The last poll clearly shows a demand for more peasant chapters (about 3/4 of you at this time), but it's not clear how many of you voted +Peasants due to longing for Gunnilda, and how many just because you want MOAR PEASANTS. Hence this clarifying poll.

Now that I have fully populated the valley and begun assigning the "working class" to jobs within the realm of the nobles, I think in any case we will be seeing a lot more glimpses of peasants at least. In so many of my early chapters there is mention of maids and stewards and other characters "coming to the door" or whatever, but we never see them. It's kind of Beauty-and-the-Beast disembodied-hand spooky. But as you've seen with the recent chapter with Gwynn and the dressmaker and Edith the maid, or the several appearances of Derbail and Edina, or even secretaries like Addonwy, I am making an effort to slip those characters in wherever they would realistically be found.

So I would not be surprised if some of those characters end up getting chapters of their own anyway. I did that quite early on in a few chapters with Sigefrith's guards, at the time Druze was discovered. (We figured out Maud died during a romantic encounter between a guard and a maid after all.) It sufficed for me to make their Sims. (And imagine, if I hadn't made the Captain!)

But I guess I want to know whether it's the balance of upper-class/lower-class that's truly wrong, or it's just a case of you missing some of your old favourites.

I think if I manage to set up a base of operations in Gunnilda's dining room, we should have plenty of opportunities to revisit some oldies. I just need to bring Gunnilda back into the story in a big way. Then we will have Gunnilda herself, Ethelmund, Colburga and her husband, Aelfie and Osric (how could I forget Aelfie??), and maybe some new ones like Gunnilda's niece the dressmaker.

And the growing-up adventures of Gytha!

And Shirtless Beddy!

Yeah I would really like to see more of the middle class and peasants. Its been so long since we've seen the Ashdowns and Hoggs.

It's not that I don't like the idea of new peasants, I just think there's so much going on with so many other characters right now that there's not much room for many new storylines at the current time, and we haven't seen any of those classics like Gunnilda in sooooo long, so if you're planning on introducing a few more storylines in the near future, it would be nice if Gunnilda and Ethelmund were squeezed in.

Of course, if there's no possible way you can do that without interfering with the rest of the story, don't do it.

And I have to agree with Karen, I still firmly believe that Egelric and Gunnilda were made for each other and should eventually get together, live well into their nineties, and die from simultaneous heart attacks spurred on by one last passionate, romantic roll in the sack. That was supposed to be Alred and Matilda's death too, but it's too late for that

It sounds like the perfect death, if it weren't for the fact that I believe heart attacks hurt quite a lot.

Completely spent.

I agree. However, the whole thing has completely died off lately, and that's not very romantic at all. What we need is to revive the yearning but never quite satisfy it.

*insert bassoon chorus here*

You might be right, Devin. Egelric might very well have moved on. But that seems so tragic in a way.

They seemed so right together for a while... I don't think we ever saw Egelric that open and vulnerable with any other woman. She was there for him when he was really, really broken. He fixed himself up and -- more importantly -- built a very strong shell around himself afterwards, but for a while he and Gunnilda really met on the same level. His later relationships always seemed tinged with a certain amount of fond indulgence, almost paternal at times, but there was none of that with Gunnilda.

Of course now his relationship with Gunnilda is tinged (not to say tainted) with a class difference. In spite of his fondness for teasing Alred & Co. by lapsing into peasant manners, Egelric is actually turning into something of a snob. Maybe it's not his fault -- that's his world now -- but I am sure Gunnilda feels it.

We haven't seen Egelric with Gunnilda and her family since then, so I don't know. I don't think he visits much at all... I can imagine Egelric "visiting Ethelmund" but not dropping by specifically to see Gunnilda. The only time he would have gone to see Gunnilda was if something was wrong with Iylaine and he really didn't know what to do.

They would have met numerous times at Iylaine's house, but that's a little different too. Egelric's not the type who would brag about his wealth or whatnot, but he is the sort who could be stand-offish if he's not among his close friends. And I doubt he considers Gunnilda his "close friend" these days even if she is sort of like Iylaine's foster mother. Gunnilda is someone he was close to, but not his friend nowadays. They must have plenty to talk about in those situations by keeping the conversation on the topic of Iylaine and her babies, but I can imagine the rest of their conversation being the usual polite "how do you like that weather" conversation.

So I think his relationship with Gunnilda is more directly affected by his own stand-offish personality than any "you're not good enough to hang out with me" idea of his. I doubt he looks down on Gunnilda. It's just more like she's not one of "his people" any more -- even though, out of all the people he ever meets -- she's the closest to truly being "his people". I do think Egelric has sort of lost himself over the years, and it has damaged him. He's a bit uprooted and adrift.

As for his snobbery, I think that's just one of Egelric's self-defense mechanisms. He's always looking to make himself prickly (and perhaps make himself stand out... paradoxically), and one way he does it is by being a little high-and-mighty among the peasants, and being a little crass and common among the nobles. That's just Egelric.

It would be kind of interesting though. If Gunnilda held on all her life to her dream of Egelric, even though Egelric has moved beyond her. All that yearning... over nothing. Since it's not the story of Gunnilda I could get away with that. She could redeem it -- sort of -- perhaps -- by sharing her experience or wisdom with someone (oh I don't know... FINN???) and convincing him to have the courage to take that extra step she never did.

But I do think Egelric and Gunnilda could still be the sort of couple that finds itself again towards the end of life's journey. When Egelric's all tired out from raging and Gunnilda's kids are all grown and she has no one left to take care of.

EDIT: And remember Marilla? And how she had that secret thing for Gil's father all those years? It would be so poetically right if Gunnilda helped Gwynn and Finn get together...

Marilla is a character from Anne of Green Gables, Devin.

But that was totally different! We never got to actually SEE them courting so there wasn't the same kind of attachment to the idea of them being together for those of us who are outside of the world of the story peeking in.

Also, Marilla brought that one on herself.

That would almost be a little spooky if Finn and Gytha got together, but I guess that would be a still more Anne-like ending than if it were Gwynn. On the other hand, Gunnilda was Gwynn's wet nurse, so they have a very close bond too. Gwynn used to call her Mama Gunnie.

Also, if Gunnilda's daughter and Egelric's son got married, that would definitely shut the door on Gunnilda and Egelric ever getting together, and like I said, it's not quite too late.

Anyway Gwynn and Finn are themselves sufficient argument against that. Gwynn and Finn! I don't usually get so far ahead of myself, but IT HAS TO BE!

How I hope she tells him that to his face!

That could be delicious. What could be still more fun is if Finn himself doubted his English rather than assuming she was using the word incorrectly, and then started using the word the way she does. WITH HER. For YEARS. And then someday someone breaks the news to both of them.

Alternatively, he decides his English is correct, but assumes Gwynn knows exactly what she's talking about and never thinks of verifying or correcting her. Not erotic? I can be erotic!

I just come back from London and I see I missed a new poll ! So, my point is that I'd love to see new characters as maids point of view or like when Young Sigefrith went to Mouse's house (what about her brothers and sister ?). It's more the relation between peasant and noble men that I miss, since it was constant in middle age (like in the market).

Like I said before in comments, it would be very interesting to have the point of views of the lower class working around our bunch of nobles. Because they might have a very accurate or very false impression of the people they're working for. And if there were a new peasant family like Gunnilda's one or a few chapters about Alwy's children, I wouldn't complain, too.

But it's your story and you have so many plots and things to achieve : the elves, the prophecy, the war, William the Conqueror (I took picture of the Tower of London and Middle Age stuff in London for you but I don't know how to post pictures on the forum), the Scot's mystery, who Gwynn will marry, Iylaine/Finn mystery, Liadan mystery, Leofric non-supposed-to-be-living-and-all-the-stuff-going-around-that, Blocky (who isn't very mysterious, but so funny anyway), Egelric destiny, the Norse men, will Caedwulf and Ogive marry and the look of their children, the Drage/Middrin mystery, the demons/Hell/Theobald mystery, The Will-Vash-Ever-Get-A-Girl Mystery (a great one deserving caps), the destiny of your French characters (especially if crooked noses, I follow the destiny of the French you don't have killed ^^), the Aelfden mystery, the Will-There-Be-A-Cruisade mystery, the Will-Gwynn-Ever-Goes-To-Wales mystery (ok, that's two mysteries for Gwynn, but she's very mysterious, isn't she :p ), the Will-Yusuf-Ever-Marry Mystery, the Andokrinos mystery, and so many ones, but I'll spent afternoon to write all them down. I don't know how you do not to get lost in all of this. So if you can add a little peasant even non-mystery thing, that would be awesome.

~Your French Friend~

Oh no Meryt don't feel overwhelmed because then your not going to enjoy writing Lothere. Just take things 1 step at a time; and the elves can be written during the summer or fall of 1086.

Did somebody say Shus???

How could I have forgoted?

The Adventures of Anson is a topic that I am saving for a slow period in the story, since it's not really tied to anything else in the timeline. I do have plans for him! But I am really trying to get things moving again. But then again I didn't realize there were any Anson "fans" out there.

More peasant chapters, both old favorites and new...but if time /writing constrains are an issue just more Gunnida. I miss her.