#The Chaperone

[shockyhorror]

[annabtg]

When Lily's father won't let her go out alone on a date with James, she has to resort to desperate measures: make it a double date with Petunia and Sirius.

“Forget about it.”

“But, Dad!”

“I said no.”

“This is completely unfair. I’m an adult witch and –”

“– And as long as you live under my roof, you do as I say. And I say you’re not going out alone with a boy, unless he makes his intentions for you clear.”

Lily Evans huffed and turned away from her father’s sitting form, as he returned to his newspaper without the slightest concern about ruining his youngest daughter’s love life.

She ran her palm over her face in despair. It was all James Potter’s fault. Stupid James Potter and his stupid smile that set her heart racing and his stupid kiss she couldn’t stop thinking about.

Read the full story on AO3!

Completed, 7.4k words.

[dream-of-ragtime]

just came across this interview and well Liz, you really went and did a whole 'nother 3 movies of Downton right after.

but i love seeing you in your corset sorry not sorry

[emcgoverns]

elizabeth mcgovern as norma carlisle in “the chaperone,” production still (released 2018) | 📸: pbs distribution

[justyourfellowaussie]

Some big traditional fanart of The Monkees I did for my grade 10 art final last year. I did use @autmnalmanac 's Monkee fanart for poses and background for the drawings at the bottom. And I used @saveferris 's Monkee fanart to draw whatever Micky is holding in the doctor scene. Because I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to draw it when I was watching the footage.

[margflower]

[kingandrewburnap]

The Chaperone - 2018

[veryslowreader]

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Chaperone

[daisywrites-stuff]

The Chaperone by M. Hendrix

helloooo

so i finished reading the chaperone by m. hendrix and omg i loved it. i love dystopian books so when i saw it at the library i had to get it.

the premise:

basically, it's like the handmaids tale but different. (wow great description). anyway. it's about this girl, stella in new america. in new america, girls have to follow the DANGER method, which is deflect attention, abstain from sin, navigate the world with care, give obedience, embrace purity, and respect your chaperone. the chaperones are women that guide young girls into adulthood and teach them to follow the rules. stella is given a new chaperone that changes her views on life in new america (super cool).

my thoughts (spoilers people):

the world:

the world was so interesting. instead of being like the handmaid's tale, where all of america is using handmaids, it is just new america that has implemented the DANGER rules. i did have some confusion on the geography of old and new america, i didn't exactly understand where they were or if there was a border or anything. it wasn't super clear to me but also i was so excited reading that i may just have missed it! i think what contributed to this confusion was the fact that old america is literally the same as america now, but if new america is so different then wouldn't at least some of that affect old america?

the characters:

i liked stella, she had a lot of growth and i liked seeing that throughout the book. sister laura was interesting, everything she did in the beginning had a meaning in the end and i just loved that. stella's family wasn't super important, but i feel like that was for a reason because she needed to be distanced from them to leave new america, but i wish that her family had a larger role in the story because realistically her family would have a big role in her decision to leave and then eventually come back. especially when she was in old america, it seemed like she didn't miss her family at all, which i thought was a bit odd and unrealistic. same with her friends and almost-boyfriend, they seemed a bit like throwaway characters just there to fill some gaps in the story.

the story:

i loved the story. i read the handmaid's tale and i liked it, but i didn't exactly love it. i felt like some parts were a bit unrealistic because it didn't really take into account class disparity and how women/people with more money would have a very different fate than women/people without money. other than a brief mention of the econo-wives, it didn't really mention it. but in this book, money and class disparity is a very big part of the story, which i liked. i found it realistic. like if this were to happen in real life, it wouldn't affect the rich the same way it would affect the poor. the story had a bunch of twists that i wasn't expecting. i mentioned before with sister laura how everything she did had a purpose, that amazed me. i love when books do that. i thought the DANGER rules were so interesting, and since the books were told from stella's point of view, who is a teenager, you can see what the school is like and what interactions she was allowed to have with her male classmates, which was super cool.

the end:

ughhhh i liked the end but also hated it. i liked that she decided to go back in the end but i felt like the ending was kind of open ended. she wanted to follow in sister laura's footsteps, but stopped there. it didn't say what she was planning to do or go into any detail of what happened after or what kind of affect she had. i do have this need for an ending though, like when i watched smile i was so mad because wdym they don't kill the demon in the end? so open ended endings aren't my thing, i need to know what happens, and i didn't get that but that's okay. other than that, I loved it.

rating:

9/10: amazing loved it so great need a second book

[fluxphage]

so i had a fuckin wild model break recently and got some footage!

[attyammy]

first date...!

i think momo would seem super casual bc she doesnt wanna look like a tryhard but would spend hours picking out clothes and shoes etc w her besties, while okarun would wear the most formal clothes he owns to try and impress momo

anyways they went to the movies, the arcade, and a cafe in my head... (blows them up with my mind)

[raintides]

they're going shopping

[annabtg]

Hello, if you don’t mind for the director’s cut ask:

“D’you know that there’s a war going on?” he asked eventually.

Petunia’s brow furrowed. “What kind of war?”

“The real kind. With battles, and casualties, waged against people like your sister who have the misfortune to have no magical background other than what they were born with.”

His voice was even, colourless, despite the atrocities he was talking about. A chill ran down Petunia’s spine. “Why are you telling me this? Lily has never said anything about it.”

“So you didn’t know?”

“No.” She scooted further away from him, head suddenly dizzy, but eyes steady on him. “Why would I know? Why would I care?”

——The Chaperone

I feel as though Lily never told her parents about the truth (in fear of being pulled out from school) but it never occurred to me that she also kept it from Petunia. So when I read this part, I thought maybe she’ll have a change of heart but sadly Petunia is still bitter towards Lily (except for the ending of this fic l, that was nice on her behalf). I really liked the way that Sirius defends Lily, that warmed my heart.

Ask me for director's commentary here!

A wonderful choice! So much to say about this scene! This is a story that had me put a lot of thought into relationships and characterizations so it's wonderful to receive asks for it! ❤️ Thank you, Nena!

Under the cut for length.

From a story-telling viewpoint, there needed to be a "culmination" in Petunia and Sirius's conversation - something that would somehow convince Petunia not to be such a bitch and advocate for Lily to their father. I went back and forth re: touching the war issue or not, but eventually I figured that the fic had already some tension and wasn't the entirely funny romcom I'd initially visualized, so I decided it worked.

I believe that, if Lily didn't tell her parents about the war, she sure as hell didn't tell Petunia. There was nothing to be gained from this, their relationship is already not good enough as to justify seeking comfort in her, and frankly Lily here knows her status as a witch and how her family is detached from the magical society give her a sort of edge that she fully takes advantage of, sometimes even in dickish ways.

In this fic, I tried to lean more into an interpretation that wasn't full-on hate between the sisters - sibling relationships are such a goldmine of complicated feelings, and I think it's not canonically impossible that Petunia's feelings were a different sort of negative.

Petunia is the oldest daughter of a conservative family (see: her father's views on dating), and that often comes with very rigid worldviews - and young people are even less forgiving than older people like her parents may be. She naturally assumes the role of taking care of her little sister and keeping her in line, so when the little sister strays and gets a mind and life of her own, it's a shock to her system she can't quite shake. She has internalized being a good daughter and a proper lady as the highest standards she can achieve, and Lily not caring about that is offensive to her whole worldview. She doesn't hate Lily, but she sees in black and white: there's a correct and a wrong way to do life, and Lily is not doing the correct one. There may also be some deeply hidden jealousy, but Petunia will never get to the bottom of her feelings when it's so easy to just blame it all on Lily for being the wrong sort of person. So her not caring is not lack of love; it's resentment towards Lily, for not listening to her, making all the wrong choices and that, apparently, leading her down a dangerous path - but what can Petunia do other than say I told you so?

(And in case it's not painfully clear? I am the oldest daughter of a conservative family, so I definitely drew from experience to channel Petunia here.)

In the end, what happens is really Petunia deferring to her father and answering his own question. Her dad doesn't mind the magic; all he wants is a good, honest boy who will treat his daughter well and take care of her, and Petunia can tell that James is that sort of person.

Now, the fact that part of the reason she can say it is that Sirius convinced her, is a whole other conversation... 😏

[cameratosee]

The Chaperone (2023) by M Hendrix

[emcgoverns]

elizabeth mcgovern (with julian fellowes & michael engler), behind the scenes of “the chaperone” (july/august 2017) | 📸: pbs/barry wetcher

[number1spongebobfan]

The best part was when Apple from the Annoying Orange was chasing Zelda hahahaha!