#baron the reckless kind and dramatic optimist just gets to me

[ploffskinpluffskin]

i have about 30 minutes or so before i'll head to bed but i wanted to share some snippets, as per usual. i've been writing more on the natori/muta fic since it's been on my mind more lately. in particular, i added more to this conversation between haru and baron. i'm realizing i do really enjoy writing for baron tbh

Haru breaks their eye contact for him, there, feeling suddenly rather bare in a way she doesn’t truly recall Baron ever managing before. He’s quite intuitive, she thinks, when he wants to be. When she peeks back up at him, she finds that he has given into temptation, eyes downcast and lightly lidded as he takes a small drink. Her own gaze drifts back to the tea cup he had provided her with; she wonders if maybe it’s the same set he had offered when they first met.

“I’ll be fine, Baron,” she says with a shrug and a brief cant of her head so that she looks rather winsome.  (She thinks perhaps she might have learned it from him.)

“Then I have said my piece,” Baron responds, nodding once in brief approval. “In truth, I have the intuition that everything will ultimately be quite well.”

Here the unnamed discomfort that had been lingering between them dissipates; Haru smiles again.

“It’s hard for me to imagine you’d ever feel differently.”

Baron returns her smile. “To live without hope is to cease to live.”

“And who said that?”

“I did, just now,” Baron replies readily, and with such matter-of-fact ease she almost can’t tell if he’s being stoically facetious or not. He’s raised his teacup to his lips. “But we all have Dostoevsky to thank for writing it.”

The rest of their visit passes in relative peaceable familiarity.

and then there is haru and natori interacting, bc Of Course

“He singlehandedly plunged our kingdom into chaos and destitution the likes of which we’ve yet to experience since. I do apologize for being short with you, Miss Haru, but I will not apologize for continuing to hold him accountable for his actions,” Natori explains primly without wasting a breath. “I do believe he has made his bed, and now he must lie in it. I feel that quite strongly.”

Here Haru pauses, trying to decide how best to crack this particular nut. There is something about all this hullabaloo which has become quite obvious to her, but it must be brought to light with care. Natori and Muta have some curious similarities— one of those is the tendency to become stubbornly uncommunicative upon being made vulnerable. But where Muta simply stops talking and starts glaring, Natori covers up his intransigence with circular language and polite topic changes.

Most likely it gets him quite far in his line of work, avoiding those tough conversations, and anyone less (stubborn) might indeed let it happen without realizing what was transpiring. But Haru just might have the both of them beat in this matter. She had sped out in front of an approaching truck to save a small life and do what was right to her; what obstacle was a pair of brick walls in comparison?

“I understand,” she starts thoughtfully, averting her eyes for just a moment so that she might appear less shrewd than she’s feeling right now. “It’s just… I’m only curious, after all, given His Majesty the king didn’t seem to have any recollection of the event at all.”

Haru spares a glance at Natori here, trying to gauge his reaction, trying to evaluate if he’s gathered already where she is going with this line of thought. He’s gazing upon her with the slightest squint to his eyes, tired lines etched beneath them she’d never noticed before, and with a telling brittleness to the thin, straight line he’s pursed his mouth in. 

Absolutely, he knows where she is leading, and she wonders if he will let her finish.

“Of course, maybe by virtue of being the king he didn’t suffer nearly to the same degree as the everyday citizen did,” Haru continues brazenly, but in a soft and nonchalant enough voice that she hopes he doesn’t catch on. “But even from just the short time I got to know him he’s seemed like the type to have a low threshold for hardship. It wouldn’t take much, would it..?”

Natori holds her gaze with a quite level one of his own for a good many moments more than she would have expected, but he does eventually look away. Still, his no doubt long-practiced professionalism remains, and there’s hardly a hint left of his initial anxiety over meeting with her when he finally does mechanically respond. “Please do forgive me— I do not see the value in continuing this particular line of questioning. I politely request that the matter is dropped. However, I shall be happy to indulge whatever other curiosities you may possess, provided they do not eclipse my responsibilities to the kingdom.”

Haru assumes that to mention his retirement shall not get her anywhere.

[mossflowermouse]

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been reading ‘When Christ and His Saints Slept’ by Sharon Penman, writing my thoughts down as I went. Currently writing a proper review of the book as a whole, but for now I’m posting those original bullet-point reactions. It got kind of long so this is part one of three. I’ve also gone back through and divided things up by chapter, because otherwise it’ll get really confusing. 

Below the cut, the civil war begins, everyone is picking sides (but not necessarily staying where they first choose), and I am emotional about the mess this has very quickly become for everyone involved.

Did a bit of reading up on this period – for historical fiction, I like to know more or less what will be covered, especially for Penman books since there's such close attention to detail (also because it can lead to some lovely dramatic irony, knowing how things will play out, and I don’t think of it as spoilers in the same way as other fiction). I’m now aware of the broad strokes – bits of the family tree, the ship sinking, some of the key events during the Anarchy. Also thanks to that one Horrible Histories song, I know Stephen becomes king but Maude is never crowned queen, and her son Henry succeeds Stephen.

I’ve read one other book by this author, ‘The Sunne in Splendour’, but fully expect this to be a completely different experience – I’d spent months studying and reading up on the Wars of the Roses before that, whereas here all the knowledge I have is from like half an hour of Googling, the family tree in the front of the book, things from a few Tumblr posts, and some other faintly-remembered facts about the earliest Plantagenets. I’m really looking forward to it, though, and fully expect to be destroyed with family drama, incredible historical accuracy, and the heartbreak of getting attached to these people while knowing the inevitable conclusion. Here goes.

Chapter I:

Oh no Stephen's got so many relatives on the White Ship 

William’s giving me Edmund of Rutland déjà vu – there seems to be a running theme of Penman’s books opening with the death of a 17-year-old noble sibling of one of the main characters. 

Oh no I got attached to William 

(HOW did I get attached to William, he was alive for like five pages)

Just finished reading the sinking of the White Ship, decided to research it a bit more. I really ought to stop being surprised by how much of the stuff in Penman's novels is real – in this case, Berold as the sole survivor and William's attempt to go back for his sister were the details I'd wondered about. In conclusion: already hooked.

[then I forgot to write anything for a while because the book was too gripping]

Chapter IV:

Ranulf is fairly prominent in these chapters - according to the character list, he seems to be the only notable fictional character. When reading The Sunne in Splendour, I didn't find out Veronique was made up until the author's note at the end, so comparing the experience of reading about those two will be interesting. I like him though. 

Note to self: look into William Rufus' death - Stephen and Ranulf's conversation about how Ranulf’s father took the throne has me intrigued.

Chapter V:

First impression of Geoffrey was that he was awful; a hundred pages in and he's done nothing to really change that. Currently resisting the temptation to Google and find out how much longer the characters and I have to deal with him.

I know Maude's not going to get the throne and it's making me sad because of her line about freedom. 

And then listing the people she trusts and Stephen's one of them...oh you poor dysfunctional family. And the worst part is, it really doesn't seem like he's going to take the throne for his own gain - he's going to think it's for the best for all of them and he cares about Maude and all their siblings and cousins will have to choose sides :(

And there it is.

Chapters VI and VII:

Stephen: what other choice does Maude have but to accept my kingship? ...well, according to Wikipedia, wage war against you for twenty years, Stephen.

Oh god even Robert's accepted Stephen as king, I was expecting him to side with Maude. He doesn't seem happy with it, though - maybe a change of heart later on? 

Ranulf's the only one so far who definitely seems to be on Maude's side.

Okay, yeah, less than half a page later and Robert's already explaining that his loyalty to Stephen is largely a waiting game.

Ranulf's going to get himself killed with his recklessness and open loyalty to Maude isn't he. And I can't even look him up to know for sure and prepare myself because he's fictional. Why. 

Oh no and Amabel just mentioned he's seventeen, that's absolutely a death flag as far as Penman characters are concerned (William in this one, Edmund of Rutland and Edouard of Westminster in TSiS come to mind).

Amabel's like "well what does Ranulf have to lose by supporting Maude" and while Robert replies by talking about his betrothal, I'm suddenly very worried that the real answer is "his life"

(Also, I appreciate that much of the book up to this point has been dedicated to the bonds between family members who will soon be on opposite sides of a civil war. This is going to hurt, but I do like being invested in characters.)

Annora :(

Awww, Maude and Ranulf (and poor Ranulf's looking back on his memories of Stephen)

First mention of Eleanor of Aquitaine!

Ugh, Geoffrey.

UGH, GEOFFREY

And first mention of William de Ypres!

Ranulf is still so optimistic and he's going to get his heart broken. 

And Ancel says Annora's married. Yup, I suspected she might not be as willing to wait as Ranulf, given the circumstances.

Hmm, Stephen's having difficulty with his court. 

Any reference to Robert as 'Gloucester' is making me instinctively like him more after TSiS. (Also, even besides that, the king's relative Gloucester being one of the most powerful nobles is something that keeps cropping up in medieval England. Although Robert's the Earl rather than Duke like later ones)

Chapters VIII and IX:

Robert and Amabel have decided to support Maude! Yes! Now I'm wondering if this will be permanent, though, because there's still 750 pages and like fifteen years of civil war to go. Something other than Geoffrey is going to have to go wrong for Maude for the war to continue that long, because Stephen's really not doing well here.

More traitors in Stephen's court (Miles and Brien) - I wasn't sure at first if it was just unfounded suspicion from Stephen and the other barons, but yeah, it seems they're loyal to Maude.

Matilda's taking a much more active role in the war - first the Dover siege, now the treaty with David of Scotland. I'm enjoying seeing her grow in confidence and discover what she’s able to achieve. Maybe it's not that things will go wrong for Maude, but instead a case of things starting to go right for Stephen and Matilda's side.

Meanwhile, Stephen's being peer pressured into becoming a harsher ruler (well, it's more that several of the nobles are pretty much ruling though him. And the Beaumonts aren't happy about Matilda's influence. Please give me all the court drama, this is good.)

(Also I keep reading Beaumont as Beaufort. The vague similarities between them don’t help. Noble family with even more questionable ambitions than the average noble family and whatnot)

u g h 

Poor Henry's having quite the turbulent childhood (though both Maude and Geoffrey love him, so at least there's that. Honestly wasn’t sure what to expect from Geoffrey, relieved he’s apparently a decent father. But considering everything else, the bar really is on the floor here.)

Maude, Robert, Ranulf and Rainald are so good. I've always got a soft spot for siblings who band together in a crisis (and because of TSIS, can't help but draw vague parallels between this lot and the later Plantagenet siblings)

Awww, Uncle Ranulf with Maude's kids 

Adeliza's offering to let them land at Arundel Castle - based on what's been said about the situation in England (and Maude's main difficulty being the crossing from Normandy, with nowhere to land safely), this could really be a turning point!

Chapter X:

Just met Adeliza and I like her already.

Robert and Amabel's farewell has me concerned that something's going to happen to one of them

Well that went wrong quickly (they arrived at Arundel Castle a week ago and Stephen's already besieging it)

...wait, how did Stephen find out they're here so quickly? (Possibilities I can think of: Robert was discovered en route to Bristol (please no), there's a spy somewhere in the castle, Adeliza and Stephen had this planned all along (would also be upsetting, I like the glimpse we've had of her friendship with Maude))

Okay, so it's not Adeliza. That's good. I'm worried about Robert though.

"His barons seemed to take turns standing as sentinels between Stephen and his better instincts." This is such a good line and it really sums up my thoughts on Stephen's position right now.

Aw, Stephen's still fond of Maude. I can't decide whether this is more heartwarming or tragic.

“...it was only when he was on his way back to the castle that the significance of the Bishop’s words penetrated. Stephen’s allies made a point of referring to Maude by the title she herself detested: Countess of Anjou. Her own supporters accorded her the rank she much preferred, that of empress. And so, Ranulf finally realized, had the Bishop.” wait what

So does this mean Henry's going to defect or????

I knew he was angry with Stephen about not becoming Archbishop but still. Maybe he's just being petty and this isn't a sign of an actual betrayal.

Robert :)

And Miles and Brien are openly supporting Maude!

...aaand time for war. And there's the chronicle the title's from!