#but ESPECIALLY those who hated on mistress and support jane

[flamingthespian]

Yeah you know what I will make a post about this

If you attacked Mistress Isabelle Brooks for her shade but spread nothing but love for Plane Jane’s bitchiness, you really need to check yourself. Think about it. Imagine Jane saying anything Mistress said, and how you would react.

[nocturna-iv]

001: descendants, 002: Bumarry, 003: Ben for the ask game please ❤️

Hi luv!

About this ask:

And of course!

001: Descendants

Favorite character: Uma

Least Favorite character: Mal

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon):

Harry Hook x Uma

Ben x Uma

Harriet Hook x Ginny Gothel 

Jay x Lonnie

Jay x Uma

5 Favorite polyships (canon or non-canon):

Ben x Harry Hook x Uma (Ben x Gil x Harry Hook x Uma)

Audrey x Harry Hook x Gil x Uma (Audrey x Ben x Harry Hook x Gil x Uma)

Carlos de Vil x Jay x Lonnie

Chad x Jay x Gil x Harry Hook 

Gil x Harry Hook x Jay x Uma

Character I find most attractive: Harry Hook

Character I would marry: Ben, Harry, Lonnie & Uma

Character I would be best friends with: Ben, Carlos, Jane & Jay

A random thought: Because it’s Disney, Descendants doesn’t touch on prostitution, human trafficking, and violent sexuality and at a very early age that the VK had to live, as happens in the real world in invasions, guerrillas (child soldiers), street children or centers penitentiaries not properly regulated (such as the Isle of the Lost, a prison without guards and any law). But I don’t touch on the subject because it’s something very real and strong to expose it like that with the fandom but due to my profession and work, it’s something that my brain always remembers. Also, I don't like it when people treat these topics just for shock value.

An unpopular opinion: It's visibly awkward that ships and popular characters are mostly white. And I mean in the content of the fandom. Although we talk about the racism that exists in the canon, very few people seek to balance the numbers with new contributions  (whether with content with canon characters, OCs, or y/n). I don't know if it makes sense. But it seems that it is easy to talk about racism but not do something actively to include BIPOC characters (This is why I get excited when I find people drawing Audrey, Jay, Evie, Uma, and others without lightening their skin tone or writing fics with BIPOC y/n or creating things with the BIPOC canon characters as their main characters)

My canon OTP: Harry Hook x Uma

Non-canon OTP: Jay x Lonnie

Most badass character: Uma

Pairing I am not a fan of: Any ship with Mal. Especially Mal canon. And I HATE Mal x Uma, Audrey x Mal and Ben x Mal. Because of the toxic and abusive environment.

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): 

Chad Charming.  From the start, Chad, Cinderella's son was turned into... a terrible character. Well, in the beginning, he is intelligent and manipulative, who knows how to use his charm against others. Brilliant. Cool. I can work with that. He may have an arc about learning about his wrongdoing and using his privileges to help others who don't. But no, the character just went downhill and became everyone's joke. 

Also, Ben, obviously. The movies wouldn't exist without him and he became an accessory to Mal. Disney can only write hero and damsel in distress, it seems. Because they do that to Ben. A tool to move the plot. My poor golden boy.

Favourite friendship: Jay and Lonnie. Give me two best friends who constantly joke around, kick each other's butt, compete in even the most ridiculous things, are affectionate with each other and even if they don't plan on it, they spend time together (I'm seeing you Jay and "I'm not going to invite no one to the ball but I'm going to dance with Lonnie all night ")

Character I want to adopt or be adopted by: I'm going to adopt Celia and no one will be able to stop me!

002: Bumarry,

When of if I started shipping it: Technically I answered this here. Also, from looking for Huma and Buma fics, I ended up finding my first Bumarry and... Oh, I got hooked on the idea.

My thoughts: They are my OTPoly (One True Polyship). I love them. Because they allow me to mix the variables and create new scenarios. After all the damage Ben has gone through, I inevitably want to give him the best and the best is Huma. What else can I say? It’s absolute logic.

What makes me happy about them: The devotion, affection, and strength they would have. Ben and Uma are very different leaders who complement each other very well and I could only trust Harry to take care of the two of them and give them the freedom they deserve. Ben is incredibly loving and that's something both Harry and Uma deserve to feel, Uma is incredibly protective and Ben needs that backing to rule and Harry needs that to stay alive every 5 seconds. Harry's loyalty is unprecedented, he would see to not only that everything is up to Ben and Uma's standards, but he would personally see that their dreams come true.

What makes me sad about them: 

Harry Hook/Uma:

Ben/Harry Hook:

Ben/Uma:

Ben/Harry Hook/Uma:

There isn't much of them... And they're mostly fics of mine. I want more content, you know? I want to read fics, drabbles, see fanarts... Buh.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: It’s not in Bumarry itself. Actually, it's in Ben/Harry Hook, they usually play dirty with Uma. And it annoys me. They make her mean, jealous, cruel, or things like that to Ben and Harry. And this I came across once: They make Harry gay and that his relationship/dynamic with Uma is pure appearance. I had no problem with Harry being gay, but the justification for his sexual tension with Uma was all... Fake? No, it didn't fit in well with me. I think that's why when you ask me to write Ben/Harry Hook, Uma is there to give support. Don't play dirty with my queen.

Things I look for in fanfic: Uma dom! Uma top! Those are my favorite tags.

My kinks: With this polyship? Okay... BDSM all the way. 

Ben:  Caring dom, cuckolding, cupping, degradee (especially with actions), experimentalists, little one, masochist, pet, hunter (primal), praise kink, prey (primal), rope bunny, submissive, suspension, switch, tentacle fetich, voyeur,  wax play

Harry Hook: Alpha sub, brat, breath play, biting fetich, choking, cupping, dom, degrader, exhibitionist, knife play (hook play?), owner, pet, praise kink, prey (primal), rigger, sadistic, slave, submissive,  switch, tentacle fetich

Uma:  Brat tamer, biting fetich, Dom, electrostimulation (electro-wand, feel like a little sting), exhibitionist, Immobilization, masochist, mistress, owner, hunter (primal),  orgasm control, sensation play, scratching, 

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Ben/Uma, Ben/Harry Hook, Harry Hook/Uma, with Gil, Evie or Jay. 

My happily ever after for them: 

Ben and Uma reigning Auradon and the Isle of the Lost together, Harry Hook taking care of them so they don't get exhausted and are protected from any attack. 

Ben on the run with Harry and Uma to live a pirate life and reclaiming Auradon in a rebellion.

003 Ben

How I feel about this character: I love him! He has good intentions. Ben knows that he is in a position of power and struggles to take advantage of his privileges to change things. He is rebellious, the second he is going to take the throne he begins to dismantle the system. Ben has a good heart and wants to help other people. Besides, I love that he has his survival instinct broken.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Uma, Harry Hook, Evie, Gil, Jay, Audrey and Chad

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Jane, Lonnie, Chad, Audrey, Evie, Uma, Harry Hook, Evie, Gil, Jay hahaha

My unpopular opinion about this character: Because he's a guy, the fandom downplays the horrible things he's been through.

One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon: He has maintained his friendship with Audrey and Chad. It breaks my heart to know that he is completely alone in that department since D1 and is perpetuated throughout the following films. I also wanted him to end up with Mal.

My het ship: Ben/Uma & Audrey/Ben

My fem/slash ship: Ben/Harry Hook, Ben/Gil, Ben/Chad

My OTP: Ben/Uma

My OT3: Ben/Harry Hook/Uma

My cross over ship: *thinking* Oh... Ben/Leo Valdez (PJO) And! And! Ben/Reggie (JATP)

My kink: Caring dom, cuckolding, cupping, degradee (especially with actions), experimentalists, little one, masochist, pet, hunter (primal), praise kink, prey (primal), rope bunny, submissive, suspension, switch, tentacle fetich, voyeur,  wax play

A HC fact: He likes to constantly question himself. About his sexual orientation, about his gender identity, about his ability to love, about his pleasure, above all. He likes to explore. Ben is queer.

My gender bend: Technically I already have it. In Meanwhile. Bee, she loos like her. I LOVE the idea of Bee shieldmaiden.

I love responding this! Thank you!!!!!!!

[yourdeepestfathoms]

and then you became the moon (part 1)

you’ve heard of the fics about how the queens met and got close now get ready for: that but with the ladies in waiting and it’s mainly about Bessie and Maggie

this fic is heavily based on some amazing headcanons by @the-k-howard-look which i absolutely LOVE! seriously they are so freaking cute and i love reading over a lot, so i had to do something with them!

TW: None, I believe, but let me know if there are any

------------

It was raining.

Four women sat in a back room of a theater on that fateful day, staring at each other in silence. It was a little awkward to say the least, but, eventually, one of them spoke up.

   “Well, I guess I’ll take one for the team,” She said, “I’m Maria de Salinas. I was Catherine of Aragon’s lady in waiting.”

The most noticeable thing about her was her curly, frizzy hair, but also her kind eyes, which were similar to that of a gentle doe gazing at you from the forest. Out of all of them, she was definitely the most laid back and calm one.

   “Maria,” The woman to her left said, “Yes, you’re not exactly hard to forget. Especially with that mane.”

Maria grinned at her.

   “Good to see you too, Bess.”

The woman had her arms crossed over her chest and sat up straight, holding herself in a defensive posture in a way. Her build was similar to a bear’s, but she had the eyes of a harpy eagle and the hands of a wolf.

   “Elizabeth Blount,” She introduced herself, “But I prefer to go by Bessie. I was a lady in waiting to several queens.”

   “Oh yeah, I remember you!” The blonde across from her pipes up. She’s not as relaxed as Maria, but is definitely more loosened up than the other two. However, she looked well built and strong. “I don’t think we talked much, though. Anyway, I’m Joan Meutas, but I think my name is sometimes Jane? It’s Joan, though. Jane Seymour was my mistress.”

   “Joan, Jane,” Maria shrugged, “They’re easy to mix up.”

Joan laughed a little, already matching well with Maria’s carefree, friendly demeanor.

   “Yeah. It’s strange.”

Maria nodded and then looked to the last of the group.

She was young, no more than seventeen at best, and was awfully scrawny. Her brown hair was a mess upon her head, she was very pale, except for the dark red flush on her cheeks, and she was shivering, but her pale blue eyes still remained very beautiful, despite how glassy they looked.

   “Oh. I’m Margaret Lee. You can just call me Maggie.” She said and her voice is very hoarse.

Bessie perks a little upon hearing her name, which makes Maria glance at her, but she settles quickly.

   “Are you okay?” Joan asks the youngest, slight worry glinting in her eyes.

   “Yeah,” Maggie replied swiftly, “Just a little cold, that’s all.”

   “It has been raining for awhile.” Maria nodded.

A few moments later, a woman enters, introducing herself as Sasha. She began to explain the show, telling the four of them about how they were going to be the band for the queens.

   “Can’t wait to stand in the background!” Maria said and Joan snorted.

Although actually being able to perform would be fun, the group accepted that they were just going to be the ones who played the music. At least they were being paid.

Over the next few days, basic rundowns were gone through, and it wasn’t long before the sheet music for the first song was given. However, something else was happening.

The youngest of the group, Maggie, was definitely getting sicker. She came in looking more and more feverish as each day passed. It was worrying, of course, but Bessie seemed to be the most concerned. A strange maternal feeling kept welling up inside of her each time she saw the girl. Perhaps it was because she had died giving birth to her daughter, who was also named Margaret.

Maybe...

No.

No, Margaret Lee was not her Margaret. She was just missing her baby, which was also weird because she had seven kids, so you would think she would get tired of holding a screaming bundle that looked like a wrinkly tomato.

But something about Margaret...

The name was special, at least to Bessie. It had been suggested to her by Lady Anna of Cleves, who she had been working under while pregnant. The two of them mused about baby Margaret without even knowing if she WOULD be a girl. Although, Anna knew for a fact that she would be, though.

And she had been right.

Unfortunately, she never got to meet baby Margaret, like Bessie, who only held on long enough to name the infant.

What if this was her second chance at being there for her Margaret?

No! No. No, that was just absurd.

However, her motherly instincts continued to flare, especially when she noticed Maggie starting to sway during rehearsals.

   “Margaret!”

Strong arms wrapped around Maggie’s waist when she started to collapse. Her eyes pop open wide and she staggered, trying to push away.

   “Easy. I’ve got you.”

Bessie lowered the two of them to the ground. Maggie presses up against the wall, her cheeks burning in embarrassment. Or maybe that was just the flush from her fever.

   “Sorry,” Maggie whispered, “I just-”

   “No need to apologize, love,” Bessie assured her, “You really shouldn’t be here if you’re sick, though.”

   “No, I’m fine. Really.”

   “Have you taken any medicine?”

Maggie opened her mouth and then closed it. Bessie frowned.

   “Maggie?”

   “Can’t afford it.” Maggie mumbled, bowing her head in shame, “I can barely make rent, so I can’t waste any money on anything else.”

   “Oh, love...”

Maggie shook her head. She pushed herself up to her feet, wobbling a little, but uses the wall for support. Bessie stands quickly, hands hovering out a little, ready to catch the girl in case she fell again.

   “How about to stay with me tonight?”

Maggie froze. She looked at Bessie with wide eyes.

   “What?”

   “Come stay with my at my flat.” Bessie said, “I have medicine.”

   “Bessie, I can’t do that.” Maggie stammered.

   “I insist.” Bessie pressed, “Please, hun, you need time to recover. You’ll only get worse if you don’t take anything. Let me help you.”

Maggie opened her mouth, then shut it. Her hazy mind toiled over what was just presented to her. The codependent part of her couldn’t help but be filled with a sense of need, thinking that this woman really wanted to be around her. The other part, though, was screaming at her to say no. Intruding on Bessie’s home was rude. However, her need to be cared for by someone was much greater than the fear, so she agreed.

It was settled, then. After rehearsals ended, Bessie drove herself and Maggie to her flat. When they got there, Maggie was barely awake in the passenger seat, leaning her head on the seat belt. She was so dazed and out-of-it that she didn’t even hear the driver’s side door closing or her own opening.

Bessie looked down at the girl with a soft smile. She hated to have to disturb her, especially when she looked so peaceful (or as peaceful as one could get when ill), but they had to get inside before the drizzle outside picked up.

   “Maggie, love,” Bessie said softly, lightly pressing on her shoulder to rouse her, “We’re here.”

Maggie’s pale blue eyes fluttered open and she stared at Bessie for a moment before mumbling something incomprehensible and unbuckling her seat belt. Bessie helped her out of the car and up to the flat. The bassist absolutely would have carried the girl, she didn’t look heavy at all and Bessie wasn’t weak by any means, but she felt that that might have been overstepping the boundary. So, instead, she just kept one arm around Maggie’s shoulders for support.

   “Are you okay with animals?” Bessie asked while getting her keys out. She noticed Maggie tense up and frowned. “What’s wrong, love? Are you going to be sick?”

  “Dogs?” Maggie squeaked out.

Bessie furrowed her eyebrows before realizing what the girl meant.

   “Oh, no. I don’t have dogs. Just a cat.”

Maggie relaxed and nodded.

   “Not a fan of dogs, I take it?”

The girl nods again.

Bessie hummed, keeping that in mind.

She opens the door and guides Maggie into her apartment, where they are greeted by a meow from the living room.

   “That old lady is Reefer,” Bessie said, nodding at the tortoiseshell cat. “She’s friendly.”

A small smile twitched on Maggie’s lips when she held out her hand to the cat, who nuzzles her fingers as a hello.

   “She’s pretty,” Maggie murmured.

Bessie smiled a little before pointing out the bathroom and spare bedroom. While doing so, she noticed Maggie struggling to simply follow along with what she was saying. The poor girl needed medicine and she needed it now.

   “Alright, hun,” Bessie set a hand on Maggie’s shoulder when she started to sway, “Let’s get some medicine in you and then you can get changed and take a shower. How does that sound?”

Maggie nodded feebly and Bessie eased her into sitting on the couch while she went to get the medicine. She ended up hunching over, holding her pounding head in both hands. Bessie frowned when she saw this while walking back over.

   “Here, love,” Bessie said softly, holding out a small medicine cup full of a thick scarlet liquid. She chuckled lightly when she saw the bitter face Maggie made. “It’ll help you, I promise.”

Maggie had no other choice but to down the liquid, which left a disgusting taste in her mouth. She shook her head, deciding that she hated medicine, but loved Bessie’s presence and care, so she would deal with it.

After taking a few other things (Bessie was tempted to give her everything she had for an illness, but didn’t want to accidentally overdose the poor thing), Bessie helped Maggie to her feet and guided her over to the bathroom to clean off and get changed into some clothes she was letting her borrow.

After Bessie went back to the kitchen to start dinner, Maggie slipped behind the curtain and stood under the water for a moment. Finally, she moved again, reaching for a bottle of soap and slathering some against her body and-

   “Wait.”

She still had her clothes on. Those had to come off. Of course.

She awkwardly loitered for a second, making sure the soap got out of the fabric of her shirt before stepping onto the floor mat. How delirious and stupid was she? Bathing with her clothes on? Who did that?

Taking off her clothes took great effort, as her limbs seemed to be made of lead. She discarded them in the sink, shuffled back into the shower, and almost immediately spits out the water that beats into her face. Blindly, like she has never bathed before, she paws around for a safe spot from the onslaught.

Normally, a hot shower would be relaxing, but when sick and feverish, it was like a torture segment. Instead of cleaning her, it was scraping her skin off entirely. Claws of fire latch onto frayed edges and tore down, tunneling down into her very core.

Maggie wasn’t going to let herself be defeated by a damn bath. She had the overwhelming urge to punch the spigot, but that probably wouldn’t do much for her. It was made of metal, after all.

All of a sudden, her knees gave in and she snapped out of her reverie when she collapsed to the floor. She reached up to try and regain some mobility, but only succeeded in knocking over every single soap bottle onto herself when her hand slipped on the bar.

Maggie: 0. Shower: 1.

Exhaustion seemed to be bred into her bones. It keeps her from sitting upright and she spends multiple long minutes just lying face-down on the floor, face smothered against puddles of water. She rasps and coughs, rolling heavily onto her side and pulling her legs in close. She pressed her burning forehead against her knees and shivered, despite the temperature of the water.

Resting her eyes for a moment wouldn’t hurt anyone.....

Water bills were a thing, though. And this wasn’t even her house.

Sighing heavily, Maggie pushed herself onto her knees and grabbed a rag to start wiping herself off. She douses her hair in shampoo and uses her nails to scrub the brown locks free from sweat. She repeats this process at least three times before finally twisting the faucet handle. The torrent of liquid fire sputters to a halt.

Lavender-scented steam billowed outward as the shower curtain was yanked open. Maggie paws around for a towel and swathes it around herself. She takes to drying her hair by shaking her head around wildly like a wet dog. Her entire body disagreed with this method, as it made her feel even more woozy, but she didn’t care.

Once she was finished wrestling with her clothes, Maggie sluggishly dragged herself out of the bathroom, still shivering. Bessie peeks out of the kitchen and then hurried over to her.

   “I’m making dinner right now,” She tells her, “Do you want to take a nap while you wait?”

Maggie nodded and Bessie helped her to the extra room, but that’s the last thing she remembered, because she eventually woke up to the sound of music.

Prying open her heavy eyelids, Maggie rolled over and nearly fell right out of the bed, but managed to catch herself before she could smack against the ground. She peeked out of the bedroom and saw Bessie sitting in the living room, strumming at a shiny black and white bass. The hum of the instrument sent vibrations up through Maggie’s body, even at the distance she was standing at. It sounded so beautiful and she couldn’t help but be drawn to it.

Bessie jumped when she noticed the girl slowly approaching her. She halted in her playing and set her bass aside to go check on Maggie.

   “You’re still really hot,” Bessie murmured when she felt Maggie’s forehead, “Is everything okay, sweetheart?”

   “Your playing was really pretty.” Maggie said, her words slurring together.

   “Oh. Thank you.” Bessie said, “Did I wake you?”

   “Pretty...” Maggie just mumbled again. She teeters forward and Bessie quickly catches her. The bassist adjusts her hold, noticing whited out scars running up Maggie’s arms when she does so, but ignores those for now.

   “Okay, love, let’s get you back in bed. You don’t seem to have the energy to eat right now, huh?”

   “Wait-” Maggie’s eyes open quickly. “No. Wanna stay with you.”

   “But-”

   “Please?”

Bessie couldn’t say no to those big blue eyes that gazed up at her, so she agreed and, instead, made Maggie sit down on the couch. The girl curled up against her instantly and those motherly instincts came rushing back. Pushing the boundaries a little, she wrapped an arm around Maggie and pulled her close.

The way the girl snuggled up against her nearly sent Bessie into another plane of existence. There was just something about her that Bessie couldn’t explain, but she wanted to hold her and take care of her like a mother would. She was sure this was just from her missing her baby, and Maggie’s affection towards a woman she’s only known for a week is definitely from her fever, but she liked to think there was some kind of spark between them, even if it was an absurd thought.

Bessie knew, deep down, she shouldn’t get close to Maggie like this, but she couldn’t stop herself when she leaned down and gently kissed the top of the girl’s head.

The sigh of contentment made her heart flutter and she decided to ignore the thoughts saying she shouldn’t do this.

She had her little Margaret back in her arms and she wasn’t going to give that up.

[reaperkaneki]

the three books ive read for pride month this year

i wish you all the best by mason deaver, a YA fiction book about a nonbinary teen who gets kicked out of their house by their parents and comes to live with their estranged sisten, who they haven’t seen for ten years after she ran away to college pending a fight with their conservative parents. a coming-of-age, coming-out story actually written by a nonbinary author, this one really hit home and—yes, completely expectedly—made me cry a lot. it was very good. i especially liked the parts about how attraction as a trans and especially nonbinary person is so so so complicated, because you start off thinking maybe i’m gay, or i’m straight, or actually i’m neither of those things because gender and attraction don’t play nice with trans identities, and the acknowlegement that there ARE nonbinary people who identify as bisexual despite the misconception that being bisexual is restrictive. its very good. it’s certainly a book i wish i couldve read in high school, as a nonbinary person who is also bisexual. SPOILER: as i was reading this book and seeing ben struggle over whether to try to reconnect with their parents or not, i kept shouting no! you don’t owe them anything!! cut them off!! because i was so immersed and relating so heavily to my own parents (who never did anything so violent but did many similar things) and i was really glad in the end that there was no actual reconcilliation, that one final chance was given and after that, ben said no, i deserve to be happy. and i really liked the not having to forgive your abusers just because they’re the parents who raised you.

my lesbian experience with loneliness by nagata kabi, which i think everyone else but me has already read, to the point where there’s two volumes of sequel out. i almost never read nonfiction, and especially biographies/memoirs, but i’ve heard so much about this one that i had to read it finally. and it is extremely relatable, not just as an afab lgbt individual, but as someone who struggles with depression and anxiety and the very (not uniquely, but certainly integrally) asian concept of familial responsibility, like you have to live up to their expectations and get a good job and in turn support them for supporting you, it was. yeah, thats how it goes. ive seen a lot of wlw sharing this one around as like a mirror image of being a baby lesbian and not understanding why theres such a disconnect between yourself and womanhood and being touch starved. and i can totally see that, despite not being a lesbian, and while i cant intrinsically relate to that unique experience, i do definitely understand the otherness, the unpleasantness of putting on womanhood. the cutesiness of the artwork really blindsides you as to the immensely heavy topics covered with absolute candidness, and had i not known going in that it’s a somewhat depressing work it would have probably hit me very hard with the realness. because yeah i certainly have been that person, lying in my bed, crying, wishing someone would love me, either as a lover as a friend, seeing my friends leave me bc i cant bother to put effort into relationships. reacting to any slight problem with i should just die already as the only solution. its honest, its real, its brutal.

unmasked by the marquess by cat sebatian, the first actual published romance novel ive ever bought and read, despite having played every officially localized otome to exist on console, and i didnt know what to expect other than a crossdressing mc—who, by the way, is referred to with she/her pronouns in text, BUT is explicitly in an author’s note referred to as nonbinary rather than just a cis woman in disguise. it’s a historical romance so there’s a lot of Really A Woman stuff going on but i can overlook it for the sake of the narrative. it’s obvious even in the text that robin neither thinks of herself as robert nor charity—but as robin, a gender neutral name that her (male, explicitly bisexual) LI refers to her as. it is made abundantly clear from the beginning that she hates wearing women’s clothes, that from the moment she stepped into men’s clothing and assumed a masculine role she felt more herself than she’d ever been, and that’s enough for me. i’ve always shied away from romance novels because, you know, trashy bodice rippers or w/e, but this one pleasantly surprised me with the depth of the characters (not just the main two, the side characters all have their interesting quirks as well—louisa reminds me of the side girl in ... jane austen’s emma, the one who emma’s trying to play matchmaker for and falls in love with an alright guy but emma thinks she can do better but really the first guy is the one her hearts set on who makes her happy? also she has Opinions on poultry and agriculture and Drainage and i love that), and the character growth. for example SPOILER—i really hated how alistair portrayed mrs allenby as this greedy mistress of his late father only after his money and prestige, when really (and im glad other characters knew and pointed out that she wasnt all that bad and your bastard half sisters are still your younger sisters you ass) the two of them loved each other and she understood his faults and in the end alistair acknowleged them and she came for him in his darkest hour. like, i was thinking the entire time like, he better make it up to her or else this man stil aint shit, and then he DID and my standards for men were so low that i was shocked and pleasantly surprised. good book.

[theteaisaddictive]

🔥 St John Rivers.

ok, so aside from me hating him so so much because he’s the fucking worst (seriously, this guy tries to manipulate jane into going to india with him by exploiting her faith, how are we all gung-ho for dragging my problematic fave rochy to hell and back but not this guy???), i feel like in most adaptations (i.e. the 2011 and 2006 adaptations, since they’re the only two i’ve seen which apply here), the filmmakers go for ‘repressed vicar trying to berate our Modern Woman Jane with Religion when she’s far too Modern and Proto-Feminist to need That’, when, like. guys. the author was a minister’s daughter and rochester’s redemption is explicitly tied to his becoming a true christian and not just going to church three times a year, it’s not exactly a faithful adaptation.

(i also have feelings about aoje!st. john, who was called . .. . simon??? sheesh i need a rewatch he wasn’t a minister at all, but a doctor. jane was still a christian, but she was also a former nurse who had retrained as a tutor, so there was a similar kind of dynamic if i remember correctly. although, simon was much less of a dick overall and was actually pretty nice, as far as i recall)

in support of this, i am going to copy+paste the relevant section from a dissertation i did in advanced higher english under the cut. now, when i say ‘dissertation’, what i really mean is 4.5k of close reading which only cites two secondary sources, because i was only 17 at the time. but i think this is relevant. and also i’m eternally frustrated about this.

fair warning – this is almost 1k long, but it’s all of my religion section about jane eyre and it all felt pretty relevant. also, the ‘lucy’ and ‘madame beck’ referred to are from ‘villette’; my dissertation was contrasting treatment of women and religion between the two.

(oh and besides all of that st. john’s also a freaking moron who can’t even spell ‘hindustani’ correctly like jesus dude you’re not only learning the language but teaching somebody else as well, get your head out your fucking arse)

[…]

This religious conflictis similar to the one that Jane in JaneEyre faces. However, Jane’s struggle is more personal than Lucy’s as shestruggles against different creeds of the same Protestant belief, and has toface the opposing ideals of Mr. Brocklehurst, St. John Rivers and Mr.Rochester. Her own sense of morality with regard to the Bible is instilled intoher by Helen Burns, who introduces her to Christianity and urges her “to endurepatiently a smart which nobody feels but yourself.”[1] However,Jane is often pressured by the men around her to change her creed to one thatthey find more suitable. This illustrates the role women had in society as themajor men in Jane’s life all seem to think they know what is best for Janebetter than she does. This is similar to the experiences of many women of thetime, as they were often seen as incapable of making important decisions withouta man to help them. In Jane’s first exchange with Mr. Brocklehurst, when sheremarks that she personally does not find Psalms interesting, Brocklehursttells her

“This proves that you have a wicked heart; andyou must pray to God to change it: to give you a new and clean one: to takeaway your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”[2]

Jane also disagrees with St. John Rivers on thecorrect way to fulfil Christian duties, for he believes

“that the more acrid and unreclaimed the soilwhere the Christian labourer’s task of tillage is appointed him […] thehigher the honour.”[3]

St. John’s metaphor of an empty field connotesboth simple farming life, the kind he grew up alongside and which he detestsfor its boredom, and adventures on unnamed shores which explorers often claimfor themselves, the kind of stirring, interesting life St. John dreams of andis so disgusted by. His vision of correct Christian duty is to work steadilyand hard at what he has a talent for because it is his duty, not necessarilybecause he enjoys it. In the same vein, he continually urges Jane to follow hisexample. If he had his way, Jane would never have a moment’s idle rest, so thatshe always turns:

“to profit the talents which God has committedto [her] keeping, and of which He will surely one day demand a strict account.”[4]

Jane’s battles against St. John and Brocklehurstecho Lucy’s struggles with alienation from Madame Beck’s pensionnat. Both Jane and Lucy struggle with opposing views onChristianity and religion to the people around them at critical stages in theirlife, although Lucy is often more vocal about her qualms with Catholicism.

Jane also struggles withMr. Rochester’s irreligious values, especially with regard to the potential shehad to become his mistress. Rochester is without doubt unchristian in hisactions, whether it is his several affairs with foreign mistresses or hisattempts to make Jane wild with jealousy by cruelly pretending to be in lovewith Blanche. He also has a fundamental difference in his belief of Christiandoctrine, as he believes his attempted bigamy “will expiate at God’s tribunal [.. .] my Maker sanctions what I do.”[5]Jane begins to let her religion fall by the wayside in the days of theirengagement, as she “could not, in those days, see God for His creature: of whomI had made an idol.”[6] Thismakes her struggle with her Christianity all the more difficult when the timecomes. Jane’s conflict is between her values and her desires, and she is awareof God’s judgement of her desire to be with Rochester almost immediately. Janesays her hopes of a happily married life are utterly destroyed

“– struck with a subtle doom, such as, in onenight, fell on all the first-born in the land of Egypt,”[7]

However when she does decide to “keep the lawgiven by God; sanctioned by man,”[8]Jane’s main struggle is over. This suggests that Brontë herself believes thatfollowing the Bible is always the right thing to do, and this is reflected bothin Jane Eyre through Jane’s strugglewith Rochester, and in Villettethrough Lucy’s struggle against Catholicism. Her difficulties with her romanticinterest differ from Lucy’s, as Jane and Rochester only really disagree aboutreligion at the climax of the novel, whereas Lucy and M. Paul have arguments continuallythroughout Villette, with theirdisagreements coming to breaking point in the last few chapters. However, theirresolutions are similar, as the men in their lives eventually learn to accepttheir faiths.

Jane advises Rochesterto “trust in God and yourself. Believe in heaven. Hope to meet again there,”[9]and when they are reunited at the end of the novel, Rochester has begun “toexperience remorse, repentance; the wish for reconcilement to my Maker.”[10]His acceptance of Christianity marks the end of Jane’s struggle with him, andthis is signified by her emotion at hearing Rochester call to her at theRivers’ house, as

“the wondrous shock of feeling had come like theearthquake which shook the foundations of Paul and Silas’s prison.”[11]

Thissecond Biblical reference symbolises that Jane and Rochester’s union,previously cursed by God for Rochester’s bigamy, is blessed both because theyare free to marry each other, and because their previous inequalities have beenerased by Jane’s inheritance. While some women had a social status thatequalled or exceeded Jane’s at the end of the novel, their lack of politicaland social empowerment meant that society’s expectations of them were verylimiting; for example, women were not allowed to vote and so had no input increating the laws which directly affected them. However, an ending where thefemale character has her agency preserved throughout, and achieves independencefrom a man in the 1800s was practically revolutionary.

[1] Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, Amazon, p 39

[2] Jane Eyre, p 23

[3] Jane Eyre, p 259

[4]Jane Eyre, p286

[5]Jane Eyre, p186

[6] Jane Eyre, p 200

[7] Jane Eyre, p 216

[8] Jane Eyre, p 232

[9] Jane Eyre, p 231

[10] Jane Eyre, p 328

[11] Jane Eyre, p 308