#about abbey

[gallusrostromegalus]

So I was talking about fic with my sister the other day, and my mom asked "What makes something Fan-Fictions specifically?"

"It's uh... Ok, you like Downton Abbey, right? Its like if you wrote a story about the characters of Downton Abbey, but the plot went different from the show, or the characters were in a different setting."

"Oh!" Said mom. "I think it'd be very funny to read a story where Mr. Carson the butler was the head host of a modern Outback Steakhouse or something similar where people show up to dinner in flip-flops and he sees the teenage waitstaff with the little floor sweepers going under guest's feet. He'd be horrified."

Anyway, She understands it perfectly, and if someone out there has a "Mr. Carson is subjected to the horrors of Modern Foodservice" fic, I will show it to her.

[literallyjustanerd]

the second i saw the temple mural in rebels i knew i had to do this

[Image ID: A mural-style drawing of Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka styled after the mural of the Mortis gods seen in Rebels. Ahsoka is on the right in her white robe and carrying her scepter, a morai perched on her shoulder. Obi wan is in the middle in his Jedi robes, one hand raised. The Jedi Order symbol is behind his head. Anakin stands on the right, with one half of his face obscured by his Darth Vader mask. His hand is clenched into a fist.]

Version without noise (along with me ranting about couple details I'm way too proud of) under the cut:

The beams of light are emanating from the Jedi Order symbol for Obi-Wan, but for Anakin and Ahsoka they are centred on Obi-Wan's heart

The beams emanating from Obi-Wan all reach the edge of the canvas, but for Anakin and Ahsoka some are incomplete

The colours circling their hands are indicative of their lightsaber colours

The light circling Anakin's hand is tinged blue in Obi-Wan's direction

The light circling Ahsoka's hand is primarily white, but tinged in green, and tinged blue in Anakin's direction

[manyrandomfandoms]

tw: brief mentions of miscarriage and suicide attempt

the dichotomy of the level of stakes in each episode of Downton Abbey will always be funny to me. Some episodes are like

“Thomas is on the brink of being fired for being gay”

“it’s the actual World War I”

“Sybil could very well die in childbirth”

“Bates has been arrested for a murder he didn’t commit”

“one of the staff caused a MISCARRIAGE of someone from Upstairs”

“Thomas has been found half dead in a self-inflicted bloody bathtub”

And then other episodes are like

“Will Carson let the staff go to the town fair”

“who will win the flower competition”

“The cooks dropped the chicken on the floor”

“Sybil is wearing pants”

“Branson is still fraternizing with the Downstairs”

[bethanydelleman]

The perfect text quote for John Thorpe doesn't ex-

[fictionadventurer]

Of course Catherine Morland falls in love with the charming, kind Henry Tilney who's unlike any man she's ever met and who's the kind of person who she didn't think existed outside of books. But the great thing is that Henry's equally enchanted by the completely ordinary Catherine, because she's something that's totally unfamiliar to his world. They're equally mythical to each other, and in finding each other they upend their ideas of what they thought the world was, and they build a new world together, and that is peak romance.

[bansheesofinisherin2022]

speaking of remakes of classic literature: why does no one make a modern take on austen's northanger abbey that parodies the mordern horror genre (as opposed to the gothic satire it initially was)? that could be fun and cute without fucking up the main message

[flowersandfashion]

sorry let me rant about downton abbey 10 years later

Thomas's conversion therapy plot pisses me off so much. firstly, it's incredibly out of character. he never wanted to change to conform to society, he wanted the world to change to accomodate him. the man who said "it's not against the law to hope is it" and "I'm not foul, Mr Carson, I'm not like you, but I'm not foul" would NEVER

secondly, from a storytelling perspective, the only 'problem' is that he used infected needles. did we forget that Thomas was a sergeant in the RAMC? he knows how to sterilise needles and how to recognise and treat infection. this also shifts the blame to Thomas himself for getting sick and implies that the conversion therapy itself is harmless (Dr Clarkson says it's just saline solution)

thirdly, it's not historically accurate. I'm not an expert but conversion therapy was not at all common in the 1920s, even Sigmund Freud was against it. hormone therapy and chemical castration were barely developing let alone available to the public (I can't imagine what else the 'treatment' was supposed to be). the only practices that I can find evidence of were psychoanalysis and electric shock therapy

Thomas also mentions that he did electric shock treatment - if you really want to make a point about homophobia in the 1920s (and make Thomas suffer as much as possible), show that instead. watching him be literally tortured for his sexuality would have been far more impactful than him just... looking sweaty for a few episodes

[2bootsup]

I was born something, what could I be?

[plxcxhxldxr]

Ive just heard about the news… EXCITE

[thatscarletflycatcher]

Thinking again about the darknesses that lurk underneath the surface of Sense and Sensibility (I have talked before about how Edward despite being the eldest is subjected to what we can argue is emotional and financial abuse by his family for years, and how the Dashwood women are disinherited on a whim of their great uncle), and this time specifically about the Brandons.

We get so little about them, and what we do get about them is all bad:

This lady was one of my nearest relations, an orphan from her infancy, and under the guardianship of my father... At seventeen she was lost to me for ever. She was married—married against her inclination to my brother. Her fortune was large, and our family estate much encumbered. And this, I fear, is all that can be said for the conduct of one, who was at once her uncle and guardian. My brother did not deserve her; he did not even love her... I have never told you how this was brought on. We were within a few hours of eloping together for Scotland. The treachery, or the folly, of my cousin’s maid betrayed us. I was banished to the house of a relation far distant, and she was allowed no liberty, no society, no amusement, till my father’s point was gained... My brother had no regard for her; his pleasures were not what they ought to have been, and from the first he treated her unkindly.

Mr Brandon Sr is shown to us as being a greedy man, a bad administrator of his estate, and a cruel father. His first son seems cut of the same cloth, and his pleasures were not what they ought to have been is one of the most, if not the most sinister line between all the Austen novels. But there's more about him!:

Her legal allowance was not adequate to her fortune, nor sufficient for her comfortable maintenance, and I learnt from my brother that the power of receiving it had been made over some months before to another person. He imagined, and calmly could he imagine it, that her extravagance, and consequent distress, had obliged her to dispose of it for some immediate relief.

The Brandons were married for two years; the colonel returns to England and starts looking for her 3 years later. Young Eliza was then a 3 year old toddler. We are obliquely told that Brandon cut all ties with his brother:

It was a valued, a precious trust to me; and gladly would I have discharged it in the strictest sense, by watching over her education myself, had the nature of our situations allowed it; but I had no family, no home; and my little Eliza was therefore placed at school. I saw her there whenever I could, and after the death of my brother, (which happened about five years ago, and which left to me the possession of the family property,) she visited me at Delaford.

Eliza is now 17, so the eldest brother died when she was 14, which is 16 years after his marriage with the older Eliza. In that period of time, he managed to squander the whole of her fortune, and put the estate in debt again, as we are told earlier on by Mrs Jennings:

Poor man! I am afraid his circumstances may be bad. The estate at Delaford was never reckoned more than two thousand a year, and his brother left everything sadly involved. I do think he must have been sent for about money matters, for what else can it be? I wonder whether it is so. I would give anything to know the truth of it. Perhaps it is about Miss Williams and, by the bye, I dare say it is, because he looked so conscious when I mentioned her. May be she is ill in town; nothing in the world more likely, for I have a notion she is always rather sickly. I would lay any wager it is about Miss Williams. It is not so very likely he should be distressed in his circumstances now, for he is a very prudent man, and to be sure must have cleared the estate by this time. I wonder what it can be! May be his sister is worse at Avignon, and has sent for him over. His setting off in such a hurry seems very like it. Well, I wish him out of all his trouble with all my heart, and a good wife into the bargain.”

We know the Bennets, with five daughters, and without a saving mindset, still manage to live very comfortably with 2000 a year, and if they had had any mind to save money, they could have provided all five of them with decent dowries/money enough to keep them out of poverty when their father died if they were single. It is clearly not that the money isn't enough, or that Delaford is an unproductive estate; in fact, it is described to us as almost paradisiac:

Delaford is a nice place, I can tell you; exactly what I call a nice old fashioned place, full of comforts and conveniences; quite shut in with great garden walls that are covered with the best fruit-trees in the country; and such a mulberry tree in one corner! Lord! how Charlotte and I did stuff the only time we were there! Then, there is a dove-cote, some delightful stew-ponds, and a very pretty canal; and every thing, in short, that one could wish for; and, moreover, it is close to the church, and only a quarter of a mile from the turnpike-road, so ’tis never dull, for if you only go and sit up in an old yew arbour behind the house, you may see all the carriages that pass along. Oh! ’tis a nice place! A butcher hard by in the village, and the parsonage-house within a stone’s throw. To my fancy, a thousand times prettier than Barton Park, where they are forced to send three miles for their meat, and have not a neighbour nearer than your mother.

One interesting character, though forgotten because only mentioned in passing, is the Brandon sister. On one of the quotes above we get that she's in Avignon for her health, and we know her husband is wealthy (and probably abroad with her) because it is his estate that the planned picnic is for:

A party was formed this evening for going on the following day to see a very fine place about twelve miles from Barton, belonging to a brother-in-law of Colonel Brandon, without whose interest it could not be seen, as the proprietor, who was then abroad, had left strict orders on that head. The grounds were declared to be highly beautiful, and Sir John, who was particularly warm in their praise, might be allowed to be a tolerable judge, for he had formed parties to visit them, at least, twice every summer for the last ten years. They contained a noble piece of water; a sail on which was to form a great part of the morning’s amusement; cold provisions were to be taken, open carriages only to be employed, and every thing conducted in the usual style of a complete party of pleasure.

It is implied that Brandon and his BIL are in very good terms (and we know he's not afraid of cutting ties with bad relatives), and one can safely guess that at the very least he cares enough about his wife as to have her travel for her health. Another guess can be made about her getting married about 10 years before the events of the book. Whether she lived at home before that, or was at school or somewhere else, it isn't said.

But this way you can feel there's a parallel in a way, between the Brandons and the Tilneys: a greedy, cruel father, a son that follows on his steps, and a younger brother and sister managing the toxicity as best they can. Talking about this with @bad-at-names-and-faces, she brought up the idea that in that scheme, Cathy would be Eliza (if it wasn't her not being an orphan, or a rich heiress, and how that connects with Austen's line about Cathy not being born to be a heroine at the beginning of Northanger Abbey). Certainly part of it is the romantic gothicness of the Brandon backstory, united with NA's commentary on Gothic tropes, but to me it drove home with even greater force how such a situation would break a man; losing Cathy that way would have definitely broken Tilney, and if we had met him 14 years down the line, would he have appeared to the unacquainted much different than Brandon appeared to the Dashwood sisters?

[papa-evershed]

Rob James-Collier as Thomas Barrow DOWNTON ABBEY

[queenmelancholy]

You walk downstairs, and find him with your eyes. You halt and walk on. But he's waiting for you.

Tell her she looks beautiful.  You’re delighted to hear it, but you cannot admit it. 

Bill Benson is about to throw away his life on the tables. Alone, hollow and without hope. 

Then suddenly he lifts his face and sees Anne standing there, tall, serene, graceful, her eyes shining with unshed tears. On an impulse, he snatches back his money. Rien ne va plus. 

The wheel spins. And every last thing he owns would have gone. But no. Her love, her beauty have saved him.

She takes his hand, and they walk away. Together. The end.

“It seems you are my saviour.”

“And I intend to remain your saviour for a very long time to come.”

[literallyjustanerd]

...at least they're having fun? find out what they're jamming to bonuses:

[lulublack90]

Prompt 11 - Essential

@jegulus-microfic July 11, Word count 693

“Sirius, why are there boxes of essential oils all over the flat?!” Regulus was startled awake by Remus shouting in the small flat. He’d moved in with his brother and his boyfriend a few weeks ago after his cousin Bellatrix caught him saying goodnight to the man he’d been on a date with. She’d taken pictures of him kissing the man goodnight and gone straight to his mother. When he got home, there was a box of his things on the doorstep. He’d knocked on the door when his key didn’t work and was greeted by Walburga Black sneering down at him. She showed him the pictures that Bellatrix had sent to her and told him he was no son of hers and to never darken their doorstep again. 

Unsure of what to do, he phoned the only number on his phone that he’d never used. Sirius came and picked him up immediately and gave him a home. And that’s where he still was. It wasn’t too bad. He wasn’t afraid of coming home any more, so that was a bonus. It was just that the flat was tiny, and his brother was loud, and his friends were always there.

“It’s fine Remus, I’m going to put them all in our bedroom and sell them, everyone loves essential oils!” Sirius shouted back from his bedroom, snapping Regulus back to the present. 

Sirius and Remus were throwing a party that night. Regulus was, of course, invited, but he planned to stay in his bedroom with his earphones on and binge-watch Downton Abbey. There was a loud yell and a bang from the living room. He jumped up and went to see what his brother had done now. 

Sirius was sprawled on the carpet with ten small boxes on and around him. 

“He tripped,” Remus said as a means of explanation. Regulus shook his head and started helping collect the boxes and store them in the other bedroom. 

It wasn’t long before the party was in full swing and Regulus was deep into the tales of the Crawley family. He was, however, pulled from his viewing when his bedroom door flew open and James Potter blew in, shutting the door behind him.

“Can I hide in here?” He asked, looking around the small room for somewhere to hide.

“What? No.” Regulus screwed up his face in disgust. “Get out,” 

“Oh come on, please,” James begged.

“Why do you need to hide?” Regulus was becoming interested against his better judgement. James snorted. 

“I just put a ton of hot sauce in Sirius’s drink, and it’s only a matter of seconds before he takes a sip.”

“AHHHHHH!!! POTTER!!!” James’s eyebrows flew up his head as his eyes widened. 

“Quick,” Regulus said, dragging his duvet up. “Curl up at the top of the bed,” James didn’t question him and did as he was told. Regulus threw the duvet over him, tucking in the edges and settled back, using him as a giant pillow and pressing play on his laptop again. 

Sirius knocked on his door before peeping in.

“Reggie, you haven’t seen James, have you?” His voice was a little hoarse. Regulus had to bite his tongue to stop himself smiling. 

“Nope, just me and Mary in here,” 

“Mary? She’s out here,” Sirius looked behind him and pointed, “Yeah, she’s right there,”

“Not MacDonald. Lady Mary Crawley,” He huffed, spinning his laptop to show Sirius the screen. 

“Oh, alright. If you see James though, I’m looking for him.”

“I’ll send him your way if I see him,” Regulus promised, his fingers crossed behind the laptop.

“You know you could come out and join us,” Sirius said hopefully. 

“Sorry, I’m not really up to it,” He smiled a small smile at his brother. 

“Maybe next time then,” Sirius returned the smile, but bigger. His eyes flicked around the room, and he quietly shut the door behind him. 

“It’s clear,” Regulus said, jabbing his elbow into the soft lump behind him. 

“Ooof!” James grunted but carefully rolled out of the cover. He plonked himself down next to Regulus and wrapped the duvet around their shoulders. “So what are we watching?” 

[theangelcatalogue]

RTC fandom is collecting productions like pokemon cards (and I'm here for it)

[fictionadventurer]

Fantasy retelling of Northanger Abbey:

Innocent young Catherine Morland is overjoyed to have the chance to go to the King's City, leaving her quiet country town for a more diverse and magical metropolis.

Catherine loves reading fairy tales about the dramatic deeds of long-ago fae.

Henry Tilney is a trickster fairy prince who is jaded by a lifetime of dealing with the machinations of the fae courts. He gets amusement out of living among humans and laughing at their follies.

Catherine meets Henry and is immediately awed at his backstory and (metaphorically) enchanted by his charming personality.

For reasons unknown, Henry's father encourages Henry to romantically pursue Catherine. Henry half-heartedly goes along with it, because it's not a bad idea to stay in Dad's good graces.

And then he's shocked to find himself actually falling in love--because Catherine loves him and because she's genuinely innocent and good in a world where he thought such people didn't exist.

To everyone's surprise, Catherine gets an invite to stay at Henry's father's palace.

An actual enchanted fairy palace? How could Catherine say no?

As they're traveling there, Henry plays up all the old fairy tale tropes warning Catherine how to behave. He's joking (things haven't been like that for centuries) but Catherine still takes it to heart.

Catherine hears of the dramatic tale of the life and death of Henry's mother (perhaps a human? So Henry's actually only half-fae?). With her imagination primed by the stories she knows, Catherine starts to interpret faint "evidence" as proof that his mother's actually hidden away under a fate-worse-than-death curse, perhaps just waiting for a pure-of-heart maiden to come break the spell.

Henry catches Catherine during her quest and is amused and a bit offended. Do you know what you're saying? Maybe things like that could happen long ago and far away, but the fairies are Christianized now. Enchantments like that are far too brutal to consider.

She's right that his dad's a jerk, though.

Not long after this, Henry's dad sends Catherine away in disgrace. He had heard that Catherine was the Chosen One of a prophecy and wanted her to increase the power of his kingdom. He's shocked to learn it's not true (you mean humans can lie?), and in his anger he's harsh in sending her away.

Henry refuses to abandon Catherine and gets himself banished for refusing to give her up.

He shows up at her ordinary home and declares his love and they live happily ever after.