Alfred Quinque - Tumblr Posts

Redirecting this Alfred + Cristabel ask to you ... what do you think their actual relationship was?

at the end of the day we won't really know unless/until Tamsyn tells us, because frankly what we're given in crumbs by Mercy and Augustine is a very half-painted picture. we know that Cristabel "wasn't the best influence on Alfred" and that "they brought out the worst in each other" which we can conclude from that they were probably, like, insufferable besties—and Augustine does present Cristabel as someone with either enough rizz or enough of a bond with his brother to get him to fall on his own rapier:

"She was a fanatic and an idiot—yes, she was, Mercy—and he... was a man who regretted that he wasn't. It took surprisingly little to lead my brother astray."

i do find it interesting comparing how Augustine talks about Alfred with Cristabel's "corrupting influence" versus how John talks about Cytherea and BOE, considering both of them are insisting that they weren't really like that, no, but were led astray in a way that could have been negated if John/Augustine were simply able to talk to them. there's not a whole lot of regard for personal agency here, which is something i attribute to Augustine's eternal older brother-isms (fellow eldest siblings iykyk) and John's inability to accept that anyone would betray him of their own volition.

which, in this vein, i think the thesis of how Augustine treats Cristabel's memory (as well as Mercy) has to do with the fact that he cannot fathom that his little brother, who might as well be an extension of himself (his "other half") would have it in him to enact that level of personal betrayal. because at the end of the day, Alfred and Cristabel probably really did think they were doing the right thing!! but they did absolutely force their adepts' hands and leave them with immeasurable trauma, though i think for Cristabel this was an easy decision to make given her predisposition to self-martyrdom and religious zealotry.

and this brings me back to the central question of how Alfred slots into the Mercy-Augustine-Cristabel-Alfred web of madness—we know A-'s little brother was working with the nun during John's cryo project, and given the very close relationship Mercy and Augustine have, it would be pretty tidy for their plus ones, and later cavaliers, to fall into step with each other. i think it's the easiest to assume that they were really close friends (much to the ire of their adepts) since Mercy seems to harbor a similar disdain for Alfred, which might reek of jealousy to inquiring minds (read: me). at the end of the day, Cristabel was a fanatic, and no matter what the relationship between her and the fifth house cavalier was, he clearly believed in her of his own volition and ran himself through by her side.

to which i am asking: tamsyn muir where is the canaan house novel. when is the canaan house novel. people are asking for the canaan house prequel. please