, both smiling, Susan on the verge of tears.

When she stands, Lucy still clinging to her side like a limpet, there is more hugging and kissing, and she is surprised, but far more grateful, for Ed’s tight squeeze and kiss to her cheek. Susan clutches her tightly, and there are a few tears on her part as well.

"Where’s Peter?" Helen asks at last, turning this way and that to search for her eldest, notes both Edmund and her luggage have also disappeared.

"Oh, he's with Fee and the carriage," Lucy says, pulling out a handkerchief to dry her face, and smiling brightly.

And when they step down to the roadway there is a two-wheeled cart and a grey horse, and Peter holding its head, half-turned to speak with Edmund who stands close beside, and then Peter looks up and meets her gaze, and he smiles so bright it's as if the sun has come out. She doesn't miss how he pushes the reins into Edmund's hands before he steps forward to hug her, and he is... taller? Straighter, she can feel strength and muscle in the arms that wrap tight around her, and she lays her head on his shoulder, just for a moment, closes her eyes.

"Alright, Mother?" Peter says, soft, exactly the way Richard always did, and she smiles into his collar.

"Quite," she says, pulling back to kiss his cold-pinked cheek, and she finds she means it.

"Perhaps we should be off?" Edmund suggests. "Don't need Mum getting off on the wrong foot with the MacCready by letting her tea get cold," he adds as they all look at him.

Peter laughs. "Always thinking with your stomach, Ed," and Helen braces herself for the snap, for the offense and the glares and the barbed exchange.

"Well, someone's got to," Ed grins back, and briefly something glows in the chill air between them, something bright and warm, and Helen does not quite dare to relax, but she thinks she might be able to. "If we left everything to you lot," Edmund goes on, "it would nothing but swords and arrows and..."—a glance at Lucy, who is being swung up into the cart in one smooth motion by Peter—"flowers."

"What about hunting?" Susan says, climbing up quite gracefully with Peter's assistance. "Good shooting can make for a good meal."

"And swords can be useful to cut things up," Lucy pipes up, grinning down at Helen, who... does not quite understand.

"Yes, like the bread and butter," Peter says, laughing a little, as he turns to offer his mother a gloved hand. "Hush now, you lot, and we'll get Mother and Ed home for tea before one freezes and the other gets sulky."

"Hey!" Ed yelps, but again he is grinning, and as Helen settles herself in the back of the cart, Lucy squeezing in tight against her side, Susan smiling across at her, the joy and happiness in the air is thicker than the clouds their breath makes, and she sighs, from somewhere deep, and something done up very, very tightly inside her loosens.

She misses whatever else Peter has been saying as he climbs up onto the seat, blurting out, "Oh, Peter. You're driving?"

He smiles over his shoulder, pleased and soft into the face of her embarrassment over stating the obvious. "I've been doing a lot of it lately."

"He does almost all the shopping in the village now," Susan says proudly.

"Got on the good side of the MacCready, so he wouldn't race those farm boys in Kitchers Lane like I suggested," Ed grumbles.

"This isn't a chariot in Rome," Peter says, shaking his head, all exasperated affection. He clicks his tongue. "Chirrup, Fee."

Peter's comment sparks a lively retelling of Ben-Hur, which the children have apparently been reading with Professor Kirke as part of their lessons, peppered with many other comments about the mansion, the Professor, and its other inhabitants. Edmund settles in beside Susan, who wraps an arm around his shoulders, and Helen's stare lingers on them, on their new-found closeness.

Lucy is talking fast, and Helen strokes a hand over her youngest daughter's bare head, finally noticing— "Oh Lucy, your hair has gotten so long!"

Lucy blushes, reaches up to her half-crown of braids, an intricate thing which Helen has never seen before. "I like it long. Not too long of course, never as long as Susan had–"

"Look, I know it's not the most practical," Susan interrupts, "but it can be very pretty. Perhaps someday I'll grow mine as long as my waist."

"Why are girls always thinking about their hair?" Edmund rolls his eyes.

"Why are boys always thinking about their stomachs?"

"Well, an army marches on its stomach, not its head."

"Stop it you two," Peter says over his shoulder, calm, firm, and they leave off their argument at once. "Mum's here, and we want to give her the nicest Christmas she's ever had."

"Ooh, yes!" Lucy bounces suddenly, face lighting up. "Professor Kirke says we can go out into the woods to pick an enormous Christmas tree, and we'll all decorate it–"

"And Ivy told me the MacCready has been saving on sugar," Edmund chimes in, "so we'll have sugar biscuits and plum pudding and even a chocolate cake, she thinks."

"And the Professor said we'll have goose from the farmer Adams," Peter says over his shoulder.

"It‐ it all sounds absolutely delightful." Helen tries to keep the tremble out of her voice, but doesn't quite succeed, judging by the way Susan's smile goes soft, and Lucy squeezes her hand.

The air is crisp and cold, smelling of damp earth and leaf mould, and her children are all smiling, and the pale grey sky is quiet, there are birds chattering in the trees they pass, horses graze in a field, there are no explosions, no planes, no ground shaking under her as she huddles in the dark, and she has to swallow very hard, she would much rather not cry in front of her children...

In the moment of quiet as she bows her head, and grips Lucy's hand very tight, she hears Peter stop humming, and begin to sing.

Venite adoremus, he sings.

Venite adoremus... Susan joins in at once, and then they are all singing around her, voices rising in the December air, joyful and trumphant.

Venite adoremus

Dominum

Helen closes her eyes as her children sing on into the next verse, keeping time with the horse's trot, and the tears that slide down her cheeks are warm.

Lucy stops singing just long enough to press a handkerchief into her mother's hand, smiling up with a whispered, "You need it more than I do."

Magic, she thinks in a bewildered way, it's like magic, all this. Or perhaps even something holy, whatever it is that hangs in the air with their breath, and brightens the browns and dark greens and greys of the countryside, when she looks up from wiping her eyes.

She joins in at last, a little tremulous, but by the fourth verse, she is adding harmonies over Susan's, and they finish 'Adeste Fideles' wish something akin to a shout, a cry of hope and determination that rings through the woods they're passing, and makes the animals lift their heads.

Peter starts in on another before they've had time to draw breath, 'Hark the Harald Angels Sing', and so they ride singing all the rest of the way to the Professor's house, singing in the light and joy of Christmastide, even as evening shadows fall around them.

They are breathless and laughing as Fee slows to a walk, and they come up to the grand old house, spilling golden light into the night, and Helen Pevensie thinks that perhaps she should have hoped for different, rather than expected it, because different can be good, and this... oh, this is truly good.

[night-unfurls-its-splendour]

Susan Kay's 'Phantom' Read: Part I (Madeleine)

I'm gonna start by voicing a deep dislike and annoyance for the endorsements on the back.

"Adds new depth and perspective, moving well beyond the familiar bounds of the story..." -- Publisher's Weekly

... No, it doesn't. It offers ONE person's take while actively circumventing, contradicting and ignoring canon. You can't "add new perspective" to someone else's work by making up your own shit. This is nothing more or less than Fanfiction. And Fanfiction is by no means bad, but just because it follows the basic timeline outlined by the original author, that doesn't make it any more legitimate than any other transformative/derivative work just because it's in book form.

Even more aggravating is this, from School Library Journal:

"Phantom of the Opera fans no longer need to ponder what was in Erik's past, as Kay has created one for him in this deeply moving, poignant story . . . This sad, but beautiful, novel will be especially popular with [those] who have enjoyed the current musical."

I hate that this is actively encouraging readers to accept this dross as canon. "No need to draw your own conclusions, just ape off of this author!"

All of my above statements about how THIS IS VERY MUCH NOT CANON AND SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN CONFLATED WITH LEROUX CANON TO THE EXTENT THAT IT WAS stand.

Like whether you enjoy it or not, IT'S NOT CANON.

Anyway, onto 'Madeleine'

My first question is, did Kay name her this so that later, when Erik talks about marrying Christine at the Madeleine Church, she could point back to this and go "Haha! Mommy issues!"?

Now that's aside...

So, I actually liked the writing quite a bit. There are some decently witty phrases here and a few even made me chuckle.

I personally think she spent way more time than she needed to on Madeleine, who is, I won't mince words here, an OC. There's so many details I just don't want or need.

I will be honest, I think Kay did a good job capturing Erik’s troubling characteristics and applying them what he would perhaps have been like as a child.

My biggest problem is the Renesmee of it all.

I dislike the fact that infant Erik is portrayed as having a kind of consciousness. Of course, Madeleine is an unreliable narrator, so it could easily be that she simply projected an unnatural consciousness onto him out of fear, but I somehow doubt that this is what Kay was aiming for. The way she has Madeleine describe Erik as an infant seems to indicate that, from the moment he was born, he has understood himself to be afflicted and different, which I deeply dislike.

It has always seemed to me, that, whatever skills and gifts Erik employed, Leroux's point was that, under it all, he really was nothing more than a man; that, had he been treated with acceptance, he would not have been very different to any other man. No bizarre consciousness bestowed upon him as a curse on his mother for the sin of vanity made Erik into the haunting soul that he is.

And that really does seem to be the implication here, which is a problem for me. Its one thing to write Erik's mother regarding him as a punishment from God, its quite another to actually support that idea in the text by having him develop, not only intellectually, but physically, beyond the bounds of humanity. Crawling at six months, sure. Speaking at six months and walking at 9? No. Absolutely not. We're not doing this.

Even his deformity is treated as something supernatural (which is REALLY annoying, since we know that Leroux prided himself on even his outlandish writing choices being based in reality and accepted medical knowledge of the time. We KNOW he consulted doctors about potential diseases upon which he could base Erik’s disorder (which is likely either congenital syphilis, or Gunther Disease).

Erik became what he was because he was a child like any other and couldn't understand why he was denied the affection and attention he craved as a basic instinct, what nature dictates as natural; denied his first and most basic human right--a mother's love.

It's so much more meaningful and logical that hope should be drained from him gradually as his mother continually rejects the natural order; that he should gradually come to conclude that he is an exception to Nature's established rules, and this then is what drives Erik to build himself into something extraordinary, using the exceptionally favourable gifts he was granted by God and nature.

Now I've heard about what a bitch Madeleine is, but honestly she's not half as bad as what I was expecting (at least from her own narrative). That she takes the trouble to try and educate him herself is interesting to me, but also kind of silly. Kay grants child!Erik an intellect and developmental speed that is "Nothing short of preturnatural". If you're going to treat him like a supernaturally intelligent being then why spend so much real estate on his education?

I'm also not sold on the idea that canon!Erik's mother would ever have put that much effort into fostering his intellect.

But then in my head-canon, Erik's mother put it about that Erik died in the cradle shortly after his birth and kept him hidden for his entire childhood (which frankly, I think, is the more realistic scenario--but then I would, its my headcanon).

Also, you remember when I talked about Kay ignoring and contradicting canon?

Erik has "mis-matched eyes" in this book. That's from the musical. Also he's Christened a "Erik" here (his mother tells the priest to give the baby his own name). Erik isn't actually Erik's birth name in Leroux. It's a name he adopted "By chance" in his adult life.

Overall I found this whole section very tedious, but perhaps the most upsetting thing about it for me was this.

I was told that Erik's mother is a bitch (big surprise, we all knew that).

So I was expecting gross neglect, constant verbal abuse, physical abuse etc.

Well it was surprisingly light on all of that. In fact Madeleine is self-aware enough, with the help of another OC, her friend Marie (who is the only person in this book with any rights, imho) that she's lacking as a mother, and feels guilty about this.

She even ***Spoilers*** comes around to a point where she comes to terms with having Erik for a son... just in time for him to run away after his beloved dog gets killed by a mob of local boys.

What NO ONE MENTIONED and what I found just absolutely, insane, unnecessary, and repugnant, is the treatment of Erik's voice as being inherently sexual from birth.

This excerpt, from page 7, describing Madeleine's first experience of hearing Erik cry as a newborn, sets the tone for the first half of her narrative:

And then he cried! I have no words to describe the first sound of his voice and the extraordinary response it evoked in me. I had always considered the cry of a newborn to be utterly sexless--piercing, irritating, curiously unattractive. But his voice was a strange music that brought tears rushing to my eyes, strangely seducing my body so that my breasts ached with a primitive and overwhelming urge to hold him close.

And is followed by these little gems:

I had begun to be afraid of the manner in which his voice was manipulating me. It seemed evil somehow, almost . . . incestuous.

Whatever spiritual ecstasy Father Mansart derived from those throbbing notes, my response was utterly and unequivocally physical.

The words were for God; but the voice, the exquisite, irresistible voice was for me and it pulled like a magnet somewhere deep and unseen inside my body.

I find these so particularly repugnant because after a little while this fixation with Madeleine sexualizing her son's voice... just stops. It goes nowhere, and there's no real reason given for why it stops being a theme. I'm completely baffled and disturbed as to why this is in here at all, especially because Leroux describes Erik's voice in many ways (angelic, sweet, beautiful, pure, triumphant, powerful, sinister) but he never explicitly attributes sexual attraction to it, even from Christine's perspective. Christine is so viscerally transported by the beauty of his song because it is beautiful music and she's a freak for music, not because his voice's default setting is "automatic aphrodisiac".

Erik does seduce Christine with his voice, that's absolutely true, but only because that's what he intends it to do, not because that's just what it does on its own.

Masterpost

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

The One I've Been Waiting For {Part 12 of 13}

Word count: 2 K

Summary: Billy Hargrove is just one of the many students you're supposed to help. The last thing you expect from your interaction is that he'll start flirtt with you... Much less that Billy would stir up feelings you'd rather keep hidden. Despite the mutual sentiments that soon enough start to grow, there are a lot of reasons for whatever it is to be left alone, and one of them is your age...

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

A/N: In this story, reader is 5 years older than Billy, who's 18.

•••

The Journey Ahead

 You look like three kids, caught red-handed doing something wrong. But you're not kids, and this man isn't going to lecture you. He's just mad at Billy, for no reason. And probably mad at you too.

 Billy is quick to pull you, hiding you behind his shoulder.

 “Do I need to repeat myself?” Neil barks, stepping forward. “I told you I don't want your sluts under my roof!”

 “She's not a slut.” Billy yells back, and you hold his arm.

 “B, don't.” You whisper in his ear.

 Neil suddenly laughs, a dirty, disturbing noise. “I know you, little girl.” He says, a finger pointing at you. “You came here disguised as a teacher to Maxine.” He giggles. “What were you teaching Billy, huh? How to properly screw a girl? Because I need no lessons about that.”

 Billy doesn't say anything, he just moves.

 The next thing you know is that he's onto Neil, throwing a punch on his jaw that makes him fall back. But the asshole stands back up, and that's when the fight begins.

 Your eyes can barely follow the commotion. All you know is that Billy gets hit as much as he hits his father back. “Billy, please, stop!” Susan yells, and you give her a hard look.

 You have nothing against her, but right now, seeing as she seems to worry more about Neil, the cheater, who beats up his son, snaps a button on you. So you walk over to her, slapping her hard in the face. Her head jerks to the side, hair flipping violently. “You're an imbecile for marrying this man!” You shout, tears staining your cheeks.

 Turning your attention back to the two men, you know you have to intervene. But you'll probably just get hurt, and distract Billy, making him get hurt as well. You just want to leave this place, you just want to go home. Take Billy home, away from this constant nightmare he lives in. “Billy, please.” You beg, wiping some tears away. “Let's go.”

 “You're damn right!” Neil grunts, giving Billy a hard push, and making him step away. “I want you out of this damn house.” He barks, making his way inside. Billy follows him, and so do you, trying to reach him. But he's too fast, but you understand what Neil means when you get to Billy's bedroom. That devil is pulling all of Billy's stuff off his wardrobe and drawers, making a huge mess. “I want you out! I'm done with you and your filthy cunts!” As Neil screams, you look at Billy.

 He's frozen, eyes on the clothes scattered around. It doesn't even look like he's breathing. Then, you know exactly what to do. There's no doubt, no second thoughts. Billy is getting out of this house right now.

 Without saying anything, you go for his bed, pulling the two pieces of baggage he has underneath, and putting them on the bed. He's already looking at you when you glance at him, utterly confused. “Pack your things.” You tell him, your voice barely being heard above all the insults Neil is vomiting.

 But Billy understands, and, hesitantly at first, he joins you, taking all of his stuff and shoving them inside the baggage.

 Then, whatever Neil says doesn't matter. He's still yelling, but it doesn't matter. Nothing else matters but the fact that you're both going home.

 After he rushes to the bathroom to get his things, you're both off, quickly leaving the house under Neil's insults.

 “Wait!” Someone calls, and you both look over your shoulders. Max comes walking fast with pieces of baggage of herself, her mother right behind her. “Please, I can't stay here anymore.”

 Billy looks at you, and you simply nod. “C'mon.”

 She doesn't take half a second to move. “Maxine, please.” Susan cries as you put everything in the trunk. “We can fix it. We can-”

 “No, we can't. I don't wanna live in this hell anymore.” Max mutters as she gets into the back seat. Then, both you and Billy get inside the car, and he drives away.

°°°

 You were still in Hawkins, but it felt like Billy was in California already. The moment you got home, as you helped him settle down, giving him some space among your things, you felt he was much lighter. You could see it in his eyes, on his posture, that a burden has been lifted.

 And even more, as the days pass by.

 The news got out fast, and people started talking. But you don't care.

 The only important thing now is that Billy is happy. And so is Max, because she's been living with you, ever since that day. Susan comes to visit her, and you have nothing against it. Neil is the one you'd have kicked out if he ever dared to come here. But Susan is ok, you don't enjoy her presence very much, but you manage to be kind. She wants Maxine to go back home, but the girl refuses.

 As Summer draws near, you start making more solid plans. The transferring papers are settled, and next semester will be at the University of California. Billy's final exams are coming, and you've been helping him get the best grades possible. But he's not as restless now about going to California, but he still can't stop talking about it. And you're excited too. It'll be something new, something adventurous. And you want to do this, maybe as bad as he wants it.

°°°

 Billy has the map on the kitchen table, the road he'll use to get from Hawkins to California highlighted with a red marker. He could do it in one go, but he doesn't want to make her anxious. So he'll drive around eight hours every day and stop for the night.

 “There are several hotels on the way there, so we won't have problems with finding places to crash.” He says as (Y/N) bends over the map, eyes following the red line.

 “It's a long way.” She says, a finger above California. “I never did anything like that. It'll be fun.” She looks up at him and smiles, the smile that always melts his heart, every single time.

 “It sure will.” Billy walks over to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into his chest. “But if you think it's too much to spend all that time on the road you can go by plane and we'll meet there.” Billy wants to make sure she's comfortable, he knows how anxious she can get.

 “No, baby. I wanna go with you. I'll be fine.” (Y/N) holds the collar of his shirt, those kind eyes locked on his. “I feel safe with you behind the wheel and we'll take turns so we won't get too tired.”

 Knowing she trusts him with a car, despite his reputation of driving like crazy, makes him smile. When she's with him, Billy keeps it safe, always under the speed limit. “Alright. But if you feel anxious or restless tell me and we'll make a pause.”

 “Alright.” She says, mirroring his tone before tiptoeing to kiss him.

 “Hey, lovebirds. I need to talk to you.” Maxine says, making Billy a little annoyed. But despite the sassy nickname, her tone is weird, and that makes him look at her a little worried. It's funny how (Y/N) changed him even regarding his step-sister. Billy doesn't treat her like shit anymore and even calls her sister now because that's how he feels. (Y/N) made him see things better, and she healed him. And he loves her for that.

 She makes him feel loved. And everything he wants is to feel her feel the same way.

 °°°

 “What's going on?” Billy asks, folding the map as you sit down, across from Max. His tone is still a little harsh, but you know now that it's just because he's worried and wants to know what's wrong already.

 “School is almost over. And you're both going to California.” She starts, and you nod. “So. I wanna go.”

 “What?” Billy exclaims, sitting down next to you.

 “Wait. Let's take it slow.” You speak, touching his shoulder. “If you wanna spend the Summer with us, that's fine.”

 “No.” She shakes her head, looking down at her folded hands before raising her eyes at you. “I wanna go back. For good.”

 “Why?” Billy cuts in again. “What happened to make you want to go?”

 “I don't wanna stay here with those two, ok?” She raises her voice.

 “The two of you will calm the hell down, alright?” You raise your voice as well, gesturing at them. “Billy, shut up for a moment. Maxine–” You stand up, walk around the table, and sit next to her. “–Going back to California isn't that simple. You'll have to leave your friends behind. And on top of that, we can't just take you, that would be kidnapping and I'm sure Neil would go to the police the moment we cross the town's limits.”

 “I know.” She sighs. “I don't wanna leave the guys. I don't wanna leave Lucas, but I thought about it, all the pros and cons... Of course, I'll come to visit them and they'll visit me too.” Max sounds like she has everything figured out. But still, you can't just take her. That's not how the world works.

 “That's great, but still we can't just–”

 “You can if you have a document. One that makes you guys my... Legal Guardian.” She burst out, smiling. “Crazy shit, I know. But I did some research and it's possible.” She stands up, running somewhere, and you're left alone with a wide-eyed Billy.

 “I never, ever, not in a million years–”

 “Thought you'd be on the verge of being a dad without even having to wait nine months?” You tell him, running a hand through your hair. “That's huge.”

 “Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drag Maxine into this. The plans we made were about the two of us but I can't just tell her to–”

 “That's not the problem.” You say taking his hand. “I love Maxine, she feels like family. I just can't do things the wrong way because–”

 “Here. I wrote it all down.” She comes back, placing a notebook before you on the table. “Hopper can make the process move a lot faster, of course. Billy and I aren't blood-related, but he can count as a guardian, we just need Susan to agree with it. That's the hard part.” She speaks fast, showing and pointing out everything she wrote down. Laws and all the papers needed. “I know it's crazy. But I wanna go home too. And staying here with Mom and Neil it's just... I can't.”

 Sighing, you nod. Looking at Billy, he looks sad and nods as well. “You deserve better than living with someone like Neil. And Susan, well...”

 “Susan is an idiot. She takes all that shit I have no idea why.” Max says, putting her hair behind her ears. “Look, you don't even have to look after me that much. I'll go to school, do the homework, and get good grades. I just need a place, guys.”

 “You really think that's the problem? Maxine, I love having you here. And we would look after you not because we feel like we have to, but because we're family. I'm just worried that you'll leave your mother. That's huge, you have to be sure about it.”

 “I am. I haven't spoken to Susan yet, but I will. I'll promise to visit and all that. But staying here... I can't.” She walks over to her brother, taking a deep breath. “I always wanted to go back as bad as you, Billy. So please, don't leave me here. Not now that you're not acting like a jerk most of the time, not now that you have a nice girlfriend, and that I got to live in a real home. You can't do this to me.”

 You can see that Billy breaks a little, not sure of what to do. You wait for some comment or something like that. But instead, he takes her hand, a little messily at first, shaking it. “If Susan doesn't make a drama about it, and if (Y/N) agrees with forcibly having a kid out of the blue... I'm fine with it.”

 She immediately looks at you, and with a smile, you stand up, walk over to her, and pull the girl into a hug. “I'd love to have you with us.”

 “Thanks.” She mumbles, pulling away to look up at you. “Now I just need help to talk to Susan.”

 “Nope. That's something you have to do on your own.” Billy says, and you nod. “Say what you have to say, that she will be free to visit you, that you'll visit her. Things like that.”

 “What if she says no?”

 “Just tell her she won't ever stop being your mom. That you'll just be living away and the papers are just a formality so nobody will get arrested.” You say, hands on her shoulders. “She's coming later tonight. Billy and I will grab some pizza so you'll have some time alone.”

 “Ok. Thanks again.” She turns at Billy. “You too, shitface. (Y/N) made a boyfriend out of you. And a brother.”

 “I'm not even gonna answer you.” He rolls his eyes and you can't help but smile.

 Later that night, it goes as planned. You took twice the normal time to get the pizzas, just to make sure you won't interrupt anything. And when you get there, you find a crying Susan, being held by Maxine. Excusing yourselves, you both go to the kitchen and wait. It takes half an hour for them to join you.

 Then, Susan let you know that she's not happy about it. That she doesn't want to be away from her daughter. But, if Maxine's happiness means signing papers and letting her go, as long as she's being looked after and as long as she's free to visit, it's alright. And, Maxine has to spend at least some Holidays with her, and the girl agrees.

 It's a tense dinner, but after Susan leaves, Maxine can't stop smiling.

 After that, time starts passing by slowly. But eventually, the days start getting warmer, and the marks on the calendar take over. Until the day finally comes.

 The kids, as well as your friends, spent the whole weekend at your place, on a never-ending sleepover. Max made plans with the party, and, as tough as it may be, you'll make it happen. Distance won't ruin their friendship, you'll make sure of that.

 And, on Monday morning, there's a small crowd at the town's limit, right under the sign of “Leaving Hawkins.” There are lots of hugs and tears, but also a different feeling. You're about to make something huge, something you never thought you'd ever do. And it feels amazing. A bit scary, but amazing.

 After the goodbyes, the three of you hit the road, with Billy behind the wheel. The shine in his eyes is indescribable. He's free, he finally did it. He left Neil behind, and this small town he hates so much. He's going home.

 And so are you. Because you know that your home is wherever he is.

•••

@aunicornmademedoit @alexa4040 @goth-cowgirl-03 @nyctophilic0vitnir @minispice-1

[wonder-worker]

It is said Elizabeth Woodville retired to Bermondsey Abbey 1487? Did she live humbly at the time of death?

Hi! To get straight to the point - we don't actually know when Elizabeth Woodville took up residence at Bermondsey Abbey. It is popularly claimed by most historians, including her own, that she moved there in 1487, but there is no actual historical evidence to support this date. According to J.L. Laynesmith's newer research, "this tradition [may have arisen] from confusion with the date of the council that Vergil said was the occasion on which her estates were resumed." In reality, Elizabeth could have moved into the abbey in 1487, or sometime in the subsequent years, or close to her death when she was ill and may have wanted to seek treatment. We just don't know.

I'm also personally hesitant to claim that Elizabeth was "retiring", because I'm not quite sure what she was supposed to retire from. For one, as the dowager queen who was mother to the queen consort rather than the King, her position was very anomalous and entirely unique, especially since the King's own mother, Margaret Beaufort, was alive and active. Elizabeth was not stepping back from any role she could have otherwise played, because there was no role or precedent for her to play in the first place; no post-Norman queen had been in a position like this before. Secondly, while several dowager queens and noblewomen had the option of managing their estates during their widowhoods, we know that Elizabeth's dower lands had been transferred to her daughter in May 1487*. So, considering she lacked both options traditionally available to dower queens (the role of king's mother and major landowner), there was really nothing that Elizabeth could have actively been "retiring" from. Her residence in Bermondsey could have been a retreat of some kind...or could have been a pragmatic living arrangement, a way to give her daughter space to establish herself as England's new queen, or simply a desire for an alternate residence that gave her some privacy when required. Or something else altogether. Once again, it's unclear.

(It's clear that Elizabeth would have had a visibly powerful and direct role in governance during her own son's minority and reign, as described here).

We also don't even know if Elizabeth resided in Bermondsey Abbey permanently. For example, in July 1486, we know she leased a mansion within Westminster Abbey called 'Cheyne gate'. Arlene Okerlund believes this is proof of her religious commitment and desire for seclusion, but as Susan Higginbotham pointed out, Elizabeth could have simply been "interested in obtaining a residence convenient to the court when it was at Westminster". We don't know if Elizabeth ever even stayed at this residence, and if she did, we know for a fact that it was temporary, because she ended her life in an entirely different abbey. In my opinion, the same logic and same questions can and should be applied to Elizabeth's stay in Bermondsey. It's entirely possible she had other residences she was living in, or even a place at court, that we simply don't know about, due to a lack of surviving evidence and/or a lack of sufficient research.

What I want to point out is that Elizabeth very much was present for at least some court occasions in the years after 1485. She took a central role in the christening of the dynasty's new heir, Arthur, standing as his godmother and presenting him with a 'rich cup of gold'. (She took precedence over king's relatives, including his mother Margaret Beaufort, who doesn't even seem to have been present for the occasion). She was present during her daughter's childbirth confinement and received the Luxemburg delegation. She was also recorded attending mass and receiving papal envoys along with her daughter, son-in-law and Margaret Beaufort in 1489. We also know that Elizabeth was considered as a potential wife for James III of Scotland, which would enable her to possibly again take up the role of queen consort once again, though his death in June 1488 prevented this from potentially materializing (it was by no means guaranteed, though*). So, whether or not she was residing in an abbey or somewhere else or alternating between different residences, it's clear that Elizabeth remained firmly connected to court. She may have been with the royal family on other unrecorded occasions, such as the time when Henry VII ordered the Exchequer to pay her some money "by way of reward for a tun of wine" in 1488 from Windsor Castle. We don't know - but the possibility is very much there.

This is getting into more speculative territory, but another thing to point out is that according to the Colchester journal, Elizabeth had originally petitioned parliament for restoration of her “castells and oder possessions that she was possessed of in King Edward’s day" in 1485. According to Lynda Pidgeon, this was initially turned down, although it was later confirmed that she ‘shall have and enjoy henceforth all such estate, dignity, pre-eminence and name as she should or might have had or done if no act of parliament had been made against or concerning her in the time of Richard III'. It seems to me that Elizabeth may have originally had very different intentions and expectations for her widowhood: she seems to have initially wanted to retain her own lands and administer her estates by herself, which was her right as dowager queen. It suggests that her priorities may have either changed over the years or were forced to change due to external circumstances (the financial constraints in the early years of Henry VII's reign, Simnel rebellion in 1487 which threatened her family, etc). It's unclear.

Lastly, it's often claimed that Elizabeth had "cultivated a lifestyle of comparative simplicity" (Laynesmith) by the time of her death. While we don't know this for sure, I think it's very plausible: she explicitly specified she owned very few goods in 1492, requested for a modest funeral that surprised the herald recording it, and wrote a very short and simple will in contrast to the elaborate ones of, say, Margaret Beaufort and Cecily Neville. But if this is true, we don't actually know when Elizabeth's decision for such a lifestyle came about, let alone what actually prompted it. Was it directly after 1485 (very unlikely, based on what I mentioned above regarding her petition)? Was it over the years due to now-unknown reasons? Or was it simply because Elizabeth was nearing her death, and this was her way of expressing acceptance/closure/penance? Once again, we simply don't know.

Obviously, I dislike the popular idea that Elizabeth plotted against Henry VII and her own daughter and was subsequently banished for it. (This isn't limited to Yorkists/Ricardians but the vast majority of general histories, the vast majority Tudor historians (including ones I admire greatly like Lucy Wooding) and the most academic of Elizabeth's own biographies till date***). But I equally dislike the revisionist interpretation that she entered into a "quiet retirement" or "relative seclusion" post-1487 that Arlene Okerlund and the latest Fifteenth Century XX book are so keen to propagate, usually with exaggerated claims that she was "beyond conventionally religious" (there is no evidence of this). Like I said, we don't know when Elizabeth began residing in Bermondsey, we don't know why, and we don't know if it can even be called a "retirement". It's as much a stereotypical interpretation as the vilified one, and ultimately contributes to the exact same narrative - Elizabeth is conveniently shoved or nudged out of the way, forgotten and irrelevant until her death in 1492. It's just so disingenuous when you keep in mind that she initially wished to administer her estates and that she remained connected to the court. This is aided by the fact that analyses of Elizabeth during this time almost always focus on Henry VII and his circumstances rather than her circumstances or what she might have thought or wanted (see: her unique role as queen who was mother of the queen who lacked estates, etc), and it's...incredibly frustrating. I think historians just need to get comfortable admitting that we know significantly less about Elizabeth's life than we think, and that what we do know is incredibly haphazard and can't really be used to form definite conclusions on most things. Analyses of all aspects of her career have been hindered by their utter unwillingness to acknowledge this.

*We don't know what Elizabeth felt about the transfer of her estates, or her proposed marriage to James III, or the annuity she received from Henry (which was initially lesser than the 700 marks she received from Richard III in 1484, despite her degraded status from queen to the king's concubine with illegitimate children during Richard's reign, though it was also very understandable given the financial difficulties in Henry VII's early years). She may have agreed to them, she may have been prompted/pressured to agree by circumstances or by others, or she may have suggested/initiated some of these things herself. We do know, however, that she remained close to Elizabeth of York and appointed her as supervisor of her will when she died – so I personally think she would have wanted to support her daughter. At the very least, interpretations should keep their closeness in mind. **According to David Baldwin, the proposed marriage was supposedly mooted as early as 1486, before the Simnel Rebellion. The sources he provides are: Rotuli Scotiae, ed. D. Macpherson et al., 2 vols. (1814–19), ii, pp. 475–7. ***Beyond this one instance, I find it incredibly frustrating and ignorant/disingenuous in general when people try to downplay how widespread Elizabeth's negative image really is by claiming it's "only" propagated by the Yorkist/Ricardian community. I can assure you it's far more widespread than that and is used by most general/popular histories and historical fiction of the 15th century, regardless of which "side" they're on (also, there's an assumption that because most Ricardians hate Elizabeth, the opposite is true and that criticisms of Richard lead to sympathy for Elizabeth; but the reality is that the vast majority of histories and fictional works that critique Richard are equally critical of the Woodvilles). That's not even getting into how there are literally no actual reassessments on pretty much all important and controversial aspects of Elizabeth's life till date: her position as the first post-Norman Englishwoman to be crowned queen and what that actually meant for her on practical terms, her family's role in the factional conflict/divide in the 1460s (revisionist histories pretty much always dismiss it outright, which makes no sense as it very much happened and needs to be properly explored and dealt with rather than ignored), her highly unconventional position in royal councils, her role in 1483, the propaganda against her and the many unprecedented official accusations levelled against her, etc. As I said before, there is very lacking academic interest in Elizabeth's individual life beyond the bare basics, be it in popular vilified interpretations or more limited "revisionist" histories. That's completely fine, no one needs to or should should force themselves to study her, but people have got to stop simultaneously pretending that she has been adequately reassessed when she very much hasn't been. (ie: you can't "debunk" something you haven't even acknowledged in the first place, lol). Nothing that has been written about Elizabeth till date has ever come close to the excellent and genuinely revisionist analyses that have explored and/or vindicated several other "controversial" post-Norman queens of England (Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, Margaret of Anjou, Anne Boleyn, etc) sans only Isabella of Angouleme. People need to stop claiming the opposite and start acknowledging reality.

[houseofbrat]

It's so funny to see William's actions come back to bite him in the ass, I mean do I really think excuses are going to last??? Man honestly like I said before I don't take sides with either of them I mean Kate and William, but a man who freaks out and throws his wife under the bus and doesn't know how to handle situations and apologize for his actions makes him fall off the scale in my opinion and the scales will tip to the other side I ( Kate )

What I am going to say here has nothing to do with their professional lives. William’s fame has always been linked to someone else, first Diana, then Harry, then his ex-girlfriends, his love life, and now his wife and mother of his children, Catherine. His reputation and status have always depended on teamwork, whether familial or professional. When someone covets teamwork and wants to attribute it to himself, or feels envious or sensitive, or as we are talking about here, William feels weak… this will backfire on the one who caused it or harmed it, as it will hit him in the face and he will have to deal with the repercussions, and the rest will take their glory and emerge victorious because they were not the ones who pulled the trigger.

I think in my personal opinion this is what happened with William according to what he saw, I will be honest also William once he got married lost most of his popularity and success not only because he is a married man but also because he is bald and aged in a boring way, unlike his wife who was the focus of attention and I am speaking from personal experience I do not live in Europe or America but in his wife's place and her beauty and style are the event and not him, not everyone was interested in the appearance of a bear but on the model of seeing an influential person in life or a famous person dressed neatly and well and always an excellent example of how to appear classy and polite unlike William the boring one he has no life except that he has a title waiting for him and it was presented to him on a golden platter not to mention his profession,

What happens now? When you throw your wife under the bus and challenge the most important person in the equation, you will always lose. Kate can file for divorce and separate from him, and we will see her as the victor and the victim here, like Diana. She will remain desired and the center of attention. As for William's fate, he will certainly be blamed and likened to his father's horrific fate and linked to the family's bad history, unlike his father, who, frankly, in my opinion, was brave enough to face his actions and stand up for himself.

At this point I feel like I'm starting to ramble but the gist of what I want to say is that William will lose everything and he knows that once he loses Kate and in my opinion Kate is what made William who he is now because he seems to me like a weak person who relied on his wife and his good looks which quickly disappeared

Yes! You and I see it.

I am reminded of two comments of @helenaaurelia made about William when she realized all her assumptions and opinions about him were probably wrong after he threw Lady Susan Hussey under the bus almost two years ago.

Comment one:

Its making me rethink everything he’s done, everything the palace has done. I’ve always blamed the more heartless decisions on Charles ,with William just supporting his father. Now I’m wondering if the roles have been reversed, looking at the changes that seemed to have occurred as William became more and more powerful, wondering how much of it he was responsible for. I just deleted a whole paragraph of speculation, deciding that he probably doesn’t deserve me thinking out loud about every ruthless and possibly heartless decision the BRF has made in the last decade and wondering if he was behind it. (No I won’t tell you what I deleted, that’s the point of deleting it.) From now on though, I’m looking at him through the same lens I look at Charles with. No more benefit of doubt for William.

Comment two:

The stories about him reminding everyone exactly who he is and who he’s going to be. I always assumed they were false, and that the stories of him always humbly waiting in line, not telling anyone who he is, trying to fly under the radar, being a nice helpful, friendly guy were all true. Now I wonder why I was so quick to believe the good about him and so quick to dismiss the bad. I still think he’s a kind, decent man who truly wants to do good. I just will no longer dismiss any unpleasant stories about him without the same scrutiny I give stories about everyone else.

And wouldn't you know it, Kate isn't and wasn't going to stick around and be thrown under the bus publicly by William after she realized she had had it with him. She reached her breaking point sometime over the 2023-2024 holiday season, and he's been licking his wounds privately the whole time.

I suspect over the summer William thought that perhaps she would change her mind, but nope! She's going to be done with him for quite awhile, privately but not publicly. That's why she's not going to do "work" any more except for a few proof-of-life appearances. She's going to concentrate on her kids and living her dream life of a stay-at-home mom with an Aga and limiting interaction with her self-centered idiot for a husband.