#BENJAMIN...BARKER???

[simperoniandcheese]

Call Me Nellie, Will You?

summary:

nellie pov fic for y'all *big smooch* After Mr. Barker is taken, Nellie makes a rushed decision to aid the family he leaves behind and protect them.

Mrs. Lovett stared out of the little window that overlooked the cobbled road of Fleet Street, her head in her hands as she halfheartedly watched the engorged droplets of rain speed down the worn panes of glass, the dark clouds racing the other way as if to escape.

The faint fussing of a baby caught her attention again, and her eyes widened in alarm as she whipped around, her grip on the countertop turning her pale knuckles white. That bloody judge had been poking around again recently, and to Nellie, it was the doings of a guardian angel of some sort that all the days of crying hadn't reeled him in again like flies to a rotting corpse.

She suspected it was evening now, from the pale orange-black sky she spied through her front door's peephole. After touching down carefully onto steady ground from her makeshift plywood step, Mrs. Lovett quickly kicked it under the row of cabinets that served as her worktop, turning on her heel and descending the basement stairs to check on Lucy and the infant that seemingly couldn't keep its cavernous gob shut to save a life.

By God, Nellie. Have a heart for the poor things, will you? It's only been a week or so! Her inner voice needled painfully as the jingle of the bakehouse keys sounded in her grip, just as grating as every other noise she'd heard in this bloody shop.

The padlock fell from its perch as the key was turned, and Mrs. Lovett bit back a yelp, fumbling as she caught it in her cold hands. If the lock had hit the tiles, it would've meant exposure to danger that was very, very likely, what with the absence of the daytime's clamor in the streets around them.

Mrs. Lovett straightened back up as the padlock was placed on the latch, and she steeled herself to be nice, for Chrissake to the woman she felt she was always going to be second fiddle to in Benjamin's gaze. But honestly, it felt like the right thing to do. She hadn't done anything 'right' since she married Albert almost a decade ago. And now he was dead, so that said a lot about what kind of person Mrs. Lovett was.

"Everything decent down 'ere?" She called out softly to the darkness, and soon after her voice was answered when a trembling figure appeared, Johanna now asleep in her embrace. Nellie's face fell with dismay, and she strode to Lucy's side, gently dusting the shivering young mother off.

"If I may say anything, Mrs. Lovett, thank you dearly for your generosity." The distressed-looking woman replied quietly with a curtsy, her dress bobbing as she moved.

"Just call me Nellie, will you." She threw up her hands absently, her attention on a ripped seam on the front of Lucy's dress, looking back up at her with a twinge of irritation flaring up in her gut as Lucy frantically burst into another panicked flurry of words.

"How is it you act so placid and unscathed when those horrible men are sure to be listening by the door as we speak? I saw they harmed you dreadfully, what he did to you, if your monthlies are absent--"

"Don't worry about me, love. Look, I've been checkin' for days, neither the judge nor the beadle have shown their 'ideous mugs round the city. So why don't we take what time we have, and I'll clean you up all good, you and the babe." Nellie sighed, chewing on her already curled lip before eventually ambling up to the front window again to check the street.

Clear.

Lucy carefully passed Johanna over fearfully, her eyes flitting between Johanna and the window, where she ducked her head beneath the sill as she crouch-walked to the next door, following timidly behind Mrs. Lovett, who turned around incredulously with Johanna in arms, her eyebrows raised.

"Oh get up, nobody's even on the street, and I can handle it if anything goes amiss." She snapped, ushering the terrified girl over until the door was shut securely.

"Now, I have a feeling you'll try something daft, and that wouldn't be very good for you or the little bugger, so I'll have to be around all of the time, got it?" Nellie instructed as she placed the baby back into her mother's arms when she had leaned back on the edge of the little tub that called her above average sized slum home.

"Is this how the both of us will spend the rest of our days? Never going outside?" Lucy faltered, her eyes misting over as she gazed at her infant daughter, then back to her caretaker with a dismayed lilt to her hushed voice.

Sighing again, Mrs. Lovett emptied out her handmade rope basket onto the tiled floor, the garments that were in it moved aside with a flick of her ankle.

She'd ignored Lucy's question.

"I think I still 'ave a few things lying around in this place that you could use for Johanna," Nellie muttered as she hefted a pail of water to the inside of the tub, grimacing as it spilled partially.

At least this time, it ended up where it's meant to be. She thought with a huff, gesturing to the bath with one waved hand. "Now then, are you fit to lift the pails before I help clean you up?"

A nod followed Nellie's request, and exhales of relief were released as Mrs. Barker lowered herself into the tepid water, shivering as her bare skin prickled all over in response to the new situation.

"You've been so charitable towards me, friend." Lucy mused in a timid smile, her voice still quavering as Johanna splashed her tiny arms about, being held on her mother's knee firmly. "I am sorry you've had to face London alone, and though I do not relate to you currently, I feel for you with all of my soul."

Mrs. Lovett turned her face away, blissfully pretending to respect Lucy's privacy.

Should I let her know about how I feel towards Benjamin?

Who needs secrets anymore? Everything's gone to hell, anyways, and before the year is up, I bet an ass that we'll either both be in Turpin's pit or the looneybin.

"I used to hate you. I was jealous, I s'pose. Perfect hair, eyes, face, and, perfect...something else.." Nellie trailed off, now thinking about cutting her tongue out as soon as she was alone.

Lucy's face changed dramatically, still processing what she'd been told but the gist of it revealed. She had that look in her eyes where someone knew more than they were letting on, and she hoped that her bias for the barber hadn't been that obvious.

"If I am correct, I assume you are referring to how you've fawned over poor Benjamin time and time again," she spoke up, clearing her throat with the smallest of smiles tugging on her lips.

Mrs. Lovett sniffed, frowning. "Rub the salt in a bit more, why don't you? I've been a widow for almost ten stinkin' years, it'd be about time I was bedded by now."

"Had I not been pursued by Judge Turpin, I would have handed you in myself." Lucy retorted, gently prying the scrubbing brush off of its owner despite her slicing tone.

"Alright, alright. I don't want to ruffle any feathers, just dip your head under nice and quickly, I'll hold pretty little Jo."

And just like that, the small one-year old was nestled back into the crook of Nellie's elbow (with a sighed thank you from Lucy), no doubt confused as to why there was a bootleg copy of her mother glancing down with wide brown eyes instead of Lucy's blue-tinged ones, wild curls instead of long wisps.

Albert hadn't wanted a child, much less had he wanted to pleasure her in any way shape or form.

And even if it hurt to make countless trip after trip to the back door of the physicist's, Nellie liked to stroll back lazily, dreaming up names, scratching out little dresses on the road with a rusty nail, sitting on the cobbles a few streets away until she was sure he'd gone for work with his dusty brown leather suitcase.

She'd liked the idea of having a child, and the moment of Mr. Lovett's death wasn't really as joyous of an occasion as the newly-widowed Mrs. Lovett had thought it to be.

But she now owned his entire family's items and the pie shop too, so she had to thank him for something.

"Y'know, you're very lucky to have a mum who loves and values you, so don't you go causing any trouble for her, or you'll be the secret ingredient in my pies, alright?" Mrs. Lovett murmured out of earshot of the child's mother, picking her way around to her small dresser to locate a towel for Lucy, and maybe, just maybe, she could find that blanket she'd hoarded for years.

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

"A-are you sure, Mrs. Lovett? Where on earth are you going to go?"

"Now, now, I just want to make sure you two are comfy, and you need an actual bed to sleep on more than I do, you're still nursing! No objections." Mrs. Lovett quipped, her robe pooling around her knees as she sat on the bed, tucking Johanna in with Lucy.

"I'm not much a singer, but 'ere goes, it's the only one I know, really." Nellie stretched, rolling over onto her back, letting her hair down from its usual high perch.

Sweet Polly Plunkett lay in the grass,

She turned 'er eyes heavenward, sighing,

As the next lyrics approached, she put on a high voice, while still staying as quiet as she possibly could, not wanting the neighbours snooping in on her again.

"I am a lass, who alas loves a lad;"

"Who alas has a lass in Canterbury," Nellie grinned a little as she rolled her tongue along the roof of her mouth, listening to Lucy applaud softly.

Soon enough, she could hear rhythmic breathing, and smiled faintly to herself.

I won't ever let your family suffer again, Mr. Barker, I swear on my life.

[disregardcanon]

finally got to see sweeney todd live (seen the movie and a few boots) and i have some Thoughts about utilizing sexism in your setting without the writing itself being sexist. because sweeney todd is SO good at it.

if you haven't seen sweeney todd, uh, both spoilers and trigger warnings for sexual assault, murder, cannibalism etc?

in sweeney todd we have three critical female characters

the entirety of sweeney todd happens because a man with wealth and power decides that he wants to rape benjamin barker's wife. he makes up a sham crime to get benjamin out of the picture and ships the man off to australia. this leaves young lucy as a single mother in victorian london.

he horrificly and publicly rapes her in a setting where other people jeer and laugh during the act. eventually she tries to poison herself, and the combination of poverty and cruelty is left to fend for herself on the streets, slowly losing her grip on reality due to the past trauma, ongoing trauma, and presumably brain damage from the poisoning.

when her husband, now calling himself sweeney todd, returns to their street, she is quite literally still there. he's cruel to her even before he "learns" from mrs. lovett that lucy died. the absolute revulsion he experienced towards her due to her being a homeless woman blinded him to even the possibility that this person who is in the right location could be his wife, even before she's "confirmed" as dead. she's just his beautiful, lost ideal. (but she isn't. she's there she's suffering she's insightful and caring and she's THERE-)

sweeney and lucy's daughter, joanna, has been stolen and locked away by the very judge that sent him to australia and raped her mother. she's spent all sixteen of her years confined to a single room, and the moment she catches the attentions of our young hero, the man she calls FATHER decides that he must marry her.

forcefully.

when she presents resistance and tries to run off with her young man, her captor forces her into an asylum where she will wait until she decides to become his wife the way that he is "owed".

sweeney never once acts to save her, despite both mrs. lovett and our hero's prompting. she, again, is the lost ideal. she would remind him too much of his lost love! oh no, however could he stand it! she is just something to mourn, even though she is here. breathing. singing frantically longing for freedom making connections with others and clever choices-

and then we have mrs. lovett, his wonderful, conniving soulmate. she's hilarious! she's far more clever than anyone gives her credit for, because she's just a silly woman after all! she snorts! she tells bad jokes! she's kind to children!

the dynamic between her and tobias only works so well because she's a woman. even if mr. todd was kind to him in a very similar manner, little boys don't show their affection for grown men with I Must Protect This Person. that is a way that little boys are taught to show their affection for the older women in their lives. because their grans and mums and aunts and older sisters, why, they're just so delicate! so kind! grandpas and dads and uncles and older brothers might need help and deference, but their favorite women need protection.

they can't be aware of the terrible things that are happening, or god forbid, a PARTICIPANT! that's just my auntie nelly! she's not capable of such a thing. she says things like "poor thing" and tells silly, bad jokes, and flutters around after the man she has an unrequited crush on.

surely she can't be in on this dastardly plot! she can't be its true author! the one that takes an angry, short-sighted man and gives him a purpose. that would be absurd!

sweeney never suspects her until seconds before he kills her. toby never suspects her at all. she's just a silly little cook with a crush that needs protection after all.

[jobrker]

to kill for love is such a thrill... (inspo.)

[little-lovett]

there is SO much depth and beauty in the stories we hear in sweeney todd. a murderer who was once a doting father, so blind with hatred and anger towards the world that he couldn’t even see his own wife and daughter, staring him right in the face. a woman down on her luck and in love, trying so desperately to make a connection with a deeply broken and disturbed human. an unfortunately innocent and unknowing boy who ended up being the one who could sense the dark truth. a love at first sight that refused to die, even when torn apart by the disgusting perversion of a greedy abuser. sweeney todd is about all of these people, doing absolutely horrible things, all out of some form of love. that’s the beauty of sweeney todd. sweeney killed for a father and husband’s love. lovett baked real people with real lives into pies to maintain a shallow, lustful relationship she impossibly dreamed would bloom into true romance. turpin destroyed an innocent family because he could not contain his ‘love’ for a pretty woman and her daughter. toby slit a throat because his mother figure was all he had, and he loved her, simply and purely, as an innocent child loves a mother. their love is the purest of all in the story.

but my point is — yes, sweeney todd is about a murderer and his accomplice who cannibalizes and sells his victims. but it’s not. sweeney todd is about love. how love is even stronger and more dangerous than the deepest hate. it’s about how love can destroy people. this show is so beautifully, deeply, disgustingly human. and this dark, telling tale is somehow warped into some of the most gorgeous music to ever be written and made hilarious, lovable, and entertaining. musical theatre is truly magic. human nature is love and filth and greed. sweeney todd perfectly embodies both of these ideas.

[robiberon]

do it for her (your wife you havent seen in 15years, from whom you were violently taken because a corrupt judge wanted to rape her, who tried to kill herself and was driven mad by the poison, the first person you see when you set foot back in the accursed city where it all happened but both of you were so changed by your respective horrific experiences that you fail to recognize her and are cruel towards her. the wife who haunts ever part of your story though you do not see her for who she is. who could be if not saved at least helped if you bothered to actually look at her. the wife you mourn the death of even though she is still alive and right there in front of you. the mother of the child you neglect because you are afraid she will look too much like her. the wife who, in your blind search for revenge, you murder. the wife you murder to get at the judge who destroyed you both beyond recognition. the wife you murder in front of your daughter, though you are all unaware that you are all the family you all have been looking for for 15 years, that for a moment you were all together in the same room it all began. the wife you only recognize all to late. when you are no longer human. when you successfully get revenge and are left empty. you do it for her. you do it for yourself.)

[lunarhobbits]

so i saw sweeney todd the other day and it's consuming my thoughts

+ bonus meta meme

[johnnyvalance]

haha noo don’t get so obsessed with the prospect of revenge that it clouds your judgement and makes you lose sight of your original purpose to the point you can’t even recognize the people you’re trying to avenge you’re so sexyyyy aha

[nerointhecorner]

shitty mspaint doodle

[susandsnell]

A spooky season treat for the Sweeneyheads: an incredible audio of the first preview of the Final Scene of Sweeney Todd, featuring the massive, massive tearjerker that is Sweeney reprising Not While I'm Around to Lucy's body in the place of The Barber and His Wife. Lordy.

[arthurscarnival]

Sometimes I’ll be talking to my friends, and they’ll say “Yeah I feel you”

Then my brain will just go;

“I FEEEEEEEEL YOUUUUUU JOHAAAAANNNNAAAAAAAAA”

Sweeney Todd rlly just loved in my head rent free rn …

[atimburtonfan]

[lou-iz-stat]

I think I just really like stories where a couple is killing people together. For example-

Interview with the Vampire, Heathers, Lisa Frankenstein, Sweeney Todd, Santa Clarita Diet etc…

I just realized this after seeing Lisa Frankenstein and loving it.

[itsgrapes-exe]

sweeney todd against humanity

[little-lovett]

yes i’m fine sorry i was just zoning out but right before sweeney kills lucy he says “the judge… i have no time!” and mrs. lovett represents the virtue of patience in the show and she had sang a whole song telling him to wait and take things slow and relax and think through his decisions.

the thing that destroys everyone in this show is impatience. if anthony had waited before intruding on sweeney and the judge, if sweeney had stopped obsessing when and where and how he could kill the beadle and judge, if sweeney hadn’t felt suffocated by the crushing, endless force of time and looked his own little girl and his wife in the eye and really thought and reached into the soul that was still in him, sweeney todd wouldn’t be the tragedy that it is. human nature bitches human nature

[robiberon]

guess who just reawatched sweeney todd

[yourfavoritebutler]

benjamin x lucy barker fans EAT CRUMBS AND IM ONE OF THEM

art style don’t really fit them but I DON’T CARE 🗣️

for @jobrker as a little surprise cause i love their ST work (and cause i couldn’t put it in the ask box 😔)

edit: FORGOT LUCY’S FRECKLES 😭