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synchronousemma · 3 years ago

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Friday, 11th February: Mr. Frank Churchill comes again

Read: Vol. 2, ch. 6 (24); pp. 126–132 (“The next morning brought” through to “allowed an early establishment”).

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Context

Frank Churchill and Mrs. Weston call at Hartfield. Emma, Frank, and Mrs. Weston walk about Highbury.

“Repulsive” at this time likely means “tending to repel by coldness of manner,” rather than the sense more prominent today of “causing disgust” (Harper).

Note that this write-up contains spoilers.

Readings and Interpretations

Happy-Looking Highbury

Mrs. Weston, unable to divine that Frank’s real interest in visiting Highbury lies elsewhere, directs their path to Hartfield, led on perhaps by what she expects by way of a union between Emma and Frank. J. F. Burrows writes of how misperceptions such as these guide the plot of the second volume:

Mrs. Weston […] misjudges her step-son’s intention by imposing on him an attitude of her own […]. She asks him to decide where they should walk—and he naturally fixes on Highbury. Now “Highbury, with Mrs. Weston, stood for Hartfield; and she trusted to its bearing the same construction with him. They walked thither directly” [p. 127]. On this occasion Frank Churchill finds no way of regaining his real end, and Emma is flattered to find him paying her so prompt a second visit.

Through the cumulative effect of such little misconstructions, each of the novel’s leading figures builds up his own ‘Frank Churchill’. And, because the young man pays close heed to their notions of him, he is able to get a good deal of his own way without being seen to do so. (Mr Knightley, of course, is implacably hostile, but he still misreads the evidence.) (p. 81)

We may also note the wording of “trusted to its bearing the same construction,” and recall Burrows’ observation that “when Jane Austen’s narrator suddenly intervenes to distinguish between a saying and a surmising, or to remark that someone is ‘convinced’ of something, we should be brought to the alert” (pp. 23–4). There are clues here even for the perceptive first-time reader.

Manner Matters

In a passage of FID focalized through Emma, we are told that if Frank were “deficient” in his “behaviour to” Mrs. Weston, “nothing should make amends for it,” and “there was time enough for Emma to form a reasonable judgment” on this point, “as their visit included all the rest of the morning” (p. 127). Here we see another proof of Emma’s sense of what is owed to her inner circle (she wishes John Knightley were more deferential towards her father), as well as her confidence in her ability to read people quickly and accurately.

It is worth noting, however, that there is a distinction between character and “behaviour.” Emma’s conclusion that it was “not merely in fine words or hyperbolical compliment that [Frank] paid his duty; nothing could be more proper or pleasing than his whole manner to [Mrs. Weston]” inspires us to inquire if manner is all that matters. “Manner” evidently comprehends more than “words” and “compliment,” but does it comprehend as much as “merit” or “virtue”? In observations such as “though in some points of pursuit or observation there was no positive merit, they shewed, altogether, a good-will towards Highbury in general, which must be very like a merit to those he was with,” we get the sense that Emma is aware that what is “agreeable” is a moving target, based upon one’s audience. She still reserves the concept of “positive merit” for something else.

Emma, however, seems in this section to gradually lose the distinction between manner and intention or character which she maintained yesterday. Frank Churchill, “on recollecting that an old woman who had nursed him was still living, walked in quest of her cottage from one end of the street to the other” (p. 127), presumably “using the cottage-to-cottage search as an excuse to loiter in Highbury where he hopes to attract the attention of Jane Fairfax” (Craig, p. 131).1 Misinterpreting this and other such signs, Emma decides one point in Frank’s favour. Notwithstanding the previous day’s suspicion “[t]hat he should never have been able to indulge so amiable a feeling [as a curiosity to visit Highbury] before” (vol. 2, ch. 5 [23], p. 123), an additional morning’s evidence leads Emma to think “that with such feelings as were now shewn, it could not be fairly supposed that he had been ever voluntarily absenting himself; that he had not been acting a part, or making a parade of insincere professions; and that Mr. Knightley certainly had not done him justice” (p. 127). She appears to forget that she, in canvassing the question of Frank’s non-arrival with Mrs. Weston, had expressed something like Mr. Knightley’s opinion.

Built for a Ball-Room

Emma, Frank, and Mrs. Weston’s pause at the Crown Inn and its erstwhile ball-room inspires Frank to turn flattery to his purpose: namely, a desire to dance with Jane Fairfax (“Why had not Miss Woodhouse revived the former good old days of the room?—She who could do any thing in Highbury!”; p. 128). Emma forwards an objection about “the difficulty in every body’s returning into their proper place the next morning” after an evening of “mixture” between different ranks; when Frank dismisses the projected problem, he is said to argue “like a young man very much bent on dancing” (ibid.).

Roger Sales connects Emma’s objection to contemporary practices in writing that “Emma is concerned that such an event would mean that the greater and lesser families would have to mingle together on terms of rough equality, as happened at Southend and the less exclusive Regency watering places”; “[s]he, like the lady patronesses at the exclusive Almack’s Ballroom in London in this period, is in favour of the silken cords of discrimination that were used at Weymouth” (p. 143). Thomas Keymer attributes Emma’s response to Frank’s suggestion to the fact that, “[i]n their relative lack of land and reliance on capital, the Woodhouses lie close to the broad category of moneyed, professional and rentier families—a category of non-landed affluence to which David Spring applies the term pseudo-gentry’—who deferred to, emulated and sought to enter the gentry proper” (p. 394). Emma’s “anxious correctness of form” thus arises from this “insecurity”:

[T]he public dance proposed by Frank Churchill arouses Emma’s alarm, not so much at the temporary interpénétrations of rank involved in the dance itself, but rather at the ‘difficulty in every body’s returning into their proper place the next morning’—as though correct performance of social roles is itself a larger dance, strictly regulated, and not to be disrupted by the smaller. Equally alarming is what this carnivalesque proposal discloses about Frank himself, whose ‘indifference to a confusion of rank, bordered too much on inelegance of mind’ [p. 128], and whose own paternity is indelibly undistinguished, we remember, his mother’s great family notwithstanding. (p. 393)

For William Galperin, Frank Churchill represents a “revolutionary mandate” in the novel (p. 68); the fact that his relationship with Jane “effectively escapes formulation by Jane Austen—that it is forever a trace or matter of conjecture,” as well as the fact that he is treated in the text with some “irony,” allows his representation to avoid “cooptation” to the “dominant order” which the novel’s overarching plot serves (p. 67), and his disregard for the mixing of classes shows that the ball is on one level a “subversive” symbol (p. 68). He writes:

It is difficult to determine whether it is from Emma’s or the author’s point of view that Frank is apparently a young man bent on dancing. And this confusion owes entirely to the fact that “dancing” has been sufficiently ironized in the course of this passage to cast aspersions on anyone—either Emma or the narrator—who regards Frank’s interest in terms of mere appearance. The narrator, for her part, hints at this by suggesting that there may be more at stake here than dancing. However, the real and radical irony is that “dancing”— albeit in a different sense—is precisely Frank’s bent, contradicting both Emma’s surmise (that Frank’s interest is herself) and the narrator’s more accurate assumption that Frank’s interests are elsewhere [i.e., in Jane Fairfax]. (ibid.)

The “referent of ‘dancing’” thus “extends beyond the authority of narration,” where it can only stand for Frank’s plot-contained “subterfuge” as regards his engagement to Jane, and indicates the spirit of a “revolution” that would “mitigate” the “inequities” of rank, property, and gender. Commenters who read Frank’s interest in dancing as a mere cover-story, rather than as a genuine and “conciliatory” interest in dancing, are projecting conservatism onto Austen’s text.2

The lament that, while Highbury used to be “populous,” “such brilliant days had long passed away” (pp. 127–8), serves a plot purpose in allowing Frank to scheme after a ball, but also gives some insight into the world of the novel. Marshall Brown argues that Highbury “represents a world in decline,” and that this decline is “partly economic” (p. 9). He writes of Emma’s encouraging Frank to “lay out half-a-guinea at Ford’s” (p. 129) that “[h]alf a guinea can be called a heroic expenditure only in a community that’s generally hard up, perhaps partly because London is close enough for serious shopping […]. Emma’s remark to Frank about Ford’s shop is probably meant to be jocular, but there is a a strong sense in the book that that it is hard to enjoy oneself on limited means” (p. 10).

Speaking the Truth?

Emma’s first attempt to ask Frank about his acquaintance with Jane at Weymouth is met with Frank “hastily” changing the subject (p. 129). When Frank flirtatiously recurs to the subject, he must be goaded into answering. U. C. Knoepflmacher writes that

[Frank’s] apparent guilelessness, his willingness to be transparent—so utterly unlike Mr. Elton’s clumsy obsequiousness or the polite impenetrability of Jane Fairfax—appeal to Emma’s ingenuity. Thus, when Frank gives a guarded answer to her question about his acquaintance with Jane, Emma mockingly equates his reserve with that of her rival, little suspecting the truth of her analogy: [quotes from “‘Upon my word!’” to “‘acquaintance with her’”; p. 130]. Emma’s outcry gives Frank the exact “information” that he requires. Invited to say what he likes, he furnishes a brilliantly calculated answer: [quotes from “‘May I indeed?’” to “‘I like them all’”].

Like Jane’s own letter to the Bateses, Frank’s words contain “nothing but truth, though there might be some truths not told.” His speech is just as carefully phrased as Jane’s earlier answer to a similar query by Emma about her impressions of Frank […]. But Emma is far more satisfied with the pretended openness of Frank’s reply. By imprudently exposing her antipathy for Jane, she supplies the young man with the clues for his subsequent behavior: pretended belittlement of Jane and pretended admiration for Emma. When she condemns Jane’s reserve for a second time, Frank pretends to agree: [quotes from “‘It is a most repulsive quality’” to “‘reserved person’”; p. 131]. (pp. 646–7)

But, while “Frank obviously relishes his secret joke at Emma’s expense,” his “statement is ironic in far more than his intended sense":

Frank’s pious claim that “one cannot love a reserved person” is […] highly appropriate in its applicability to himself. For it is precisely the “safety in reserve” which he observes by disparaging the woman he loves, that will eventually imperil his relationship with Jane. Similarly, his statement applies to Emma’s fancied “attraction.” Though increasingly charmed by Frank’s attentions to her and increasingly deluded by his “open temper” [vol. 2, ch. 7; p. 133], Emma soon discovers that she cannot love him. (p. 647)

At any rate, Emma, having given Frank a cue for his answer, is happy with the result: though she “staunchly defends Jane’s complexion, she is, of course, quite pleased to hear some deviation from Mr. Knightley’s uniform praise of her; and, feeling privileged and preferred, she is completely fooled” (McMaster, pp. 96–7).

As the conversation continues, Emma fits the information of Mr. Dixon’s preferring Jane’s music to Miss Campbell’s into her pet theory about their inappropriate relationship: this interpretation relies in part on her understanding that affection can alter judgement (as when she thinks Isabella partial in her reading of her husband’s portrait, or supposes that Mr. Elton sees “ready wit” in Harriet because he is “in love”). Frank seems to instinctively rush to defend Jane when Emma shares her suspicion (“began rather quickly”), but soon thereafter “check[s] himself” (p. 131). Jillian Heydt-Stevenson writes that this represents

the precise moment when Frank realises what solution Emma has come to in the riddle of why Jane is not in Ireland. [...] The first dash signals the start of his comprehension; the point at which he ‘check[s] himself’ is the moment he unknots her clues and chooses to play. Frank, however, joins this game only to make it his own, never casting aspersions on Jane or Dixon, but cleverly manipulating Emma to speculate while he avoids entering in. (pp. 160–1)

Suspiciously Reserved, Redux No. 2

For William Nelles, Frank Churchill’s and Jane Fairfax’s impenetrability affects the narrator as much as the characters. While some characters’ minds can be guessed through reference to “sociocultural evidence” and “subtle visual cues” (as when Emma assumes that Mrs. Weston desires a match between her and Frank), not everyone is “so easily read”:

Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax are good at blocking telepathy. When Emma tries to read Jane’s mind during an evening at Hartfield, she is forced to concede, “There was no getting at her real opinion. […]” [vol 2, ch. 2 (20); p. 108] […] Recognizing that Jane’s manners are designed to prevent her mind being read, Emma says to Mrs. Weston, “Oh! Do not imagine that I expect an account of Miss Fairfax’s sensations from you, or from any body else. They are known to no human being, I guess, but herself” [p. 131], and our human narrator is of course included. My own analysis would thus be 180° from Booth’s [who argues that the narrator can selectively dip into any character’s mind]: the narrator’s ability to read Mrs. Weston’s mind, but not Frank Churchill’s or Jane Fairfax’s, is thoroughly motivated at the level of realism, and parallels the characters’ own demonstrated abilities. (pp. 125–6)

Austen’s narrator in Emma is thus not omniscient, as is usually supposed, but “infallible,” if only because of “her disinterestedness and objectivity” (p. 127): the narrator possesses only the human “ability of a perceptive and thoughtful person, given enough time and sufficient opportunity for observation, to make accurate judgments people’s character, thought processes, and feelings” (p. 128).

Discussion Questions

Why does Emma react with alarm to Frank’s suggestion that she reinstitute balls at the Crown Inn?

Is Emma a conservative text? What motivates Frank’s desire for a ball?

Is Austen’s narrator in Emma omniscient? Has your thinking on this point changed over the course of the last volume?

Are there other elements in this section to which a first- and second-time reader may respond differently?

Footnotes

Sheryl Craig also uses this incident to argue that “the gentry in Emma are […] pulling their weight in the community and thus serving as examples to be emulated in the nation […]. [Frank’s] knowledge of his former servant […] demonstrates a sense of obligation to the working class” (p. 131).

“There are two things about this passage that must be emphasized: first, the referent of ‘dancing’ extends beyond the authority of narration; and second, this extension (and the subversion implicit in it) is repeated in Frank himself, whose ‘meaning’ is readily accessible provided we divest ourselves of the authority and intentionality by which Frank is otherwise a self-projection. It would be foolish, of course, to argue that there is no subterfuge or camouflage to Frank’s enthusiasm for dancing. Nevertheless, to attribute ulterior motives to Frank (in the way Knightley and Emma do) is to represent one’s own subjectivism, and not Frank’s. Frank’s actions are more conciliatory than they are obfuscatory (or a cover-story) and paradigmatic of the textuality in which they are instrumental. For, in being neither strident nor aggressive, the novel is equally at pains to requite its audience as a means of changing them. That the effect of this requital has been to render Frank a deplorable character, and Emma a conservative text, may suggest that both of them have succeeded too well. Yet the onus for their ‘success’ in this regard lies more with the audience (be it Highbury in Frank’s case or Austen’s readership) who are bent less on dancing than upon reading themselves” (p. 69).

Bibliography

Austen, Jane. Emma (Norton Critical Edition). 3rd ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, [1815] 2000.

Brown, Marshall. “Emma’s Depression.” Studies in Romanticism 53.1 (Spring 2014), pp. 3–29. DOI: 10.1353/srm.2014.0036.

Craig, Sheryl. “Emma: William Pitt’s Utopia.” Jane Austen and the State of the Nation. Palgrave Macmillan (2015), pp. 118–40.

Galperin, William. “Byron, Austen and the ‘Revolution’ of Irony.” Criticism 32.1 (Winter 1990), pp. 51–80.

Harper, Douglas. “Etymology of repulsive.” Online Etymology Dictionary. Accessed 10 February, 2022.

Heydt-Stevenson, Jill. “Games, Riddles and Charades.” In The Cambridge Companion to ‘Emma,’ ed. Peter Sabor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2015), pp. 150–65. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781316014226.013.

Keymer, Thomas. “Rank.” In Jane Austen in Context, ed. Janet Todd. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2005), pp. 387–96.

Knoepflmacher, U.C. “The Importance of Being Frank: Character and Letter-Writing in Emma.” Studies in English Literature, 1500–1900 7.4 (Autumn 1967), pp. 639–58. DOI: 10.2307/449531.

McMaster, Juliet. “The Secret Languages of Emma.” Persuasions 13 (1991), pp. 119–31. Repr. in Jane Austen the Novelist: Essays Past and Present. London: Macmillan Press (1996), pp. 90–105.

Nelles, William. “Omniscience for Atheists: Or, Jane Austen’s Infallible Narrator.” Narrative 14.2 (May 2006), pp. 118–31.

Sales, Roger. “Emma: The Village and the Watering Place.” In Jane Austen: Representations of Regency England. London: Routledge (1996), pp. 135–70.

Sping, David. “Interpreters of Jane Austen’s Social World: Literary Critics and Historians.” In Jane Austen: New Perspectives, ed. Janet Todd. New York: Holmes and Meier (1983).

#Jane Austen #Emma #Emma Woodhouse #Mrs. Weston #Frank Churchill #Jane Fairfax #Mr. Dixon #Miss Campbell #e

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night-unfurls-its-splendour · 4 years ago

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The Critique of Manners Part VI

~Or~

An Attempt at an Objective Review of Emma (2009)... VOLUME TWO

Haha, bitches you didn't think I could wait a whole week did you? Nah, not me. and guys, I added to it--all total, it's 9,023 words now. this half of the review is 5,214. HOW DO I HAVE SO MANY WORDS FOR THIS THING? I'm not gonna split it into a third part, because I don't need to for picture limit purposes, but buckle in.

If you didn't catch it, read part 1 here

Here it is, the stunning conclusion to my Emma Adaptation Review series (but this isn't really the end because I plan on doing some rankings later). In this half of my review of BBC'S Emma (2009) we'll discuss Costumes and all the very specific things that I love about this version, and some things I don't like, and some things I'm here to defend.

Let's dive in!

Costumes

Generally I liked these costumes pretty well. They were designed and facilitated by Rosalind Ebbutt, also known for her work on PBS’s Victoria and Vanity Fair (1998). And her work is, as her filmography would suggest, by turns, great and so-so.

These costumes are definitely in line with the adaptation’s general aesthetic: warm pinks and golds, with mints emeralds and blues to cool it off a little, are the order of the day. I really appreciate that every character has a definite color palette. The tradeoff is that this adaptation is the WORST EVER offender for the Jane Fairfax Blue™ trope.

Daywear

Emma’s daywear is full of warm and muted colors. Salmon and magenta are commonly seen. I love that most of Emma’s daywear consists of sleeveless or short-sleeved gowns with wide-sleeved linen blouses underneath. It’s not a commonly seen aesthetic so it feels light and fresh. My favorite of Emma’s daywear dresses is the pale yellow with purple floral print.

There’s one other in particular that I love.

Emma’s blue, sleeveless dress. I love this because of HOW OBVIOUSLY it’s a reference to this portrait of Charlotte, Princess of Wales. I mean...

I’M NOT IMAGINING THIS, RIGHT? WHY DOES NO ONE TALK ABOUT THIS? This is a REAL dress. They still have this exact gown of Princess Charlotte’s. It’s on display. It’s faded, but it’s the same dress.

Harriet has a fresh and innocent green, white and purple color scheme with healthy doses of peach and pink showing. I particularly like her white and purple floral print dress.

Mrs. Weston’s color palette varies, but leans heavily on tans and purples, which is very flattering, I must say, to Johdi May’s coloring and is really refreshing for Mrs. Weston who seems to get stuck in pinks and yellows a lot. No idea what’s going on with the laced-front dress though? This doesn’t quite read as authentic to me, but I do like that her first dress seems to be an apron-front.

I know I already said that this is the worst Jane Fairfax Blue™ offender, but guys I can’t stress it enough. WE ARE 5/5 ON DAYWEAR HERE. LOOK AT THAT. (Also of note, Jane 5 is one of Gwyneth Paltrow’s dresses from the '96 Emma.)

Mrs. Elton seems, at all times, to be wearing some form of pink, but I think I’m right in saying that the white day dress with the rose patterned bodice under the yellow and pink spencer is one of Jane’s dresses from P&P ’80. Can anyone confirm that? They did sneak in some Mrs. Elton Orange™ though, for Box Hill, and it’s worth noting that Mrs. Elton is the only lady who’s appropriately dressed on that occasion.

Isabella gets some understated day gowns that are very nice and also VERY “Jane Austen” in the sense that I feel like Jane Austen herself might have worn them.

Miss Bates, unfortunately is slapped with brown at just about every turn, but at least her “Nice” day outfit has some subtle leaf patterns, which is refreshing. Also Mrs. Goddard has a slappin’ cap. Love that.

Also, Harriet’s Grecian costume for the painting (upper right hand corner). What can I say, but that I love it. I love that it hints at the neoclassical influences on Regency fashion too. This is my favorite interpretation of the painting too.

Evening Wear

You know what I love about this version? It’s the first version of Emma where her gown for the Crown in Ball isn’t WHITE. I know, I know white was fashionable, but it’s just… it’s nice for not EVERY gown in a ball scene to be plain white friggin muslin and also, it’s not one she’s ever worn before, which is great.

Harriet does have only white evening gowns but that’s okay. My only complaint is that, specifically on her Crown Inn dress and in a lot of her costumes in general, the waistline seems just a little low. Hmm. I really like the pale blue pattern on her first evening dress though.

Mrs. Weston though. Woo. Look at those. She has a dark chartreuse gown with black lace trim that any other version would have put on Mrs. Elton, so you know from the dark tones that she’s a bitch. Not so with Emma '09, and that’s good. And her teal dinner number is a favorite of mine. I never paid much attention to her green and gold ball gown but it has some really beautiful, subtle leaf or maybe peacock feather patterns on it and I love that. My only problem is that there seem to be some fit issues. She’s got muffin top way too often. Her orange evening dress is a bit of a dud though, firstly, because it has long sleeves (which is an evening gown no-no) and the fabric slaps a bit too much of sari fabric for my tastes.

Jane, not only is put in blue with both of her evening gowns (although one is so pale it borders on white), ONE of them is another Emma ’96 repeat and not only that, it’s one of Jane Fairfax’s dresses in that film! Perhaps that’s enough to make it an homage, and I have to say, I think Laura Pyper wore it better.

Miss Bates only has one evening wear ensemble, but at least it’s cream and not brown.

Mrs. Elton’s gowns are surprisingly understated, and yet still seem to be annoyingly fussy and, what’s better? They’re not sickly green. One of them is actually a very pleasant mint.

Outerwear

Outerwear is roundly pretty great here. Emma’s primary choice of color for spencers is emerald/evergreen and one of them is Elizabeth’s Bennet’s from the 1995 P&P (though to be honest, I think Jennifer Ehle filled it out better.) I do love Mrs. Elton’s pink and yellow number with the slashed sleeves. Jane Fairfax’s only spencer is, you guessed it, blue, but her friend Miss Campbell has a rather fun mauve one.

There’s no shortage of pelisses and redingotes either. Harriet can be seen in one borrowed from Elinor Dashwood in the '08 S&S, Mrs. Weston has a rather fabulous purple one which she wears with the most delicious looking hat I’ve ever seen.

Emma has two. The first one is a great magenta number with military braiding (and I think she wears with it one of the brown slouch hats that Kate Beckinsale wore in the same role) and while the other pelisse is brown, they had the sense not to make her wear a hat with it that was also brown. Instead, they gave her a contrasting color. Good on ya, Rosalind!

Speaking of hats, I don't often single them out for commentary, but I want to here because… the hat authenticity is… kinda spotty. Let me show you.

Okay first of all, Emma may be a teenager in this pic on the upper left, but she is not dressed formally enough for her sister’s wedding (which is what’s going on in this scene) but at least her hat is pretty good. You can see the ribbons are on the inside of the hat here, which is as it should be… but she never wears this hat again. At any point in the series. Instead, we next see her in the one on the upper right and ye gads this is atrocious. WHY IS HER HAT NOT PINNED ON? IT’S SLIDING DOWN THE BACK OF HER HEAD. SOMONE FIX IT. PLEASE. But wait, there’s more. This kills me because these bottom two are so similar to the one she wore earlier (the correct one) but crappier looking. Jeez.

This is not a hat. It’s a peanut. You know who doesn’t have this problem? Harriet. She only has one sun hat but at least it’s correct.

I also wanna touch briefly on this ^ costume continuity issue.

WTF is this? She’s in the hall, her ribbon is contoured to the line of her dress; she goes into the drawing room and… it isn’t anymore? Wha happun?

I took more menswear screencaps for this version than any other version. And that’s because the men just have more outfits that are, y’know, different from each other.

Mr. Knightley is as understated as ever, but I wanna highlight the first pic there and why I love it. This is Knightley’s first appearance in the series and it’s the perfect establishing shot that shows the viewer everything they need to know about Emma and Knightley’s relationship and how it has always been. He sort of materializes, out of focus in the background, but Emma immediately knows he’s there. And to accentuate how much Knightley is part of her home and scenery, his clothes (similar shades of pale tan, white and minty green to the wall behind him) almost camouflage him and make him seem at one with the moulding.

He also has a rather lovely blue evening waistcoat that I WISH I could have gotten better shot of (although I do believe it’s also worn by Henry Crawford in the '07 Mansfield Park, so for further reading…)

Mr. Weston finally gets to wear clothes that aren’t all brown! He only has ONE brown outfit. He gets PATTERNED waistcoats, one of them a rather spiffing blue and brown striped number. And he wears TROUSERS! Because he’s a gentleman, and he’s not that old and trousers are worn by fashionable gentlemen in this period!

You know who else gets to wear trousers and at least one fun waistcoat? Mr. Woodhouse. Check out that lovely Sunday Best™ waistcoat. The red striped one. That’s delightful.

John Knightley’s evening wear intrigues me. That’s a double-breasted jacket, and you know I’m not totally sure that’s very authentic for evening-wear of this period, but it is different. Unfortunately he also has a flared top hat and that is definitely not on for this period.

One of my favorite things about this version is that they don’t dress Mr. Elton as a clergyman all the time. Yes, he may be the vicar, but he’s also allowed to dress like a fashionable, handsome young man. So I’m really happy that he gets to flex his fashion muscles here.

And speaking of fashionable young men, FINALLY frank gets to be COLORFUL and his trousers are even tight enough. Both he AND Elton are often seen wearing TWO waistcoats, as I would expect them to, and even though Frank’s a dandy, he knows that flashiness is gauche so his pops of color are bright, but not in your face. His green and red waistcoats are always worn under more muted colors, and I just love it.

The only problems are… what’s with the turned-down waistcoat collars? There’s no precedent for this, in fact I think it’s directly contradictory to the style at the time, and also it makes the cravats look a bit unruly.

A Critique of Manners

A lot has been said about the manners in this adaption. Like, the actual manners, body language and facial expressions, specifically vis-à-vis Romola Garai.

And, oh yeah, there’s a lot to pick at here, but first I’d like to talk about the facial expressions.

I'm mostly gonna be talking out of my ass here, but this is my take, so if anyone can make a better argument against my points, I am listening, because I don't really like talking out of my ass and I like to be informed. That said...

I tend to be lenient on the… exaggerated facial expressions because, something I’ve noticed reading Austen’s works through the last several months is that Austen is very descriptive when it comes to facial expressions and I just find it hard to believe that people in the Regency Era never made exaggerated expressions like this.

I’ve heard a lot about how Garai’s Emma is not dignified or lady-like. But let’s think about the context of Emma Woodhouse – she’s never been in society. She’s only had a governess to teach her, and we know Emma’s always been sort of averse to being told what she can and can’t do. Emma is the highest ranking woman in her social circle (barring Isabella’s occasional presence). Emma doesn’t have to be ladylike. At 21, she’s already her local Lady Catherine. She puts a lot of stock in her position in society but, as Mrs. Elton will be the first to hypocritically point out, she’s very poorly behaved. I'd be very curious to see what would happen if Emma went to London for the season. Probably, she'd be seen, comparatively, as a country bumpkin. Can you imagine how she might get on in a sea of accomplished young ladies? She can barely handle having ONE rival with any kind of grace.

Austen never describes bodily movements of the kind we’re looking at when we watch adaptations, so why not have Emma’s body-language be un-ladylike in the conventional sense of the time? I’m not saying this to excuse the absolutely inexcusable (Frank’s head in her lap, kneeling on the sofa backwards etc.), but while Emma’s mannerisms aren’t exactly ladylike for her time, they’re not overtly masculine either (which was one of my biggest problem with Death Comes to Pemberly for example.)

Yes, there’s an ideal for manners. But we know real people didn’t always follow those ideals. In dancing for example, many dancing guidebooks of the day were full of repeated instructions not to be too loud or rambunctious when dancing. What this tells us is that people were doing just that, and probably quite a bit, too. I think that, while taking societal strictures into account, we shouldn’t totally discount the idea that people in the Regency weren’t really that different from us, and young people especially.

Now I’ve already mentioned some of the inexcusable aspects of interaction in this adaptation and they’re so notorious at this point, I don’t think that I really need to go over them much here. Although I will say: is it ridiculous to have Frank Churchill put his head in Emma’s lap? Yes. Did it make me more viscerally uncomfortable with the situation on Box Hill than any other version? Yes.

I was like, 14 when I watched this the first time. This was an effective way to telegraph to young people like me that Emma is being extremely inappropriate here in a way that no other version really managed to, even when I watched them when I was older and understood the period more. I’m far more acquainted with Regency manners than I was then, but to be honest – if they had been accurate with the manners here, when I was 14 I would not have understood what the big deal was. Is there merit in circumventing historical accuracy in favor of reaching a less-informed but still-interested audience? Yes, I think so. There were three other versions of this, at that point, that did this scene with more or less pristine manners. Not every version has to follow the manners of the time to-the-letter to be good. That’s my feeling on the matter.

There are things that do really bother me though. Like the idea that Harriet Smith doesn’t know how to spoon soup, for instance. As I said in my review for the Miramax version, table manners are pretty basic, there’s no reason Mrs. Goddard wouldn’t have taught Harriet this. It does provide a good moment to show Emma tacitly coaching Harriet and showing the trajectory in which this relationship will go, but personally I don’t think it was necessary—there are plenty of other ways that could be done.

Also: kids at the dinner table? I know this is part of building the familial atmosphere but it really does annoy me, because apart from building the familial atmosphere (which they do very well and frequently in other ways) it really didn’t need to happen, and it doesn’t add anything.

The Heart of Highbury

So, as I’ve hinted at throughout this review, the bread and butter of this adaptation of Emma is emotion. This version goes hard and heavy on showingthe relationships – Emma’s relationships with Mrs. Weston, Mr. Knightley, her father, her sister, her brother-in-law, Miss Bates; Jane’s relationship with Frank; Frank’s relationship with his father; The John Knightleys’ home life – and it illustrates things that can be surmised from just reading the story, but really draws your attention to them in ways that other adaptations just don’t.

It does this from the very beginning with the prologue which explains in detail (not just in quick exposition between characters) how Jane and Frank were separated from their families at young ages. We know now, from psychological study, that being taken away from their primary caretakers during their formative years is one of the most psychologically traumatizing things for a child. This is deeply important context which is explained in detail by the narrator in 2-3 large pages (in my Barnes & Noble anthology) in the book.

In the featurette on the houses, they talk particularly about Hartfield and the Woodhouses being the heart of Highbury and how they particularly wanted it to feel homey because Hartfield is Emma’s house and they wanted the audience to feel why everyone is so drawn to it, and to Emma; to me that is what they did with the whole adaptation in microcosm.

I usually talk a bit about the dancing and I'm going to here as well because this is maybe the most special dance scene in any Austen for me. Of course I'm going to link to Tea with Cassiane as usual because she knows what she's talking about and I don't. But I wanna add some comments. She gives this a pretty low rating in spite of a generally favorable commentary because of two big oopsies, the circle dance formation is one, and the other is I believe, an issue with the style of dance not matching the tune in Emma's dance with Knightley. Throwing out any objective technical analysis though, this is my favorite Ball in any Austen and it all comes down to the cornerstone of this adaptation--emotion.

All of the songs and dances were original compositions and choreography made for this adaptation. So they're not period per se, but the tunes at least are representative of how Regency dance music should sound. These dances are upbeat, and lively and, damn they look like fun. Everyone is excited here and it makes me understand why dancing was such a big thing. Best of all that excitement adds to the emotional charge of the scene. "The Ship's Cook" is the most fast paced dance and I'm glad they made this the dance where Elton snubs Harriet because it really hits for me just what Harriet would be missing out on if Knightley wasn't so fucking aptly named. In all other versions you get the insult, but the dance that's taking place is usually a Baroque walker so it doesn't seem terribly like she's missing out on much. Here, this is like not getting picked for kickball-- not only is it a slight that no one wants you on their team, but you miss out on even playing the game. Harriet looks so lonely, and her feeling of being out of place rolls off of Louise Dylan so forcefully it chokes me up just thinking about it because I've been there, man. I feel this shit. *dabs eyes*. Ahem. So, yes, when Knightley engages her for the dance the excitement the viewer feels is that much more forceful and Harriet's exuberantly starting to jump in when the timing is off and Knightley gently pulling her back, it just hits me in the feels center, guys. (I wanna take a moment to give a shout out to every camp counselor who ever partnered with me for any game at summer camp.) Emma's reaction too, is gold. Her genuine relief at Knightley swooping in is one of those great reminders that Emma is Harriet's friend, and she does care about her.

Finally on the dancing front, I wanna talk about Emma's dance with Knightley and why I prefer it to the one in the 2020 version. I already talked about this a bit in the 2020 review, so I'm gonna try and keep it brief. That shouldn't be too hard, because I'm probably mostly going to repeat a lot of what I've already said about Emma and Knightley in this version as a whole.

The big thing everyone loves about the Crown Inn dance in the 2020 is the yearning, the sexual tension, the quivering touches etc. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE all of those things but... not all the time. Not in everything, and definitely not in Emma. Because Emma, to me, isn't about repressed sexuality or heated tension or seething passion. Emma and Knightley are the opposite of that, to me, really. One of my mutuals put it best, I think: "Emma and Knightley are more suited to stolen glances than hot touches."

In Part 1 I talked about how Knightley is Emma's comfort object. When Emma is out of sorts, Knightley re-centers her. It helps set up, and puts emphasis on, the crisis of the story in the last act--Emma not knowing what she has until [she thinks] she's lost it. Emma and Knightley are Friends to Lovers done as it should be. She is already so comfortable with him she doesn't even realize her own feelings. She just feels right with Knightley and that's what this dance is here to show you--a foreshadowing of matrimonial harmony.

The dance itself, of course, is always up to interpretation, because Austen never describes how it goes, just that Knightley asks Emma to dance and Knightley doesn't dance (barring charitable causes). If you prefer the sexual tension take, if that, to you is an improvement on Austen's story and gives you what you've always felt was missing, I'm glad that there is a version now that gives you what you've been looking for, but for me, I think the 09 approach hits closer their dynamic in the book.

Now do I do think the Emphasis on emotion maybe went a little too earnest in some places in this adaptation? Maybe. Just a little.

In my last review (1972) I went on a rather lengthy tirade about the scene where they turn Emma’s appeals to Harriet to exert herself and move on following Mr. Elton’s marriage into Emma guilting Harriet into thinking she’s a bad friend for being heartbroken and then throwing her into the situation most likely to rub salt in that particular wound.

In this version, while I love the emphasis they put on the stress Emma puts on her own guilt for being the reason for Harriet’s situation in the first place, I think it’s maybe a little too… much.

That’s the only way I can put it. I know I’ve just said that I think there should be a bit more expressiveness in period drama, but this doesn’t quite match the way I read it (Emma’s a bit less desperate in Austen’s prose. Very dedicated to helping Harriet feel better, but just a skosh more composed). I think she’s even crying in this scene.

While we’re here let’s go over to Box Hill ONE. MORE. TIME.

First of all, this is where this screenplay shines, in my opinion. This is the big turning point in the story and as such, should be a touchstone for the judgment of any adaptation. This sequence in the 2009 version is a perfect crystallization of everything I love about this version—namely that this is the version that, to me, most feels like someone read the book thoroughly, paid attention to what Austen was describing and then actually tried to convey it on screen. A lot of other versions sort of feel (to me), like the director glanced at the page and said “here’s what I want to convey in my version”. Insofar as making a piece of art goes, that’s good. Directors are artists as much as painters are and movies are their canvass, but it’s seldom that you find a director who honestly wants to hit as close to the author intent as possible and this Box Hill sequence makes me feel like that’s what Jim O’Hanlon was going for. I have the book open next to me as I write this and it’s shocking to me how minutely the atmosphere described in the book is conveyed here. Most of all, the fact that Emma’s insulting Miss Bates is not the only thing faux pas she makes here. Box Hill as a whole is a disaster, and it’s largely because of Frank.

“When they all sat down it was better; to [Emma’s] taste, a great deal better, for Frank Churchill grew talkative and gay, making her his first object. To amuse her, and to be agreeable in her eyes, seemed to be all that he cared for—and Emma, glad to be enlivened, and not sorry to be flattered, was gay and easy too, and gave him all the friendly encouragement, the admission to be gallant, which she had ever given in the first and most animating period of their acquaintance; but which now, in her own estimation, meant nothing, though in the judgment of most people looking on it must have had such an appearance as no English word but flirtation could very well describe. “Mr. Frank Churchill and Miss Woodhouse flirted excessively.” They were laying themselves open to that very phrase—and to having it sent off in a letter to Maple Grove by one lady, to Ireland by another. Not that Emma was gay and thoughtless from any real felicity; it was rather because she felt less happy than she expected. She laughed because she was disappointed…” --Emma, Chapter 43

Most other versions rush through Frank’s “excessive” flirting with Emma (Right in front of Jane) to get to “Three Things Very Dull Indeed” as fast as possible, and yes that’s the crowning horror of Box Hill, but there’s a very intricate setting here, too, and this version has the time to lay back and let it all unfold in the oppressive discomfort of an English summer day.

Even better than all of that though is Knightley confronting Emma after it all goes down. This treatment is neither plaintive, nor aggressive as it was in ‘96 and ‘97 respectively. I’ve already extolled the virtues of Johnny Flynn’s Box Hill rebuke, but for a change I’m not going to zero in on Miller’s performance which is, at least as good as Flynn’s, but on Romola Garai’s, which I find superior to Anya Taylor Joy’s. Specifically, her reaction once she’s alone.

ATJ in the 2020 version immediately breaks down sobbing and it’s hard for me to feel that she’s sobbing for “anger against herself, mortification, and deep concern” or that there’s much self-reflection going on there. To me it rather just feels like she’s crying because she got shouted at. The theatrics of it, to me, feel childish and self-centered.

I don’t feel that with Garai’s performance.

“She was vexed beyond what could have been expressed—almost beyond what she could conceal. Never had she felt so agitated, mortified, grieved, at any circumstance in her life. She was most forcibly struck . . . How could she have exposed herself to such ill opinion in anyone she valued! And how to suffer him to leave her without saying one word of gratitude, of concurrence, of common kindness!

Time did not compose her…” --Emma, Chapter 43

Of course one can make the case that Emma's reaction should be a bit childish because Emma is an immature character, but that's the thing--I can agree with you anywhere else in this story but this is Emma's maturing moment. This is her turning point as a character. It's where we should see her reactions shift from the same childish denial we're used to seeing when Knightley scolds her, because this is different. It's not the usual brushing off of big brother Knightley, this is a young woman reacting to an esteemed friend pointing out how abhorrently inappropriate she's been and her having to admit that to herself.

I didn't really want to drag comparisons to the 2020 film into this, not on this scale at least, but this just jumped out at me the last time I watched the new film and I have to express it somewhere.

What I see in Garai’s performance is desolation and mortification. That shocked tearfulness of knowing you’ve been justly reproached for wrongdoing, but being too frozen in a pretense of composure to actually cry about it until you’re quite sure that no one will see you. And especially when it’s someone you esteem rebuking you, the horror of them leaving before you can admit that they’re right. There’s so much more depth here, I think, and I can’t even quite express what it makes me feel.

The aspect of time not composing her is another thing that they decided to put stress on in this version. Emma looks fucked up in the following scenes. When she goes to see Miss Bates, she clearly either hasn’t slept or has slept very badly. I feel like this is maybe an anticlimactic conclusion to this section but I’m afraid I’m very close to reaching incoherence, so I’m just gonna leave it here.

My absolute favoritest thing about this version though—something that sets it apart from ALL other versions and even adaptations of other Austen stories—is the inclusion of the post-confession conversation.

This is something of a trope in Austen books but it very rarely finds its way into adaptations: confessions of love are out of the way, the hero and heroine settle into an easy an comfortable conversation, glowing with happiness as they explain and laugh over their actions and misinterpretations of each other’s choices. It happens in Pride and Prejudice, in Persuasion, and yes, in Emma. This is the only Austen adaptation, that I've seen, to include this kind of conversation in any kind of detail. The 1995 Pride and Prejudice alludes to the corresponding scene in it its source material, but the lines pulled from it get tossed into the confession scene itself and then it flies through to get to the obligatory wedding—a side effect of rushing through endings, a convention I’m rather tired of.

Emma (2009) takes its time with this, as with all other aspects of this adaptation. For a version that’s so full of energy, its pacing is extremely laid back and comfortable, without dragging. When you hear the gentle musical swell and Emma and Knightley have their kiss (this whole confession sequence is so sweet and wonderful in its own right), you expect that to be it. But no, we cut to them, the picture of contented happiness, sitting together on a bench overlooking Hartfield’s garden, just talking and enjoying being together, with no teasing, no pretense. If Jane Austen stories emphasize anything, it’s the importance of communication in relationships, and I think that’s maybe why she made it a point in almost every story to show her characters communicating their feelings in words, even after all the conflict has been resolved. This is my favorite scene in the whole series (In case it being my header image didn’t make that obvious.)

This is followed rather promptly by a cut to the next day, with Emma bursting in to Donwell in hysterics about how they can’t be married because she won’t leave her father alone.

This is one of those maybe over-the-top choices that a lot of people don’t like, but guys, it was so funny to me when I was fourteen and it still makes me laugh. It might seem outlandish, but to me it’s just the emphasis on personal relationships and emotion coming through again and it always makes me smile.

Final Thoughts

It’s hard for me to give a proper round up of my feelings for this section because I think I’ve poured just about all of my feelings on each aspect into its dedicated sections.

At the end of the day, the only thing that really disappoints me about this version is the number of missed opportunities there are here. One of my favorite parts of reading Austen is when I run across a line in dialogue or narrative that just… slaps. But they never make it into the adaptations. Emma is full of them and I just wish that Sandy Welch could have taken an opportunity to slip a few of them in.

In summary, I think this is a wonderful, heartfelt adaptation aimed at getting to the emotional heart of a story that often gets caught up in the Mean Girl-ness of its main character than the coming of age story that it is. It's one of my favorite period dramas because it's one of the few that really captures the spirit of the source material as it's always felt to me. There's really only two other period dramas that I esteem on the same level as this, and they're North & South (2004) and Jane Eyre (2011) and it's for the same reasons; because they impact me deeply on an emotional level--which is what art is supposed to do--because of how well it captures the essence of the story that I know and love.

So did I succeed in a more objective review of Emma 2009? I' feel like probably not. But I tried my best. It’s so hard to be objective about something that makes you as happy as this adaptation makes me.

Ribbon Rating: Most Agreeable (83 Ribbons)

Tone: 10

Casting: 9

Acting: 9

Scripting: 7

Pacing: 10

Cinematography: 7

Setting: 9

Costumes: 6

Music: 8

Book Accuracy: 8

#emma 2009 #emma woodhouse #mr. knightley #jane austen #jane austen emma #romola garai #jonny lee miller #period dramas #regency

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austennerdita2533 · 4 years ago

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I was doing some idle musing on Rory's boyfriends and Austen heroes, and what I came up with was that Jess is part Mr. Darcy and part Frederick Wentworth, and Logan is part Henry Crawford and part (in his best moments) Henry Tilney. Any thoughts?

I think those are good Austen-to-GG-boyfriend classifications all around!

Jess has quite a few of Darcy's social anxieties in that he doesn't seem to like being around large groups of people at once, prefers to keep to himself, and doesn't talk or open up easily. Both characters also have a propensity for being taciturn and standoffish at times. They can rub some the wrong way as a result. In addition to that, they're introverted intellectual individuals who have embarrassing or disappointing relatives (i.e. Lady Catherine, Liz Danes). Their first "I love you" declarations are on par in Disaster Fireworks, too, don't you think? I mean, Darcy point blank calls Lizzie's entire family an embarrassment who is beneath him in social class AND manners and then still excepts her to accept his hand in marriage, which is so unbelievable it's hysterical, and Jess tells Rory he loves her after pulling a cross-country disappearing act that ended their relationship only to disappear AGAIN immediately after he blurts out the words, not even pausing long enough to blink, or like, to roll down his window so she can shout her reply at him as he drives by on his way out of town. It's next level Don't Do This romantic foolishness on both their parts. They deserve an award or a badge of honor or something to commemorate their mutual totally-bungled-that idiocy. 😄

Like Wentworth, Jess is the "suffer in silence" type. (I'd argue he takes after Luke in that way.) They both venture off on their own paths after they experience heartbreak, finding themselves, making something of their lives. For Wentworth, that means going to sea and amassing a fortune. For Jess, it means writing a novella and later working at Truncheon. And clearly they have the whole pining for the girl they love thing in common. Plus, there's that sense of mutual understanding that ripples through those two dynamics. Something that exudes "I know you better than anyone" energy because words aren't always necessary. They fall short. As Wentworth writes in his infamous letter to Anne at the end of Persuasion: "You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others." Jess and Wentworth are able to notice things about Rory, about Anne, that everyone else overlooks. Or plain don't see. The connection they share never truly dwindles no matter how much time has passed, either. It burns beneath the surface like an ember, waiting, flickering softly in the dust of what once was, of what still could be, perpetually on the cusp of catching flame again.

I'd also make an argument for Jess having some Mr. Knightley in him as well. They're both emotionally repressed as hell, for one. The frustration is rife, I'm telling you! Jess has a hard time expressing, sometimes showing, his feelings for Rory and I've always thought that falls in line with Knightley's "if I loved you less I might be able to talk about it more" vibe. And while Jess doesn't lecture in the same way that Knightley does with Emma, he isn't afraid to ask Rory the hard questions, he doesn't hesitate to deliver the harsh truths she needs to hear. Jess challenges Rory to be better, to be true to herself, in the same way that Knightley does with Emma.

Onto Logan now. I definitely see a lot of Henry Tilney in him and a decent amount of Henry Crawford as well. I've always considered Tilney to be Austen's most charming, sociable, good humored, and extroverted hero, and I think that tracks well with Logan. He's also outgoing, seems to have no trouble making friends, and when he puts his mind to it, will and can charm the pants off of almost anyone he meets. (Gilmore grandparents, especially. But he's no slouch with Luke, Lorelai, or Christopher either, is he?) Tilney and Logan are both bright, witty men with active playful minds. I think those traits act as catnip for Rory and Catherine, it's what attracts them. They like the stimulation. The never-know-what-they're-going-to-do-or-say spontaneity. It's adrenalizing emotionally, intellectually, and sexually. Another similarity between the two men is that they each have fraught relationships with their fathers who have an "image" or "expectations" for their sons to uphold. The fathers view their name, or the social strata where they belong, to be superior to that of other people. Tbh, Mitchum Huntzberger and General Tilney should form their own Cad Dad Club because they're both cads. 😂

Henry Crawford and Logan share a considerable amount in common, too. Wit, attractiveness, and considerable charisma aside, they also both come from wealth. They're privileged, entitled, and have essentially had free reign to indulge their whims and vices throughout their lives without many consequences. I think Crawford's more wanton in his exploits with the opposite sex than Logan, though. The man doesn't just flirt he seduces. And he does so without much remorse. Granted, I know Logan was a bit of a playboy, a casanova, or whatever you want to call him, when he and Rory first started up but he commits to her eventually and loves her. He does his best to make her happy. And he is a present, caring, devoted boyfriend most of the time (the bridesmaid shagfest and jetting off to base jump, cliff dive, I forget the specific thing rn when he's upset, notwithstanding) whereas Crawford's feelings/intentions with Fanny are a little more hazy. It's hard to know whether he was actually in love with her or if it was about the chase, since she wasn't responding to his advances in the the way he'd grown accustomed or had hoped she would. Fanny never trusts Crawford. Rory does love and trust Logan, so there's a marked difference there.

In addition to Tilney and Crawford, I also think it could be said that Logan has some of Mr. Willoughby's good traits. They're both passionate individuals, for one, and aren't afraid to show it. They lay it all out there. Go after things. Live life to the fullest. I admire that in both of them. Fanny and Rory needed a little bit of that in their lives, I think. It pushed them out of their comfort zones. In a good, productive way. That said, the men's zest and spontaneity could teeter into recklessness as well, which is behavior they both exhibited in different ways and at different times.

I'm sure I could come up with more if I thought about it longer but that's all I've got for now.

Anyway, thanks for the ask, sweets! This was fun to muse over! xoxo

#stellaluna33 #replies #the loveliest of lovely people #ashlee bree talks gilmore girls and jane austen

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variousqueerthings · 4 years ago

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@mimsyaf okay I just wrote this here because looong, but I hope it’s more coherent than the other post:

so okay, I just say that the main guys I was thinking about are the majority of the members of the band Rammstein (especially Till Lindemann, the frontman), who’ve talked about having sex with guys openly and have answered interview questions of “are you gay?” with “not right now” (because they’re married/have girlfriends)

thinking about language that’s been used around bisexuality specifically that doesn’t.. .know? the word bisexual exists? so like. They grew up in East Germany during the time when that was still the USSR. So very censored, very regulated, very not-queer.

Since their early fame they have used language around transness, gayness, and intersexuality that is... old-fashioned, but meant supportively, in some of their songs and in interviews, so there’s a question of - how much have they been involved in the queer Community (I think in the past at least not so much if at all), vs how much have they had personal experiences that make their way into their songs - again, especially Mr Lindemann who wrote the lyrics for a lot of those songs and is the most open about stuff.

Again I need to reiterate in a Very Old-Fashioned Way.

Recently however they’ve started flying Pride flags at concerts in Poland, Russia, and East Germany, which has been a nice development.

and the way this language comes out of an older understanding of - being gay = literally the act of having sex with someone of the same gender. not being gay = not having sex with someone of the same gender. There is no other term other than gay or not gay.

I would never say they were bisexual or pansexual or queer or anything other than heterosexual though, because that is their word for themselves. That is their conceptualization of their experiences.

Also I was thinking about an actor that I’ve had the pleasure of having several conversations with in a public, online forum who talked about a beautiful boy he went to school with whom he followed to Greece over a summer after they graduated, who described himself having a crush on that boy during that time which was why he followed him in the first place, but the boy basically left him alone in Greece after a short time to go hook up with some girls (this was all spoken about openly and publicly, just want to re-clarify).

Again, I am not saying this actor is anything but straight. I’m just fascinated in the fluidity of that experience as being described by someone who (I know for a fact) has never been involved in a queer space or even knew most of the terms as you’d understand them today before a yearish ago when said online forum space began, because he didn’t need them for himself (and he learned them in that time because he’s figured out that a large portion of his fanbase is queer and he wants to respect us), and is happily married.

The screaming comes in the form of being interested in the experiences that make you feel like a member of a space/in need of a specific space and the experiences that - even if you maybe feel a kinship or have at some point felt like a member of that space - means that you never have or no longer do.

I think there’s something interesting about the way terminology and personal attachment to terminology and mainstream knowledge of what-terminology-is-currently-dominant is in itself fluid + how in the end it all comes down to what you need - if you don’t need a queer space for yourself, then you might never find yourself in it on your own behalf, even if you’re an ally to other people being in that space.

Where I haven’t seen this with women who are pretty famous - again to use Keira Knightley as the example, is that she talked about dressing as a boy and going to prom with her best friend and kissing her and so on, but she’s not quantifying it in any way, if that makes sense? she’s not saying “so I’m bi.” she’s not saying “but I’m straight now” (as far as I’m aware on both of these statements, correct me if I’m wrong) she’s just saying “this was something that happened when I was younger.”

I think also it has to do with ofc the way closeness between men is scrutinised vs closeness between women.

Also obvs actual bisexual famous people who were/are open about it don’t get that acknowledged at all right? (Angelina Jolie, Pink, Lady Gaga, Billy Joe Armstrong, etc) so that’s also A Whole Thing.

#not coherent not coherent not cohereeeeent #discussions about... idk... language of the self?#I am still going to delete that last post because it was too flippant for what I've been thinking #(truth be told I'm not even sure if this explains it adequately)

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claudiagray · 4 years ago

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Very curious about why you hated Emma! I enjoyed the movie a lot, but I’ve never read the book so most of my knowledge of the story comes from Clueless and Emma Approved.

“Hate” is probably too strong a word, but yeah, I had issues with the 2020 version. The costumes were gorgeous, the actors are all brilliant, but there were too many elements that jarred me out of it, marring what ought to have been a truly awesome movie:

1) When Mr. Woodhouse is seated directly in front of the wedding cake and says nothing about it, despite its evil health-wrecking presence right before his eyes. A little point? Maybe--but it’s also one of the keys to understanding Mr. Woodhouse, and understanding Mr. Woodhouse is key to understanding Emma herself.

2) Although the actress playing Harriet is very capable, she was portrayed as almost hopelessly gauche and ordinary. Although Harriet is from a different social class than Emma, Emma thinks Harriet is extremely beautiful (more so than she is herself), and at least some people consider Harriet a totally appropriate companion. That was harder to believe here, and the Emma-Harriet friendship is already so unlikely that I missed those supporting elements.

3) The whole “I point and a servant does even the most mundane task for me” is really more Victorian than Regency. Don’t get me wrong--wealthy people in the Regency had servants do stuff for them that we’d never dream of--but it wasn’t yet quite to the extreme portrayed. Young gentlewomen could and did do things like cut roses. Emma is the richest young lady in town, but it’s a country town, and while she’s a snob, we also know that she personally takes baskets to the poor, etc. So to me this felt contrived.

4) Related to the above: That, plus things like having Emma show her bottom to the fire, showing Knightley naked while getting ready, made me feel like this was a period piece made by people who are way too self-conscious about the period. I prefer being immersed in it. It’s not that I mind nudity or earthiness--while I also have mixed feelings about the Jonny Lee Miller “Mansfield Park,” those were two elements that film handled very well. I just felt like these scenes were shown to remind us people in costumes are people, a point I do not need reminding of. (That said, I get some people like to be more conscious/distant from period in a period piece! I’m just not one of them.)

5) When Mr. Knightley--who never makes a show of himself, who only deigns to dance on rare occasions, who won’t even take a carriage to a friend’s house--decided to get up and START SINGING in public, I hit the wall.

The big warning signs for me, before I even watched it: (1) A trailer that included none of Jane Austen’s wit and almost no dialogue at all; and (2) the number of reviews who described the film as a “confection.” This word is a brilliant red flag for Austen adaptations, IMO.

Again, it’s not hatred. A lot of my reaction is disappointment, because actors as talented and brilliantly cast as Anya Taylor-Joy, Miranda Hart and Bill Nighy deserved one of the great adaptations of all time. This was not that. I’m happy others are able to enjoy it more, but it didn’t work for me.

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bbyx · 4 years ago

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in your dreams - part one

Summary: Remus Lupin is head over heels for Narcissa, but she’s not allowed to date until her sister (y/n) has a boyfriend. As a solution, Remus enlists Sirius to become (y/n)’s boyfriend. Pairings: reader x sirius, remus x narcissa, lucius x narcissa, james x lily Disclaimer: This is basically harry potter universe x 10 things i hate about you. You DON’T need to have seen the movie to understand bc this is basically a retelling of the story. Also some of the dialogue has been taken straight from the movie. ALSO in this story Narcissa and Bellatrix are NOT Sirius’s cousins.

Hogwarts. It was beautiful, breathtaking even from the train window. The great castle looms into view, and (y/n) Knightley gets slightly tearful at the fact that this is the beginning of her last year at Hogwarts. A year from now you would hopefully begin your training as a healer at St.Mungos. That is if your father didn’t marry you off before that.

Your thoughts are abruptly interrupted by the compartment door sliding open. A group of giggling girls pop their heads in, blasting a horrendously high pitched song from a portable cassette player.

“Hi we’re the Promenade ball committee! Make sure to buy a ticket. It’ll be a night to remember!” One of them says in a sugar sweet voice, handing you a purple flyer. You simply roll your eyes as an answer and the girls leave, mumbling to themselves. You manage to hear a what a bitch through the high pitched singing. You glance down at the paper. It reads:

Promenade ball! Hogwarts class of 1978

May 22nd - 8:00 to 12:00

Tickets : 10 galleons each

You scrunch the paper into a ball and throw it out the open window.

Balls were stupid anyways.

Remus walked into Professor Myriads office, the head of Gryffindor house. He’s missed Hogwarts. Spending one year abroad at Ilvermorny was a great experience but it couldn't compete with the beauty of Hogwarts. In one year, so much had changed yet it still felt the same way it had in his first year. Strange but familiar.

“Remus Lupin. Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed your stay in America. Now I know you remember this school like the back of your hand but it is a Hogwarts rule that any returning students must be shown around the premises again. I’ve assigned Peter Pettigrew to be your guide for today.” She says motioning to Peter standing outside, waving excitedly. “You may go to class now.” The silver haired woman said, dismissing him quickly. Remus reached down for his bookbag when a shadow stood leaning in the doorway.

“Padfoot!”

“Moony! Missed you mate.” Sirius and Remus embraced each other tightly, Professor Myriad cleared her throat.

“Sirius Black. I see we're making our visits a weekly ritual. You better not get in trouble this year if you want to graduate.” She gave him a disapproving glance. He answered with a charming smile.

“Only so we can have these moments together. Should I, uh, get the lights?”

“Oh very clever Mr. Black. That’ll be ten points from Gryffindor.”

“Remus! Oh we’ve missed you so much. Tell me how it was. How were the states? Good god, so many things have changed in the past year.” Peter said, spitting out more questions than Remus could handle.

“It was nice, Ilvermorny was very laid back. They study native magic and lots of non verbal spells. I’ll tell you more at dinner.”

“Allright, let me give you the breakdown, even though you know most of this stuff.” Peter said.

They begin to walk around the grounds.

“Over there you’ve still got your basic beautiful people.” He motions to a group of students sitting under a tree. “To the left we have the coffee kids. A new developpement since Dippet allowed a coffee machine in the Great Hall.”

“Interesting.” Remus said, looking at the students who couldn’t seem to sit still.

One of them knocked over his cup, filled with rich brown liquid, onto the other’s lap. “Whoa”

“That was a Costa Rican, asshole!”

“Very edgy. Don’t make any sudden moves around them.” Peter added.

They now approached a few students dressed in large hats and leather boots.

“These guys…” Peter started.

“Wait wait. Let me guess. Cowboys?”

“Yeah, ever since that muggle movie Grayeagle came out.”

“Who would have thought that I would see more cowboys back at Hogwarts than the US.”

They now neared a group of students sitting on the grass, scribbling on parchment furiously.

“These are your future Ministers. Hey guys. How ya doin’?” Peter waved to the group. They rolled their eyes at him and went back to they’re books.

“Yesterday I was their god.” Peter said wistfully.

Remus chuckled, he had missed this atmosphere. “What happened.”

“Bogie Levenstein started a rumor that I...that I used an enchanted quill on my OWL’s.”

“Did you?” Remus asked, already knowing the answer.

“Not the point.” Muttered Peter.

“So they kicked you out?” Remus continued.

“Hostile takeover. But don’t worry. They’ll pay. Now over here…”

“Merlin’s sake.” Remus whispered as a beautiful, creamy skinned dark haired girl walked by.

“What group is she in?”

“The “don’t even think about it” group. That’s Narcissa Knightley. Fifth year.” Peter said, shaking his head at his friend. Remus' mouth was still agape as she walked past him with her friend.

“Yup, see, there’s a difference between “like” and “love”. Because I like my wand, but I love my Snakeskin backpack.” Narcissa explained to the other girl.

“But I love my wand.” Her friend says clutching her wand to her chest.

“That’s because you don’t have a snakeskin backpack.” Narcissa said, like it was the most obvious thing. Her friend looks enamoured by her wisdom.

“Oohhh.”

“Listen. Forget her. Incredibly uptight father, and it’s a widely known fact that the Knightley sisters aren’t allowed to date.” Peter said, shaking his Remus's shoulder.

“Uh huh...yeah.”

At dinner later that night, Remus couldn’t keep his gaze off the enchanting girl at the Slytherin table.

“Earth to Moony!” James said between mouthfuls.

“Mate, we haven’t seen you in months. Talk. Or would you rather go join the Slytherins.” Sirius says, glaring at the green robed students.

“He has a thing for Narcissa Knightley.” Remus gave Peter a death glare.

“She’s pretty, but not as pretty as Lily Evans.” James sighed, looking at the auburn haired girl.

“Prongs, you're still running after her? It’s been, what, three years of her constantly rejecting you.” Remus chuckled.

“At least Lily’s allowed to date.” James retorted.

“You guys are pathetic.” Sirius said, grinning cockily, knowing he could get any girl at Hogwarts easily.

“Okay then. What did everyone think of the Tales of the Wizard-Goblin war?” Professor Binns, Hogwarts only ghost professor, asked.

“I loved it. The part with Ginnamora was soooo romantic.” A clueless girl sighed.

“Romantic? Buckthorn?! He was an abusive alcoholic misogynist who squandered half his life hanging around Giraf Abbott trying to nail his leftovers.” (y/n) said to the girl, earning eyerolls from the other students.

Lucius Malfoy chuckles cockily. “As opposed to a bitter self-righteous hag who has no friends?”

Giggles erupt through the room. (y/n) doesn’t turn around to face him, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d pissed her off.

“I guess in this society being male and an asshole makes you worthy of our time.”

Just then, a dark haired boy strolls confidently inside the classroom.

“What’d I miss?” Sirius asked.

“The oppressive patriarchal values that dictate our education.” You answered, gritting your teeth furiously.

“Good.” He turned around and went back out of the room.

“Hey, hey!” The ghost professor looked like he was about to go after him but decided to stay put.

“Uh,Professor. Is there any chance we could get (y/n) to take her calming drought before she comes to class?” Lucius said, high fiving his fellow slytherins.

“Mr.Malfoy, someday you’re gonna get hexed and I’m not gonna do a thing to stop it. And Miss. Knightley. I want to thank you for your point of view.” Professor Binns stated. (y/n) smiled to herself.

Take that Malfoy.

“I know how difficult it must be for you to overcome all those years of pureblood oppression. It must be tough.” Professor Binns' words wiped the grin right off her face. (y/n) thanks Merlin that Lucius Malfoy, with his inflated ego, couldn’t see her face. Professor Binns continues.

“But the next time you storm around the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures crusading for better house elves, or whatever it is you wealthy purebloods complain about, ask them why they can’t buy a book written by a ghost!”

His normally monotone voice was now strident. Never in your six years at Hogwarts had you ever heard Professor Binns get so riled up. The whole class was taken about by his sudden burst of emotion. You quickly recover from your slight shock.

“Anything else?”

“Ten points from Gryffindor. Go to your head of house.” Professor Binns stated, sounding a little brittle.

“What?! Professor Binns!” You plead but he’s already started scribbling on the chalkboard. (y/n) storms out, making sure to hit Lucius Malfoy with her bag on the way.

Professor Myriad was scribbling a letter when you reached her office, knocking on the doorway to make your presence known. The silver haired woman lowered her glasses as you sat down in a crimson chair.

“So I hear you were terrorizing Professor Binns‘s class. Again.”

“With all due respect expressing my opinion is not a terrorist action.” You say, picking at your nails.

“The way you expressed your opinion to Richard Crabbe? By the way, his testicle retrieval operation went quite well, in case you're interested.” She remarqued, mentioning a particularly nasty quidditch fight between (y/n) and that idiot Crabbe.

“I still maintain that his broom malfunctioned and he kicked himself in the balls.” You answer cooly, trying your hardest not to let any emotion seep through your face.

Professor Myriad fumbled. “The point is (y/n)...People perceive you as somewhat …”

“Tempestuous?”

“"Heinous bitch" is the term used most often.” She states simply.

How flattering, Professor.

“You might want to work on that. Try being more like your sister.”

You raised your eyebrows at her comment because the woman clearly had no idea what she was getting into.

“Tell me Professor, which sister are we talking about? Bellatrix? Who was married off to some greasy pureblood the day after she graduated. Andromeda? Who followed her heart but was shunned from the family. Or Narcissa? Who at sixteen still, for the love of god, cannot tie her shoelaces.”

(y/n) rises from her chair and says, in her most sarcastic tone “As always, thank you for your excellent guidance.” before strolling out of the tiny office.

Lucius and his friends were sprawled in their usual spots under a tree. Someone in the group mumbles “Virgin alert” as Narcissa and Josie walk past. Lucius’s attention is immediately fixed on the innocent looking brunette. The girls notice him and wave shyly.

“Looking good ladies.”

“They’re outta reach, even for you.” Simon Nott said in a sing-song voice.

“No one’s out of reach for me.” Lucius says, sizing his friend up.

“You wanna put money on that?” Simon questions, leaning back against the tree. Lucius glances at Narcissa who’s laughing with a group of fifth year students,

“Money I’ve got. This I’m going to do for fun.”

From across the courtyard, Remus, James and Peter observe the way Lucius Malfoy is eyeing Narcissa, like a tiger watching his prey. Remus feels strangely protective of her, wanting to protect her from Lucius’s slimy paws. He gazed at her as she giggled, her dimples showing.

“Mate, look at her.” He said in a voice soft with affection.

James is clearly unimpressed. “Is she always so...vapid?”

“How can you say that? She’s totally…”

“Conceited?”Peter leered.

“What are you talking about Wormtail? There’s more to her than you think. I mean, look... look at the way she smiles. And look at her eyes, man. She’s totally pure. I mean, you’re missing what’s there.”

“No, Moony. No. What’s there is a snotty little Princess creating a strategically planned appearance to make guys like us realize we can never touch her, and guys like, uh…” Peter fumbled, looking across the courtyard. “...Lucis, realize they want to. She, my friend, is what we’ll spend the rest of our lives not having. Move on.”

“No.” Remus pouted stubbornly.

“Move on.” James quipped, repeating Peter’s words.

“No! You’re wrong about her. You’re so wrong.” Remus grumbled back.

“Alright. I’m wrong? You wanna take a shot? Be my guest. She’s actually looking for a Mermish tutor.”

Remus’s eyes light up. “Are you serious? That’s perfect!”

“Do you even speak Mermish?” James questioned. Remus flashed his bright teeth.

“Well no. But I will.”

#sirius black #sirius #sirius x reader #sirius x y/n #james potter #lucius malfoy #narcissa malfoy

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stydiaeverafter · 5 years ago

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Fire within my soul

Fandom: Emma (2020)

Pairing: George Knightley/Emma Woodhouse

Tags: falling in love, love stories, soulmates, declarations of love, hidden kisses, romantic fluff, inner dialogue

Words: 1k | Rating: G | On ao3

Summary: George Knightley's hidden thoughts during moments of embrace with Emma Woodhouse.

They came together in an unspoken way; effortlessly and all at once.

A/N: I have always loved Jane Austen's books and the movie adaptations. I fell in love with Emma (2020) and craved to read more about them. After reading so many beautiful stories, I decided to add my little collection as well. I hope you enjoy this short piece.

Fire within my soul

The crickets chirped a beautiful serenade as the household all sat together that evening reading their books. The fire was roaring next to Mr. Woodhouse who had already said it was too cold several times that night.

However, George Knightley couldn’t concentrate on a single word Mr. Woodhouse had stated nor gathered any part of his book, for Emma Woodhouse held his attention in every way. Like a flame to a candle. Not that she hadn’t already done that for years before this night.

It had always been her, even when he wouldn’t allow himself to think such things. They quarreled and expressed their utmost opinions when they were in the presence of one another, but the truth was he always admired her strength and independence, even when he called her bluff. But the simple phrase of friendship had not ever seemed quite enough for his liking. Although he had felt this way, he refused to act on feelings. The reason was the game he followed; he would always follow her lead.

However, it would all change in the most unexpected way. When they had danced in one another’s arms.

“With whom will you dance?” He had inquired, looking around the room, hoping with a prayer she would not say, Mr. Frank Churchill.

The words that followed were the very words he never imagined but always hoped she’d say, “With you. If you’ll ask me.”

Knightley had always wanted to ask this of her. Every dance she would dance, he’d only admire at a distance... never a single notion to have that honor. But the moment was offered; something they had never done before. Touching her hand in that manner, was a gift she had given him. Skin upon the skin, an act that felt so foreign yet familiar nonetheless.

During the course of their dance, the lightness between them shifted into something deeper, something built upon the flames of a flickering fire. The way she looked into his eyes as the tips of their fingers touched, made his heart beat faster. There was no denying that what had been building for all those years between them, was finally making its way to the surface; their surface upon the dance floor. Knightley had pulled her closer to him, daring to breathe her in… one of the flowers and all was lost.

The crowded room had faded away until all that was left was the two of them. Knightley’s thoughts had drifted off into a dream he had created for himself one too many times before. That moment was interrupted by the rhythm of the dance. Momentarily he was able to catch his breath, attempting to put the mask he had created for hiding his true feelings for all these years, back on.

But as he had tilted up his head once more, she had gazed into his eyes with an innocent wonder that stirred something deep inside. Before he could recollect those thoughts of feeling, she was in his arms; an embrace that expressed what he already knew it to be. Desire. Thoughts a gentleman should not act upon.

How though, could one ignore the feelings of the flame? Her bare hand still in his, their fingers slid slowly together across the material of her dress. Knightley wanted so much more, but then she had taken leave and walked away. He was left nonplussed in a crowded room. But a piece of his heart was now in the grip of her beautiful hands. What she did with it would either ruin him or make him whole.

It had been the most pleasant of evenings, one to be remembered. In a way, it was the beginning of their love story...the one built only in stories.

Although fate made fools of them both as the workings of their perception were played with and misconstrued. However, through pain and sorrow, the love they felt never faltered. They found one another through the mist of uncertainty; together they remained.

After they had fixed what had been done and all was at peace with Harriet and her love, Knightley made his way to Hartfield to see her; his heart fluttered from excitement. He knew where she would be without a question of doubt. She was always surrounded by her flowers within her greenhouse.

They came together in an unspoken way; effortlessly and all at once. The way she had looked up at him and smiled, her curls loosened from the day’s breeze, had made his heart swell with love. Not for the first time, yet more deeply than the rest. She had looked more handsome than ever before.

Knightley had not asked again, for he knew the answer would be his in time. He had meant what he said; he loved her far too great to be one with simple words. Emma knew what was in his heart, for it had been hers all along. She had placed her hands softly on his chest, his heart beating like a drum, and she whispered those words of, “Yes, I will marry you, Mr. Knightley.”

It had been the best moment of his life. He had dreamed of her agreeing to his proposal for as long as he could recollect. Their love for one another had survived the journey. When he had been close to touching his lips to hers for their first true embrace, they had been interrupted. The disappointment was soon filled with excitement at the promise of shared affections.

So it wasn’t too difficult to comprehend why he could only focus on her within this present moment. They kept chasing one another with their hidden glances as the night went on. Each time looking a bit longer than the last.

Mr. Woodhouse had interrupted his concentration of her beautiful smile asking about a chill. Knightley didn’t feel a thing, as usual. But when Mr. Woodhouse replied with a simple “pity,” Knightley caught on instantly. This was her father’s approval, one he had asked prior, yet hadn’t received word upon.

Knightley indulged and agreed upon the chill. Everything after that moment sped up tremendously. Rushing over to her side and holding her hand in his, was a simple solace of peace. Knightley could not ignore the fluttering of his heart, an act she always brought to be.

They exchanged words of their future and her fears of leaving her father behind. He loved her enough to never make her choose between the two. Knightley wanted Emma to be happy above all else, which in turn, would bring happiness to his life. She seemed worried about him giving up a sense of independence, but he was not giving up anything; he was gaining everything.

The moment grew quiet as she stared into his eyes, an expression he hadn’t seen often. Before he was able to inquire about her thoughts, her lips touched his… as soft as a butterfly’s fluttering wings.

The first dance they shared, the room had faded away and only two remained; now within the stone walls, it was their two souls alone surrounded by the flickering candles of light. Knightley smiled instantly as she turned away looking puzzled as if to say, was that what a kiss was? He had to confess, knowing she had never kissed another, breathed life into his heart. Knightley wanted to show her so much of this life, the life they would share; another lesson he would give unto her. Lightly and a bit firmly, he turned her face to meet his, and pressed his lips against hers once more.

This time his thoughts had stopped flowing altogether. Knightley felt a sense of vulnerability as their lips moved together as one. It was as if he were breathing her in; a fire growing within, as well as a comforting cold peace that made his fingers tingle. He had kissed others in his life, but nothing had ever been quite like this. It had never been with one he had loved.

Emma moved back slightly and he saw her breathe in deeply, lips trembling softly. Knightley couldn’t control his body as it moved back towards hers. A dance between the two once more. It was that desire he craved above all else. It overcame him in every way. Her soft lips brushed upon his and he kissed her deeper. She tasted of spring rain and the smell of her, the scent of roses, was pleasantly intoxicating.

As Emma broke the kiss and touched his face gently, he smiled softly and looked into her beautiful eyes. Her breathtaking smile was already upon that face he wanted to stare at for a lifetime, and even after that.

This was the love he had always dreamed of. They were characters written along with their beloved stories, for they were meant for one another; fitting together in a way no one else would. Knightley knew she felt the same, for when she closed the space between them, it was a promise of forever.

#emma 2020 #emma 2020 fic #emma x knightley #george knightley #emma woodhouse #my fic #my graphic #period comedy fic #jane austen

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camillemontespan · 5 years ago

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can we talk about georgiana, the duchess of devonshire?

So, a few months ago, I asked my followers who would be interested in following a side blog about historical figures. I’m a huge history geek and I thought that if I started a blog about the people who interest me, I could add it to my CV and also just get back into my interests. Quite a few of you were down for it and I was so pleased!

I’m yet to make the side blog but I’m posting this as a test to see if you guys like it. If you do, I will make the side blog.

@jovialyouthmusic @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore @moonlightgem7 @walkerswhiskeygirl @rainbowsinthestorm @saivilo @pug-bitch @katedrakeohd @gardeningourmet @mskaneko

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Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire (1757-1806)

I love history for its people. I am not interested in battles or treaties; I am drawn to the people behind these events. I like discovering what made them tick, that drove their decisions and what impact their lives have had on future generations. If you ask me to date a certain event, I can’t do it, but I can give you a spoken biography of historical figures that interest me.

When I moved to Devon two years ago, I was nervous but also excited for one reason: I believed I would be able to visit Chatsworth House, the home of the Duchess of Devonshire. Imagine my irritation when I realised that Chatsworth is actually based in Derbyshire, which is hours away from Devon itself. My ideas of weekend jaunts to Chatsworth as I admired the architecure and strolled around the gardens were ruined by this realisation.

You may have heard of Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire. A film of her life starring Keira Knightley was released in 2008 which first brought her to my attention. Now, I’m not a Knightley fan - ‘I’m Keira Knightley, look at my jawww,’- because I find her quite wooden, however I was pleasantly surprised when I watched her performance. She brought a human element to this historical figure who was known for her fashion sense, crippling debt and controversial marriage arrangement.

Georgiana is also the ancestor of Princess Diana. Many people compare their tragic stories and can see a mirror image. Married to man they didn’t really love, later forced to watch their husbands fall in love with another woman and say nothing, all the while maintaining dignity and poise on the world stage.

So, without further ado, let me introduce you to Georgiana.

If Georgiana was your friend, she would be the one who would come over with a bottle of wine, over which you would put the world to rights and drunkenly proclaim, ‘I love you sooooo much!’ to each other, before deciding to have a spontaneous night out where you dance on the bar and pound shots. She would visit you the next day – you would be horrifically hungover, she would be fresh as a daisy.

Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire, was known for her charismatic and bubbly personality; her ability to make any outfit look beautiful (4 foot long peacock feather in her hair springs to mind) which made women everywhere try to emulate her - she literally set trends. She was also known for her passion for politics and her private life.

On the surface, she had it all. But in reality, she didn’t. Underneath this larger than life facade was a tragic figure.

For one thing, Georgiana was addicted to gambling and racked up an eye watering debt. She borrowed money from her friends but never repaid them. Her mother warned her to be careful but to no avail. Her mother also had a gambling problem and wasted money while playing faro. She didn’t want her daughter to continue her mistakes. Georgiana hid her debts from her husband for as long as she could, but eventually she had to tell the Duke, who paid off her debts and never mentioned it again.

She had been expecting to get a bollocking but he stayed silent. To be honest, this made it worse. It’s like being told by your mum that she’s ‘disappointed’ in you, when you’d prefer her to shout at you for a few minutes and then forgive you. She struggled with gambling for years.

Second, and most importantly, her marriage was an unspoken controversy. This is the thing that makes Georgiana an incredible character to study. I read her story and I just couldn’t work it out in my head - why would you put up with this? But then, you have to remember that divorce wasn’t an option for women in those days. Women were property. They were commodities. Leaving a marriage because your husband preferred another woman was not an option.

It was the worst kept secret in society. Everyone knew that her best friend, Elizabeth ‘Bess’ Foster, lived with them and that Bess was her husband’s mistress. Georgiana had asked for Bess to live with them after she discovered that Bess’ sons had been taken away from her and she was living in awful circumstances. Georgiana was too good, too kind – and Bess took advantage. Trust me, Bess is the villain in this story, no matter how often she tried to set her story straight. Diary accounts from Georgiana’s friends show that nobody trusted her. They could see her for what she was -a schemer, a leech. But Georgiana couldn’t.

Bess stayed at Chatsworth and conducted a secret affair with her husband, which soon became public knowledge. Did Georgiana say anything? No. She let it carry on under her roof, without saying a word. In the film, she stands up for herself which is how it should have played out. But according to Amanda Foreman, the historian and writer of the book, this didn’t happen. Georgiana kept silent.

Although I wish I could shake her and tell her she deserves so much better, in a way I feel she shows a huge strength of character to put up with that. She continued her daily routine with dignity and carried on being a queen.

Now, this is when things get interesting and draws in another historical figure who I feel isn’t really known? At least, I didn’t know him, all I knew was that there are tea bags named after him.

The rumour is that she later fell in love with Charles Grey, a Whig politician (later Prime Minister - I KNOW RIGHT? YOU GO GEORGIANA!) who had dreams of a bright, new world where all men had the vote. They were like minded and they could talk about these dreams together. I adore how political Georgiana was and that she spoke publicly about her political associations in a time when women were expected to stay at home and mind their business. She actually brought about the trend of canvassing, where you go out into the streets and campaign for a party. Having Georgiana on side meant the Whigs became popular quickly - if anything, she became their figurehead. Anyway, I digress, but let me just say that she has so much depth. She is genuinely interesting.

Right, Charles Grey.

They had an affair and she became pregnant with his child. In short, she asked the Duke if she could leave him and be with Grey. After all, he was fucking her best friend and not giving a shit about her feelings. But, of course, the Duke refused. Hypocrite, yes. But the time period was different and he couldn’t risk the humiliation of being deserted by his wife – nor could she. Women who left their families were ravaged by society. She gave birth to Grey’s daughter, Eliza, in secret and the baby was raised by his family as Grey’s niece. Again, that is a testament to her character. I’m sure many women would have felt broken after that. But she wasn’t – she visited Eliza frequently (who, when she grew up, named her daughter Georgiana after her mother. I think she knew by then) and she continued to partake in social engagements.

What I love about her, aside from her strength, is how she challenges the stereotype of women of that time. In fact, she was way beyond her time. She was the one who started the trend for getting outside in the streets and campaigning for the Whigs. She was a WOMAN who was out in the streets campaigning, despite not even having a vote or even thinking her gender would one day have one, and she was so much more than just fashion and money. She was an intelligent badass who cared about how the country was run. She didn’t let gender stereotypes and restrictions hold her back. I love how no matter how shit her home life was, she didn’t let that bring her down. If anything, politics was her escape. It was where she could feel valued. She made friends with the Whigs, such as Charles Fox, and they wanted to hear her opinion. They needed her on their side because her opinion mattered. She mattered.

She was ahead of her time. She had a hard home life but she carried on, trying to make a difference and prove her worth. Georgiana is my home girl and I will stand up for her because no one else did.

I know this wasn’t a coherent piece. It was all over the place, right? But that’s what history does to me. I get excited. If I’m talking to you about Georgina, my hands will be all over the place and my voice will be rising in volume because I get so passionate about the subject. I wrote essays at uni for my history degree and they were so proper, just the way university dictates you write. All I wanted to write was ‘read how amazing this person is! Give me an A for enthusiasm!’ I once got a lower mark for an essay because I made the mistake of being too enthusiastic, writing a really in-depth profile on the historical figure, but forgot to answer the question… My tutor said he could tell I really enjoyed writing it but I didn’t actually fulfill the point of the essay. It wasn’t a harsh criticism - he was happy I enjoyed writing it but obviously, couldn’t grade me a high mark.

But that’s how I approach history. I could sit here and try to write something proper but I think that is one reason why history is often a disliked subject. It CAN be boring if taught badly.

I remember my history teacher in high school, Mr Pia, who was the best teacher I’ve ever had. He scared all the young students because he was so serious and never smiled and I tell you, I was scared when I found out he would be teaching me when I was in my final year. But, when I joined his class, he surprised us in a lesson about Austria. He played Mozart and said, ‘I thought I would try to evoke the right atmosphere!’

I fell in love with his teaching then and there.

THAT is what makes history a good subject. You need someone passionate, who looks at it differently. That’s how I would like to approach it. It may not be for some people but it works for me.

If Georgiana has peaked your interest, you can read the biography by Amanda Foreman which is incredible. I couldn’t put it down. Even give the film a go - Ralph Fiennes plays the Duke and Dominic Cooper (babe) is Charles Grey. It’s on Netflix. Spend your Sunday watching it. It’s a great adaptation.

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austenmarriage · 4 years ago

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New Post has been published on Austen Marriage

New Post has been published on http://austenmarriage.com/giving-thanks-with-austen-2/

Giving Thanks with Austen

This blog originally appeared last year. With my blog now scheduled on the fourth Thursday of each month—Thanksgiving in the U.S.—I decided to reprise it.

Thanksgiving makes me wonder whether there was any formal giving of thanks in Jane Austen’s work. The November U.S. holiday has spread to most of the Americas. The English have a more general harvest-related tradition of providing bread and other food to the poor, often through the church. That tradition was extant in the Regency and continues now.

Though today’s American celebration is secular in nature, the practice has spiritual roots. It was religious settlers in Virginia and Massachusetts who began the celebration. Most Americans know the tradition of the Pilgrims inviting the native tribes to join in. It was the Indians who provided the food that enabled most of the early colonies to survive the first desperate years.

President George Washington created the first official Thanksgiving in 1789 “as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God.” President Abraham Lincoln memorialized the date as the fourth Thursday in November, beginning in 1863, when, in the middle of the Civil War, he proclaimed a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

Austen’s family was religious, of course. Her father and two brothers were clergymen. Her works contain strong, though not didactic, moral strains. I wondered: Did any of her characters ever directly express thanks—to God, to Providence, to the universe? Did anyone express gratitude in a way that recognized any higher power?

I could not find any direct use of “giving” or “offering” thanks in any of Austen’s six novels. Most of her novels contain fifty or sixty ordinary thanks each. Persuasion is the least thankful with only eighteen, but it includes the most fervent. Most of the thanks are a polite reflex to ordinary behavior or a specific response to a good deed performed by another.

“Thank God!” occurs once or twice per book. The sense is usually general. Sometimes the phrase is a positive and sometimes a negative. In Persuasion, Mrs. Croft thanks God that as a naval wife she is blessed with excellent health and was seldom seasick on the ocean. Perversely, William Elliot writes “Thank God!” that he can stop using the name “Walter”—the name of Anne’s father—as a middle name. Anne Elliot stiffens upon learning the insult to her family.

“Thank God!” is a remark that is canceled out in Northanger Abbey. Catherine Morland’s brother James writes her to say “Thank God!” that he is done with Isabella Thorpe, who is now pursuing Captain Tilney. The next post brings a letter from Isabella, telling Catherine “Thank God” that she’s leaving the “vile” city of Bath. By now dumped by the Captain, she doesn’t know that Catherine knows what’s up. Isabella pleads “some misunderstanding” with James and asks Catherine to help: “Your kind offices will set all right: he is the only man I ever did or could love, and I trust you will convince him of it.” Catherine doesn’t.

The only real “Thank God!”, as an appeal to the Deity, comes in Persuasion after Captain Wentworth’s inattention contributes to Louisa’s fall and concussion: “The tone, the look, with which ‘Thank God!’ was uttered by Captain Wentworth, Anne was sure could never be forgotten by her; nor the sight of him afterwards, as he sat near a table, leaning over it with folded arms and face concealed, as if overpowered by the various feelings of his soul, and trying by prayer and reflection to calm them.”

Everyone’s prayers are answered. Louisa mends and becomes engaged to Captain Benwick. Wentworth is free to marry Anne.

A deeply thankful attitude does exist with two of Austen’s characters. Readers who pause to think can probably guess the two. Beyond the village poor in the background, which characters are most in distress and most likely to be thankful for any relief?

We might think first of Mrs. Smith from Persuasion, who had the “two strong claims” on Anne “of past kindness and present suffering.” Her physical and financial straits are dire, yet “neither sickness nor sorrow seemed to have closed her heart or ruined her spirits.” Mrs. Smith, however, is more shrewd than thankful, using Anne’s marriage to help end her own suffering.

What character, living on the margins, has a level of energy that often sets into motion her active tongue? We find her in Emma:

“Full of thanks, and full of news, Miss Bates knew not which to give quickest.”

When Mr. Knightley sends her a sack of apples and the Woodhouse family sends her a full hindquarter of tender Hartfield pork, Miss Bates responds with the sunniest appreciation: “Oh! my dear sir, as my mother says, our friends are only too good to us. If ever there were people who, without having great wealth themselves, had every thing they could wish for, I am sure it is us.” She might be auditioning for a role in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

In contrast, the social-climbing new vicar’s wife, Mrs. Elton, feels thankful in a prerogative way. “I always say a woman cannot have too many resources—and I feel very thankful that I have so many myself as to be quite independent of society.”

If anyone has the right to feel a lack of thanks in life, it is Fanny Price of Mansfield Park. When she is not being forgotten, it is to provide some service for someone else. When she is not being ignored, it is to be abused by her aunt, Mrs. Norris. Just about every word that can convey melancholy, sadness, or anguish serves to repeatedly describe her.

She feels misery at least eight times; some variety of pain at least ten times; wretchedness half a dozen times. The best she normally manages is to feel both pain and pleasure, four times. She is oppressed three times and suffers stupefaction once. Her circumstances and personality leave her in a “creep mouse” state of mind. She trembles a dozen times; she cries a dozen times and sobs at least four other. The stress is so great that she comes close to fainting at least three times and is ready to sink once; she suffers fright or is frightened six times; she reacts with horror or to something horrible five times.

Yet for all her misery, and though she lacks a sunny disposition, she manages to look on the sunny side of life.

Fanny feels gratitude at least fifteen times, for things small and large. Gratitude for her cousin Edmund tending to her when she first comes to live with her wealthy relatives. For his providing her a horse to ride. For her uncle once letting her use the carriage to go to dinner. Even gratitude once “to be spared from aunt Norris’s interminable reproaches.”

Kindness comes up about 125 times in the book. The most common use again relates to Edmund: his kindness to her throughout, and his encouragement of others to be kind to her. Fanny can even feel grateful toward Henry Crawford, despite his character flaws, for his kindness to her brother and, a couple of times, for his kindness to her.

It seems to be a fundamental aspect of human nature that those with the least to appreciate in life treasure what they have the most. Austen’s treatment of Miss Bates and Fanny does not, I think, reflect a conscious attempt at moral teaching. Their attitudes flow directly from the women’s character. Fanny and Miss Bates are gentle souls with big hearts. They give thanks naturally for the joy of existence.

So should we all.

—

The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen, which traces love from a charming courtship through the richness and complexity of marriage and concludes with a test of the heroine’s courage and moral convictions, is now complete and available from Amazon and Jane Austen Books.

#Fanny Price #Jane Austen #Mansfield Park #Miss Bates #Regency era #Thanksgiving #The Marriage of Miss Jane Austen

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ljones41 · 5 years ago

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"EMMA" (2020) Review

"EMMA" (2020) Review Between 2009 and 2020, Hollywood and the British film/television industries have created a handful of productions that either spoofed or were inspired by Jane Austen's novels. Actually, I can only recall one movie that was more or less a straightforward adaptation - 2016's "LOVE & FRIENDSHIP", an adaptation of Austen's novella, "Lady Susan". So imagine my surprise when I learned a new and straightforward adaptation of an Austen novel was due to hit the theaters.

I was even more thrilled that this new movie would be a straightforward adaptation of Austen's 1815 novel, "Emma" . . . which happened to be my favorite written by her. This new adaptation, helmed by Autumn de Wilde and written by Eleanor Catton, starred Anya Taylor-Joy in the title role. I am certain that many Austen fans are familiar with the 1815 novel's narrative. "EMMA" is the story of a spoiled and over privileged young Englishwoman named Emma Woodhouse, who resides at her wealthy father's country estate near the town of Highbury. Emma is not only spoiled and over privileged, but overestimates her own matchmaking abilities and is blind to the dangers of meddling in other people's lives. Ever since its release in February 2020, film critics and moviegoers have been praising "EMMA" to the skies. In fact, the movie is so high on the critical list that I would not be surprised if it ends up receiving major film award nominations next winter. A great deal of this praise has been focused on the performances of Anya Taylor-Joy, Johnny Flynn for his portrayal of George Knightley, Bill Nighy's portrayal of Mr. Woodhouse; and Autumn de Wilde's direction. Does the movie deserve such high praise? Perhaps. Perhaps not. I certainly cannot deny that "EMMA" is a beautiful looking film. I found Christopher Blauvelt's photography to be very sharp and colorful. In fact, the film's color palette almost seemed similar to the color schemes found in Alexandra Byrne's costume designs. Overall, the visual style for "EMMA" seemed to radiate strong and bright colors with a dash of pastels. Very stylized. But as much as I found all of this eye catching, I also found myself a little put off by this stylized artistry - especially for a movie in a period rural setting. Speaking of artistry, there has been a great deal of praise for Byrne's costumes. And I can see why. Granted, I am not fond of some of the pastel color schemes. I cannot deny I found her creations - especially those for the movie's women characters - were eye catching, as shown below:

I had a few complaints regarding the film's costumes and hairstyles. The men's trousers struck me as a little too baggy for the 1810s. I get it. Actors like Bill Nighy found historical trousers a bit tight. But I feel the trousers featured in "EMMA" struck me as a bit too comfortable looking from a visual viewpoint. And then there was the hairstyle used by Anya Taylor-Joy in the film. For some reason, I found her side curls a bit too long and rather frizzy looking. Instead of the mid-1810s, her hairstyle struck me as an example of hairstyles worn by women during the early-to-mid 1840s. Someone had claimed that "EMMA" was a very faithful adaptation of Austen's novel. Was it? Frankly, I thought it was no more or less faithful than any of the costumed versions. De Wilde and screenwriter Eleanor Catton followed the major beats of Austen's novel, except for one scene - namely the Crown Inn ball. I will discuss that later. The movie also did an excellent job in capturing the comic nature of Austen's novel. This was apparent in nearly every scene featuring Bill Nighy as Mr. Woodhouse. I also enjoyed those scenes featuring the introduction of Augusta Elton, Emma's reactions to Jane Fairfax and her attempts to play matchmaker for Harriet Smith and Mr. Elton. But the movie also featured some good dramatic moments, thanks to De Wilde's direction and the film's cast. I am speaking of the scenes that featured Mr. Knightley's scolding of Emma for her rudeness towards the impoverished Miss Bates at the Box Hill picnic; Mr. Knightley's marriage proposal and the revelation of Harriet's engagement to tenant farmer Robert Martin. "EMMA" has received a great deal of acclaim from film critics, moviegoers and Jane Austen fans. Many are claiming it as the best adaptation of the 1815 novel. Do I feel the same? No. No, I do not. In fact, out of the five film and television adaptations I have seen, I would probably rank it at number four. Perhaps I had very high expectations of this movie. It is an adaptation of my favorite Austen novel. And it is the first straightforward Austen adaptation since the 2009 television miniseries of same novel. Perhaps this movie is better than I had original assume. Then again, looking back on some of the film's aspects - perhaps not. A good deal of my problems with "EMMA" stemmed from the portrayal of the main character, Emma Woodhouse. How can I say this? Thanks to Catton's screenplay and De Wilde's direction, Emma came off as more brittle and chilly than any other version I have ever seen. Granted, Emma Woodhouse was a snob. This was apparently in her strong sense of class status, which manifested in her erroneous belief that Harriet Smith was the illegitimate daughter of an aristocrat or gentry landowner, instead of someone from a lower class. Emma's snobbery was also reflected in her contempt towards the impoverished Miss Bates, despite the latter being a "gentlewoman" and a member of the landed gentry. Emma's snobbery, a product of her upbringing, also manifested in her own ego and belief that she is always right. Yes, Emma possessed negative traits. But she also had her share of positive ones. She possessed a warm heart, compassion for the poor (at least those not from her class), intelligence, and an ability to face her faults. This cinematic portrayal of Emma Woodhouse as a brittle and slightly chilly bitch struck me as a little off putting and extreme. Another example of the exaggeration in this production was Mr. Knightley's reaction to his dance with Emma at the Crown Inn ball. Many have not only praised the sensuality of the pair's dance, but also Mr. Knightly's reaction upon returning home to his estate, Donwell Abbey. What happened? George Knightley seemed to be in some kind of emotional fit, while he stripped off some of his clothes and began writhing on the floor. What in the fuck was that about? That scene struck me as so ridiculous. Other actors who have portrayed Knightley have managed to portray the character's awareness of his love for Emma without behaving like a teenager in heat. Speaking of heat, who can forget Harriet Smith's orgasmic reaction to the idea of being Mrs. Elton? Many critics and Austen fans thrilled over the sight of a female character in a Jane Austen production having an orgasm. I will not castigate De Wilde for this directorial choice. I am merely wondering why she had included this scene in the first place. If Harriet was going to have an orgasm, why not have her bring up the subject to a possibly flabbergasted Emma? Why include without any real follow through? Having an orgasm must have been something of a novelty for a young woman like Harriet, who was inexperienced with sexual thoughts or feelings. And then there was Emma and Mr. Knightley's dance at the Crown Inn ball. The latter sequence is usually one of my favorites in any adaptation of "EMMA". The one exception proved to be the 1972 miniseries, which ended the sequence after Emma had suggested they dance. I almost enjoyed the sequence in this film . . . except it featured Emma obviously feeling attracted to Mr. Knightley during this dance. And I thought this was a big mistake. Why? Because Emma was never that consciously aware of her attraction to Mr. Knightley, until Harriet had confessed her crush on the landowner. And that happened near the end of the story. In other words, by showing Emma's obvious feelings for Knightley during the ball, Autumn De Wilde rushed their story . . . and was forced to retract in the scene that featured Harriet's confession. I feel this was another poor decision on the director's part. If I have to be honest, I think De Wilde, along with screenwriter Eleanor Catton, made a number of poor decisions regarding the film's narrative. I have already pointed out three of those decisions in the previous paragraphs. But there were more. De Wilde and Catton changed the dynamics between Mr. Woodhouse and his older daughter and son-in-law, Isabella and John Knightley. In the novel and previous adaptations, Mr. Knightley Jr. had always seemed more annoyed and at times, cankerous toward Mr. Woodhouse's hypochondria. In this version, Isabella's hypochondria seemed more irritating. And instead of reacting to his wife's complaints, John suppressed his reactions and ended up being portrayed as a henpecked husband. For some reason, De Wilde and Catton thought it was necessary to take the bite out of John Knightley, making him a weaker character. Why? I have not the foggiest idea, but I did miss the character's biting wit. In my review of the 1996 television version of "Emma", I had complained how screenwriter Andrew Davies and director Diarmuid Lawrence had minimized part of Harriet's character arc and focused just a bit too much on Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax. In the 1996 movie version, the opposite happened. Writer-director Douglas McGrath had focused more on Harriet's arc than the Frank/Jane arc. Well De Wilde and Catton ended up repeating McGrath's mistake by focusing too much on Harriet, at the expense of Frank and Jane's arc. Worse, Frank and Jane's arc seemed focused on even less than the 1996 McGrath. The couple barely seemed to exist. And a result of this is that Frank's father, Colonel Weston, barely seemed to exist. Mrs. Weston fared better due to her being Emma's former governess. But I was really shocked at how little De Wilde and Catton focused on Mr. Elton and his overbearing bride, Augusta Elton. The movie did focus a good deal on Mr. Elton in those scenes featuring Emma's attempts to match him with Harriet. But following his marriage, his character - along with Mrs. Elton - seemed to slowly recede into the background following their tea at Hartfield with the Woodhouses. By allowing very little focus on these characters, De Wilde and Catton had left out so many good moments in their effort to streamline Austen's story for theatrical film. Even more so than the two versions from 1996. Because of this streamlining, a good deal of the cast had very little opportunity to develop their characters on screen. Oliver Chris and Chloe Pirrie gave solid comic performances in their portrayal of John and Isabella Knightley, despite my irritation at the changing dynamics of their relationship. Rupert Graves was pretty much wasted as the over-friendly Colonel Weston. Miranda Hart gave a funny performance as the impoverished spinster Miss Bates. Unfortunately, I was distracted by her less-than-impoverished wardrobe in several scenes. If you had asked for my opinion of Amber Anderson's portrayal of Jane Fairfax, I would not have been able to give it to you. I have no memory of her performance. She made no impact on the movie or its narrative. Tanya Reynolds struck me as a rather funny Mrs. Elton . . . at least in the scene featuring the Eltons' tea with the Woodhouses at Hartfield. Otherwise, I have no real memory of her other scenes in the movie. Callum Turner has always struck me as a memorable performer. And I have to admit that his portrayal of Frank Churchill certainly made an impression on me. But the impression was not always . . . negative. One, he did not have enough scenes in this movie and his character arc struck me as rather rushed. And two, I thought his Frank Churchill was a bit too smarmy for my tastes. Thankfully, "EMMA" did feature some memorable supporting performances. Gemma Whelan gave a lovely and warm performance as Emma's former governess and close friend, Mrs. Weston. Josh O'Connor gave an excellent performance as the social-climbing vicar, Mr. Elton. I must say that I found his comic timing impeccable and thought he gave one of the best performances in the movie. However, I thought there were times when his Mr. Elton came off as a sexual predator. I get it . . . Mr. Elton was basically a fortune hunter. But I thought O'Connor went too far in the scene that featured Emma's rejection of his marriage proposal. For a moment, I thought he was going to sexually assault her. That was a bit too much. Mia Goth's portrayal of the clueless Harriet Smith struck me as spot-on and very skillful. Granted, I did not care for the "Harriet has an orgasm" moment, but I cannot deny that Goth's acting was excellent in the scene. Bill Nighy gave a skillfully comic portrayal as the hypochondriac Mr. Woodhouse. Yes, there were moments when his usual tics (found in many of his performances) threatened to overwhelm his performance in this film. But I think he managed to more or less keep it together. One performance that seemed to be garnering a great deal of acclaim came from Johnny Flynn, who portrayed Mr. Knightley. In fact, many are regarding him as the best Mr. Knightley ever seen in the movies or on television. I believe Flynn is a pretty competent actor who did an excellent job of conveying his character's decency, maturity and burgeoning feelings for Emma. I was especially impressed by his performance in the Box Hill sequence in which Mr. Knightley chastised Emma for her rude comments at Miss Bates. But I do not regard him as the best on screen Mr. Knightley I have seen. If I must be honest, I do not regard his interpretation of the character as among the best. My problem with Flynn is that his Knightley struck me as a bit of a dull stick. And Knightley has always seemed like a man with a dry sense of humor, which is why I have always regarded him as one of my favorite Austen heroes. And Flynn's Knightley simply struck me as humorless. Perhaps "humorless" is the wrong word. There were scenes of him reacting to the comedic actions of other characters and uttering the occasional witty phrase or two. But there was something about Flynn's demeanor that made it seem he was trying too hard. I guess no amount of ass display, singing, laughing or writhing on the floor like a lovesick adolescent could make him more interesting to me. Then we have the film's leading lady, Anya Taylor-Joy. Unlike Flynn, the actress was given the opportunity to display her skills as a comic actress. And she more than lived up to the task. Honestly, I thought Taylor-Joy displayed excellent comic timing. Yet . . . I could never regard her as one of my favorite on-screen versions of Emma Woodhouse. She was a bitch. Let me re-phrase that. I thought Taylor-Joy overdid it in her portrayal of Emma's bitchiness and snobbery. To the point that her performance struck me as very brittle. Yes, Emma Woodhouse was a snob. But she could also be a warm and friendly young woman, capable of improving her character. I saw none of this in Taylor-Joy's performance. If Catton's screenplay demanded that Emma became aware of her flaws, the actress' conveyance of those moments did not strike as . . . natural. Otherwise, she made a satisfying Emma Woodhouse. I also have one more criticism to add - Taylor-Joy did not have great screen chemistry with her leading man, Johnny Flynn. Their on-screen chemistry struck me as pedestrian at best, if I must be honest. One would think that I disliked "EMMA". Honestly, I did not. The movie managed to stick with Austen's narrative. And although it did not change Austen's story, it did feature changes in some of the characteristics and character dynamics, thanks to director Autumn De Wilde and screenwriter Eleanor Catton. And some of these changes did not serve the movie well, thanks to De Wilde's occasional bouts of ham-fisted direction. However, I still managed to enjoy the movie and the performances from a cast led by newcomer Anya Taylor-Joy. And if it had not been for the current health crisis that has struck the world, I probably would have seen it again in theaters.

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hattiechllds · 5 years ago

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introduction; i

ALL ABOARD ! The HMS PROMETHEAN welcomes ( HARRIET 'HATTIE' CHILDS ) to the expedition in their capacity of ( THE CHRONICLER ). They are ( 35 & CISGENDER FEMALE ) and might be painted as ( KEIRA KNIGHTLEY ). When you strike up an acquaintance, address them as ( SHE/HER ). Their deeds on land prece their arrival — people say they are ( ADVENTUROUS, CURIOUS, and ADAPTABLE ) but ( INSENSITIVE, SELFISH, and ABRUPT ) when the tide turns. Their purpose aboard the Promethean falls in line with ( FURTHERING THEIR NAME AS A JOURNALIST AND SEEING THE VOYAGE TO ITS CONCLUSION ).

[pinterest] [playlist]

I. CURIOSITY

[THE PAST]

Margarite Child knew from the time her daughter turned ten there was little that could be done to save her. She had made it by being silent - you never question those who give you your pay, clean up any messes they create and turn a blind eye to any unsavory aspects of their life. She'd attempted impressing this on her daughter for years, and despite her penchant for soaking up all she heard, this one lesson always fell on deaf ears. For a time, the father of the family they'd served thought her endless chatter had been cute - her naive questions a source of entertainment. The wife had never shared her husband's opinion, and when Hattie asked her who the woman he spent oh so much time within his chambers was, Margarite and Hattie found themselves on the streets without pay.

She was torn between laughing and crying when Hattie, face twisted, asked again who the woman was.

Through the years, the naivete of her youth left - but never the curiosity. She joined her mother's line of work, and at seventeen Hattie and her mother were working fairly comfortably for a rich family in London, but still she never quite was able to turn a blind eye. Margarite swore it would be the death of them, and maybe one day it would be, but somehow Hattie seemed to thrive. She came home with dresses they'd never dreamed of affording, bought her mother gifts on a whim, they weren't rich by any means - but Margarite had never been so comfortable. She grew curious herself.

"It's called extortion, if she stops paying then all these go directly to the press", she waived the letters so casually - as though they weren't the key to a life's ruination.

The letters never made their way to the papers, but once the woman passed Margarite and her child parted ways. The girl had grown close with the reporter who'd agreed to publish the letters should the money ever stop, while Margarite longed to return to her hometown. It seemed the relationship had paid off, as soon the name Harriet Child began popping up over the occasional inflammatory gossip article. She prayed her daughter learned enough from her to save herself.

[THE PRESENT]

Her reflection on Captain Dowling's failed expedition was never meant to be malicious. Those around her always spoke as though she meant to inflame, she never could quite understand why so many had such a poor relationship with the truth of reality. She simply meant to inform- and keep herself comfortable, of course. It had hardly been her fault Mr. Carlin kept her writing these superficial scandals. She knew there was more for her than reporting on a socialite's faux pas or yet another marriage scandal. Captain Dowling's voyage was meant to be her breakthrough, and in a way it had been, but her early return had been proof enough to the Carlin that she wasn't cut out for their line of work. She happily kept quiet about her pending termination when the Admiralty approached her with an invitation to the HMS Promethean. This would be her one chance at success, to propel her out of her comfortable little gossip section and cement her amongst the greats. But on a ship filled with those with so much to hide, she's finding it hard to keep her old habits buried.

II. GROWTH AND CONNECTION

[THE PAST]

Robert Canon knew what he was from the moment he and Hattie saw each other. Every late-night talk and every kiss was just another wrung in the ladder she'd made of him, and he didn't mind. The letters she'd found kept them both above water, and he had to admit seeing his aunt finally perturbed by something gave him a bit of joy. Once the woman had died, and he'd vouched for her to Mr. Carlin, he was shocked she hadn't told him to fuck off immediately. What she had done had felt almost worse. He knew he'd taken her as far as he could realistically, but he'd hoped he might have her a bit longer. But as her pieces grew in ambition, and his seemed to shrink on the page, she grew further and further out of his grasp. In the end, his own stagnation had been their breaking point.

"Don't you wish for more?" her frown was the most genuine thing he'd seen on her face in weeks.

"I don't have to have more, it's not much but this is. It's comfortable, and I'm happy here - and I think that's enough for me."

The pity he saw in her never left him.

[THE PRESENT]

She'd nearly forgotten about Robert over the years, there had been a handful of him over the years. Those who sought something from her, and something she took from them. It was an exchange, and while she understood their sadness when she would leave she couldn't fault herself for honesty. She'd tried to drag Robert along, she really had, but he never seemed to take what she gave him.

No one seemed to, instead they called her words scornful - intent on tearing them apart. Their fear of accountability clouding their vision. They blamed her for holding them accountable, as though she had put stolen money into the pockets of rich men or ruined the marriages of the chronically unhappy. The world upheld honesty as a virtue, yet every truth she spoke seemed to push the world away.

III. RESPECT AND RECONCILIATION

[THE PAST]

Hattie was a fine journalist, where matters of scandal were involved. Robert's word hadn't meant much, really, but with the loss of Ellen the column had been left blank and he'd been willing to take a chance. She'd proven herself a provocative enough author to be worth some money, but like so many before her she'd asked for more, and more. He'd seen her type fall many times before, and though she proved to be tenacious he hardly expected her to live outside the space she'd made for herself. Once he allowed her to set sail the first time, she'd all but proven that. Though her report on the voyage brought in money it all came down to yet another overblown scandal the public was happy to eat up. He ignored the words of those inflating her name, she was a shooting star like so many of those she'd written about, doomed to fade.

In her time away, he'd found someone new to take her place - someone more critical who was happy to shut her mouth once money was involved. He'd intended to remove her from her position quietly once the buzz surrounding her faded, though he could tell she already knew his intentions.

[THE PRESENT]

She'd intended to inform Mister Carlin at some point, she'd imagined his face when she showed him the invitation more times than she'd like to admit - but she quickly forgot him when she learned of those aboard the ship. She hadn't expected Captain Dowling to look at her with such - well, she might find it in herself to call it disgust but she struggled to name most of the emotions on his face. She'd told her story as it happened, and he'd been hailed a hero - she'd hoped that might overshadow the excerpts on his crewman's deaths. What she hadn't expected was one Miss Swan. She had hoped to see her again, not to apologize but to watch her rise again - if it was possible. Seeing those she'd watched fall once again gave her an idea. This was her moment to grow from her position. So many, like Mister Carlin, attributed her success to the public's desire to see those from up high brought down so low - and she'd given them what she wanted. This time, she would give them redemption, tales of the brave Captain leading his ship to discovery, of the broken bird rising to meet the sky once again.

#thqintro #i'll post a second one that's bullet point ramblings but for now take the app info!

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katahnisharma · 6 years ago

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the press tour | t.h. [1]

Pairing: Tom Holland x New Actress!Reader

Word Count: 2.2 K

Warnings: none i think?

Summary: You’re a new, inexperienced actress plucked from the obscurity of everyday life to play the lead in the reboot of a famous British Jane Austen novel, and Tom Holland just so happens to be playing your love interest. Of course, love is inevitable. But will it end in love?

A/N: i can guarantee that there will be a rap battle and cute interviews in the future :) also i know you can’t be nominated for an oscar before the movie comes out but bear with me I will explain lol

masterlist || series masterlist | playlist

“Five seconds and you’re on Y/N!”

Your head shot up from scrolling through your text messages. Your ever efficient and sweet personal assistant was standing in front of you, her clipboard and phone at the ready. “Thanks, Bailey. I’m ready to go, just gimme a sec.” She smiled and nodded, watching to see if you needed any help as you smoothed down the pleats on your gorgeous pale blue Emilia Wickstead dress. You felt infinitely powerful in it, which was a good thing because on the inside? You were a nervous wreck. Acting had never been a career you considered after high school. The only times where you had ever acted were in your elementary school plays. Even then, you usually got cast as the side characters, which usually meant the living props like talking tree # 4. Your only main role had been as John Adams’ wife in the fourth grade, and even then you had been given a whopping total of two lines. Then you were told to stand by little Timmy, who was playing John Adams, and “look pretty”. So suffice to say, acting had been a strangely sad experience up until a couple of months ago, when you had somehow landed the role of Emma Woodhouse in the reboot of Jane Austen’s famous novel. You hadn’t even meant to audition, you’d gone alone just to see the process. But after you went inside, you were wrangled by a very enthusiastic man to “read” for the part. And before you could even fathom what had happened, the casting directors voted unanimously. You had to be their Emma Woodhouse. And since then, the past couple months had been a crazy, exciting whirlwind. When everything had fallen into place regarding your new role, they told you that your co-star, your Mr. Knightley, would be the Tom Holland. You even remembered being escorted to the film production office when they told you.

“Excuse me, who now?” You very nearly spit out your coffee, placing it carefully next to you after your hands started to shake from shock. “You mean…Tom Holland from Spider-Man?!” “That’s the one. Great guy, even better actor. I’ve got teen daughters and they pointed me out to him, and I had to admit the kid was good. So we reached out and that was that. He wanted in.” The director shrugged, watching you begin to process that you would have to act alongside one of the most talented actors you’d ever seen on screen. “Oh, is this about the fact that you think you can’t act?” “I know I can’t act. Or at least, not like he can. I’m going to make such a fool of myself, I can feel it. And I’m never wrong about these things.” You were so busy trying to figure out the most effective way to cut and run that you almost didn’t feel the slight tap on your shoulder. “I highly doubt that, for the record. I’m not as good as everyone says, I swear!” You turned around slowly, recognizing the English accent. There was Tom Holland, not more than 10 inches away from you, giving you the widest grin. His eyes searched yours for a sign of friendliness, and he laughed as your eyes widened in response. “Oh my god, hi….. I’m Y/N Y/L/N” You stuttered, shooting up from your chair to extend a hand. “Mr. O’Hanlon didn’t even mention-“ But Mr. O’Hanlon was gone, so now it was just the two of you. You and Tom Holland. “I told him not to, I wanted to come surprise you, I guess? Is that weird? It’s probably weird, I dunno. I just thought it might be better if we met without being awkwardly “sent” to each other.” He took your hand with a smile, shaking it warmly as you felt your cheeks flush. “Oh no, that’s not weird! Actually, that makes a lot of sense. I think this is better.” You smiled back, taking your seat again as Tom pulled another chair from behind to sit next to you. “So, did I hear that you’ve never done this before?” You shifted uncomfortably at his words, tucking a strand of loose hair behind your ear. “Because from what I saw in your audition tape, I never would’ve guessed! Thought you were doing this for a long time or something.” “Oh, no definitely not! Never done this before, unless you count the weird elementary school plays. Wait, you really thought I’d gone to acting school?” Your walls immediately crumble, as your mouth turns into a satisfied grin. Tom starts to let his walls down too. You definitely were not what he had expected. “Why, does that make you feel validated?” He asked with a shit-eating grin, deciding to try another joke. “Never would have pegged you as someone who needed that.” “Wellllll, that’s where you’d be wrong. I love the praise. I’m a diva that way.” You chuckled, watching him return the action. You liked his laugh, it was husky but still light and happy. He took out his phone, shot off a quick text, and turned back to you immediately. “You know, I think it’s time we had lunch together, yeah?” For a minute, you weren’t sure you had heard him right, but when he kept looking at you for an answer, you realized that he did, in fact, want to have lunch with you of his own volition. You nodded enthusiastically, throwing caution to the wind as you accepted his boldly offered hand. Both of you smiling at each other and talking non-stop, you went out for your first ever lunch together. Since that day, you and Tom had been the co-stars that the world swooned over. The two of you had perfect chemistry in the movie, and fans were, of course, shipping you right and left. When the movie was released to the critics a week ago, you and Tom had been shocked by the magnitude of the reviews. Every single important newspaper and critic had given you glowing remarks. There was even talk of you being nominated for an Oscar. “This is so crazy! This is my first ever movie, and I’m nominated with people like Claire Foy and Emma Stone for a freaking Oscar!” You squealed, hugging a nearby pillow to your chest as Tom and Harrison laughed at your antics from the kitchen. The three of you were hanging out that day in between the pre-release interviews. “I did tell you that you’d be amazing, didn’t I? So where’s my prize for being correct as usual?” Tom brought you a Coke and sat down next to you, grinning as you rolled your eyes. You popped the tab and took a sip, placing it on the coaster Harrison had very carefully placed on the table. “Shut up, I knew I’d be good. I just said that I wouldn’t so you’d validate me, remember?” You burst out laughing as Tom snatched the pillow from you and proceeded to smack you with it. “You’re the worst, Y/N. Stop using my lines on me, get your own!” He teased, finally stopping when he thought you were finally beaten. But just when Tom stopping hitting you with the pillow, you grabbed your own and smacked him so hard he fell on his back. Tom looked up at you and smiled while trying to dodge your blows by holding your wrists in place. “Give it up! You’ve lost!” You pant, now inches away from Tom’s face. You could see his beautiful brown eyes look up at you, and his lips parted to reveal that stupid grin that always made your heart surge. You had basically memorized every bit of his face by now, and you resisted the urge to reach down and touch his features. You had to remind yourself that you were just best friends and co-stars, nothing else. “Darling, I never lose.” The pet name made you blush as Tom grabbed your waist and swung you on your back. “Hey, cut it out! Those pillows are new, idiots!” You and Tom broke away shyly, as Harrison ran into the room and took all the pillows from the couch. “Honestly, were you two raised in a barn?” Harrison gingerly piled all the pillows in one corner and then looked back and noticed how the two of you had suddenly become very quiet around each other. “Did I just interrupt something?” Your eyes widened in alarm, but Tom answered first. “What the hell are you talking about, you div?” You exhaled slightly, feeling relieved that he had come to your rescue, but also a little disappointed by how easily the sentence had rolled off his tongue. Yet another confirmation that the pining was one-sided. “We were just having a pillow fight, but since you’re so testy we promise never to use your precious pillows ever again.” Tom added, with a confidence you only wished you had if you were caught with your foot in your mouth. “My bad then.” Harrison switched on the TV and found an episode of Love Island, and everything appeared to be back to normal. But it wasn’t. You saw Harrison smile slightly from the other side of the room, and you knew he suspected something. You saw in that subtle expression that he wasn’t convinced by your silent denial of his accusation. Fast-forward to the present, and here you were, about to go into your first press tour interview together. Bailey opened the door for you and you walked onto the set stage, seeing Tom there, smirking at you from his seat. “What?” You rolled your eyes, watching his own trail your body’s path to the seat next to him. “Is there something in my hair or...” Tom shook his head, but the faint expression remained on his lips. “No, you just look pretty, that’s all.” You nearly choked on the air, trying so hard to keep it together. Plenty of guys compliment girls all the time, it meant nothing. “You always do, but this looks really good on you.” The wind was basically knocked out of you, and the words you were trying to form were not coming out. “Uh-um, thanks Tom!” Your voice came out at least a decibel higher and you wanted to sink into the floor when he looked at you and smirked. Of course he took some weird pleasure satisfaction in your total awkwardness. He always grinned at you when you did.

“You need to relax, Y/N. It’s going to be okay, love!” You turned your head to look anxiously for the host, who was currently chatting with the cameraman. “Hey, darling, focus on me! That might make you less nervous. You’re not nervous with me.”

You laughed and gave him a shove, which made him pull you in for a quick hug. Honestly, it wasn’t the interview that was making you nervous. It was the prospect of doing it with Tom, who you most certainly had feelings for. You’d tried for weeks to play it off like the feelings weren’t real, lying to yourself over and over again. You never wanted to be the girl who fell so in love with a man they couldn’t have that their hearts broke for years.

On the bright side, you had time to snap out of it when the host of the interview finally came over to introduce herself. She was tall and so sweet, but when she really looked over at you, she nearly fainted.

“Oh my god, you’re actually here! In front of me! Wow, I just…. I’m such an enormous fan. You’re amazing!” She gushed, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear and fiddling with her phone case. You were so taken aback by what she said, but you managed to find your smile.

“Wow, thank you so much! That means so much, you have no idea! I can’t even believe I have fans, honestly.” Tom gently smiled at you both, finding it adorable that you still couldn’t believe how much people adored you. That was just you, he thought. You were always humble, no matter how much attention you got.

“Ready to roll in ten seconds!” the cameraman called out from behind her. She gave you another quick smile and took her seat in front of you both, her questions at the ready. Tom leaned over and whispered in your ear.

“You excited?” You took a deep breath and shook your head back a little. Tom noticed your actions and resisted the urge to hold your hand, just so he could touch you.

“You know what? I think I am.” You looked at Tom and then the interviewer.

“Let’s do it!”

TAGLIST: @grandmascottlang @notimeforthemessenger @toms-order @darling-parker @tomhollandandmarvelsworld @moonkissedtom @buckychrist @rainbow-marvel @cutiehollands @pumpkinparkers @peeterparkr @ibtomholland @inlovewithmob-tom @veronicas-littleworld @da5haexowin @astral-parker @sergeantbxrnxs @hazsterfield @itsholyholland @underoosstark @stormyholland @letscupcakequeen14 @let-me-luve-you @smexylemony @roses-and-sweaters @musicgirl234 @its-livelovelife @steve-thotgers @tiny-friggin-human @lovelyh0lland @blueberry-butterscotch @keylla-dunspeh @lucille-lovely @yeahbutmarvel @petalparker @lokiislowkeyhot @spideymood @yoharryyouawizard @tomhollanders2013 @celestialparker @letthembehappymcu @jnej @spiderman-n @positiveparker @ghostiebois @underoospeter @treegelbman @winterssoldierrs @heycreehere @peter-prkers @tommyparkerr @marvelous-maddi @greekdemigodwannabe @winterssoldierrs @heycreehere @marvel-language @sdrecsfics @doimakeitthroughthenight @wronglanemendes @brokensimpson @naikia @spnsoap @ninetypoundsofasthma @quitetommy @squishyhyunjin @voltronshepard @marvelismylifffe @iluvmesomemarvelndc @annathesillyfriend @tiredfeels @scarlet-spiderr @hedwigthelegend

THE PRESS TOUR TAGLIST: @notes-from-my-journal @lovelyspidey @peterspanish @musicandbokkslovingweirdo @kaylzjordan @puffedgill

#tom holland #tom holland imagine #tom holland x reader #tom holland oneshot #tom holland fluff #tom holland x you #tom holland x y/n #tom holland fanfic #tom holland fic #tom holland fanfiction #peter parker #peter parker imagine #peter parker x reader #tom holland blurb #peter parker oneshot #peter parker series

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tespuco · 5 years ago

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PotC Liveblog: Curse of the Black Pearl

CotBP is one of my ‘forever films’ for sure - every time I rewatch it I not only feel the same sense of wonder and delight as the first time but invariably discover new things to love and squee over as well.

I would love to learn more about Elizabeth as a child: this lonely, solemn girl who feels something perverse in her thrill at pirate stories and gallows humor, yet who gravely takes on the duty of looking after young William Turner because she wants to be good, too. (@dollsome-does-tumblr‘s Elizabeth-centric, post-CotBP fic Shrouded Heart explores this ambivalence in her self-concept with heart-wrenching emotional realism)

Wow, Will was doomed from the start, wasn’t he? I would be too if I were a 12-year old piece of half-drowned human driftwood waking up to a miniature guardian angel who softly murmurs, “I’m watching over you” before I drift back into unconsciousness

Framing Elizabeth’s memory of seeing the Black Pearl and meeting Will as a dream, one that impels her to put on the medallion, suggests fate or some other supernatural influence at work - a nifty way for writers to sidestep accusations of Contrived Coincidences and call it Destiny instead!

Keira Knightley is so beautiful hELP

Awww, Will is so proud of his handiwork! It’s interesting because the film puts a fair amount of emphasis on it early on, his skill and pride in not just wielding swords but forging them - only to tell us later that he’s really a pirate by blood and at heart. I like it when fics like fried_flamingo & salr323′s At World’s End: Redux lean into Will’s identity as a blacksmith and extrapolate from it an affinity for land/earth/balance/creation as opposed to the sea’s wild potential for destruction. (He lost his father to the sea and to piracy; he never learned to love either.)

My god everyone’s layered in buttoned-up and corseted finery in the fucking TROPICS no wonder Elizabeth passed out (ngl despite the ‘Caribbean’ in the title and visiting the Disney ride in New Orleans Square, I remember stupidly assuming Port Royal was part of England, not Jamaica; at 9 yrs old my geography was shit and I had yet to learn what imperialism was ok)

“A ship with black sails that’s crewed by the damned and captained by a man so evil that hell itself spat him back out.” shiver me timbers now that’s how you tell a ghost story

“If he were telling the truth, he wouldn’t have told us” has the same antimonious energy as Winnie-the-Pooh going, “Well, it’s a good thing I noticed it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have seen it”

This is definitely tmi but in retrospect the rescue scene played a formative part in my (bi)sexual awakening: for a long time my go-to pubescent fantasies involved near-drownings followed by hypersexualized resuscitation attempts and frantic uncomfortable sex on wet rocks in damp subterranean caves

Omg I just realized Elizabeth’s scene with Jack on the docks mirrors the one she had on deck Will in the flashback: a (wo)man overboard recovered, rescuer hovering over a supine body and fingering the pirate medallion around his/her neck, love at first sight

“One good deed is not enough to redeem a man of a lifetime of wickedness.” “Though it seems enough to condemn him.” Basically “no good deed goes unpunished” but with style

16 years later and the swordfight between Jack and Will holds up as an iconic example of swashbuckling fight choreo. I also love how the exchange establishes the Jack/Will dynamic: the former as a kind of ironic mentor (“Excellent form. But how’s your footwork?”), the latter as an unwilling pupil who nevertheless mostly plays along

“I practice with them three hours a day.” “You need to find yourself a girl, mate.” Raunchy Shakespearean-grade comedy at its finest (along with “This sweet, proliferous bouquet that is Tortuga…What do you think?” “It’ll linger.”)

“This shot is not meant for you.” I love the hints we get of Jack’s darker side: he keeps his bitterness close and his grudges closer; for 10 years he saved that bullet for one man, refusing to expend it in any number of life-threatening situations in the interim; he drawls, “Worry about your own fortunes, gentlemen. The deepest circle of Hell is reserved for betrayers and mutineers,” like a witch uttering a curse. A dishonest man, methinks, would not feel the stab of betrayal so deeply.

The running joke of Will not getting recognized for his skills and earnest efforts is what makes Norrington’s parting words to him at the end so satisfying: “This is a beautiful sword. I would expect the man who made it to show the same care and devotion in every aspect of his life.” (NORRINGTON KNEW IT WAS HIM ALONG BUT WAS TOO JEALOUS TO EVER PRAISE HIM TO HIS FACE that petty little shit lmao)

I remember looking up the definition of ‘acquiesce’ after watching CotBP as a kid, so Barbossa had a direct hand in expanding my 9-year old vocabulary.

Competent, hyper-focused!Jack at the wheel with an unholy gleam in his eye as he gets drenched in a torrential downpour is my kind of Byronic hero

I prefer Jack Sparrow’s backstory to remain a loose collection of rumors and half-truths jumbled together even in his own memory, but I DO want to know how Jack and Gibbs met, how the former earned the latter’s (mostly) steadfast loyalty. I want to eavesdrop on all the inebriated conversational musings they’ve shared over a bottle of rum, whether topside on the decks of a ship not the Pearl or shouted above/muttered below the ruckus of a Tortuga tavern.

I’d also read/watch a prequel about the mutiny. “He plays things closer to the vest now. And a hard-learned lesson it was.” WHO HURT YOU JACK

Well obviously Barbossa did, but I still have so many questions! How did a younger, more trusting Jack earn the ire of his first mate and crew, to the point where they’d stage a mutiny? Then again, to hear Gibbs tell it, Barbossa simply appealed to Jack’s sense of fairness; perhaps in their unadulterated greed they saw Jack’s honest streak as a vulnerability to exploit? Or was it something in Jack’s manner of captaincy that fomented discontent? Idk, I can’t tell based on the way the crew jeers at “Gents, you all remember Captain Jack Sparrow?” whether their antipathy smacks more of derision or vitriol.

“Mr. Gibbs? …Jack? Jack Sparrow?” Elizabeth must be SO confused by these blasts from her distant and more recent past: who knows when Gibbs left Norrington’s employ, but the last time she saw Jack he had her in chains and at gunpoint, and now apparently he’s conspiring with Will??

I’ve always been kind of baffled by the cabin scene between Elizabeth and Will. What is she apologizing for? Taking the medallion and not telling him? Or for telling him and making him realize his father was a pirate?

Also her tearful, “Because I was afraid that you were a pirate. That would have been awful” is the biggest, bald-faced lie if I’ve ever heard one. She took an interest in him BECAUSE she thought he was a pirate (although I do think young Elizabeth had been afraid FOR him, after Gibbs’ pantomime of the hangman’s noose)

“daft like Jack” should be my Jack/Elizabeth/Will OT3 tag

Ah, back when PotC incorporated visual gags to spice up their action sequences instead of building the equivalent of a Rube-Goldberg machine around a single, unfunny gag. Compare: Gibbs’ canteen making its unlikely way from the Interceptor to the Pearl and back as an accompaniment to the battle and Jack’s breakout from his cell VS the overextended Tortuga sequence in DMC where Jack weaves in and out of a brawl to no apparent purpose except to try on different hats and then exit the tavern.

“Though it does seem a shame to lose something so fine, don’t it? …So I’ll be having that dress back before you go.” Barbossa is despicable and Geoffrey Rush delivers his lines with such RELISH

I will squee over the island scene & its deleted segments at length in a separate post so for now I’ll just say: Elizabeth is obviously a huge Jack Sparrow stan and she’s doing a piss-poor job of hiding it

Listen it’s easy to overlook Norrington’s sense of duty and decency in the face of the stick up his butt and his bouts of extreme pettiness. But the fact is that Jack’s attempt to manipulate and appeal to his ambition fails. Because the Commodore is no Barbossa - he’s a fine man who serves others, not only himself; who cares whether a woman’s acceptance of his proposal is less than sincere; who wouldn’t have risked his men ambushing the Pearl’s crew had he known about the curse (last two courtesy of the deleted scenes on the Dauntless).

Now that I’m paying closer attention I’m just blown away by the careful consideration in Jack’s plans. He’s playing both sides to further his own goal of enacting revenge at minimal risk to himself, but he looks after the unwitting parties he involves in the process, too: while the Royal Navy occupies the undead pirates from the safety of their long range cannons, Jack can intervene to save Will, use him to break the curse, and kill Barbossa. All the good guys win! (He couldn’t have foreseen the Trojan Horse or the en masse submarine attack; nor Norrington’s pettiness in defying Jack’s instructions to man cannons that would’ve blown the undead into smithereens.)

Exhibit B: “Now, to be quite honest with you, there’s still a slight risk for those aboard the Dauntless, which includes the future Mrs. Commodore.” Disregard his insouciant delivery here, and you get Jack telling the whole, unvarnished truth!!! “What do you have to lose?” he asks Norrington, who brushes him off: “Nothing I’d lament being rid of.” It’s JACK who reminds him that for all their precautions, the ambush might put Elizabeth in danger. Jack knows about the curse, and after being marooned on an island with her, he knows Elizabeth will do whatever’s necessary to save Will. So he finds a way to ensure not only that she won’t interfere, but that she’ll be kept safe from harm!! I’ll never be over it

And Murtogg’s “You think he wasn’t telling the truth?” line is such a great callback to their early sketch as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern on the docks of Port Royal. These dimwits happen to know Jack does tell the truth, expecting no one to believe him. His own exhortations on the subject notwithstanding, Jack’s real trickery lies in rarely telling the whole truth, letting people make their own assumptions, and giving them enough rope by which to hang themselves.

Governor Swann is such a darling, the ultimate doting father. It’s easy to assume he doesn’t get Elizabeth at all, but he’s no idiot. He rightly suspects she only agreed to marry Norrington to save Will, and while he’s not above nudging her in that direction (“I believe you made a very good decision today. Couldn’t be more proud of you.”), he’s also not about to let his only daughter bargain away her happiness for the sake of his OTP. (And his face of exasperated affection at Jack’s hanging, when he realizes she only pretended to faint as a diversion! Notice the lack of surprise in his expression: that’s the face of a father who is all too used to her Pulling This Kind of Shit)

Jack keeps popping up like a bad penny and both Norrington and Barbossa are so appalled every time lol

The sequence where Will breaks the curse and Jack shoots Barbossa and Elizabeth jerks like she’s the one who was shot is just - *chef’s kiss* the CHOREOGRAPHY! the CAMERAWORK! the EDITING!

“I feel…cold.” *a single apple rolls out of Barbossa’s dead hands* Can you believe a summer blockbuster movie invented poetic justice tell your English professors

“If all I have achieved here is that the hangman will earn two pairs of boots instead of one, so be it.” Ugh Will is sooo not my type but he’s so DASHING and GOOD no wonder Elizabeth covets him. What a hero

“My place is between you and Jack.” Ohhh you know what I would love to track the main characters’ alignment arcs throughout the series. Here Will’s situating himself as the Chaotic Good between Jack’s Chaotic Neutral and Norrington’s Lawful Good. But I would argue he’s still pretty Lawful and, even under Jack’s tutelage, only resorts to Chaos in extremis; meanwhile Jack flits between Chaotic Good and Chaotic Neutral; Elizabeth’s arc is similar except it’s unidirectional; and without the Law at his back Norrington spirals into Neutral Evil.

It’s the Sparrabeth shipper in me but the last line of the movie is Jack singing a song that Elizabeth taught him. (*Cutler Beckett voice* “We’ve had dealings in the past. And we’ve each left our mark on the other.”) For a fic about what Jack leaves her, may I redirect you to Shrouded Heart by dollsome, linked above - and this brain dump comes full circle!

#this is already too long and it's...only the tip of the iceberg that is my potc feels #i've reserved my more effusive observations for illustrated commentary #stay tuned for comments & tag novels on edits i've found of my fave scenes #pirates of the caribbean #the long and short of the meta #t-recs

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distant-rose · 6 years ago

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Seal of Fate Epilogue (8/8)

Notes: Did I actually finish a story? Yes, internet, I did. And if you’re reading Once and Future and Playing Off Foul, I promise I will get back to it soon before I post my law school au. Anyway, this has been a wild ride and I have honestly loved all the responses I’ve gotten on this, particularly all of the panic and questioning of whether this last bit would be as angsty as the last bits. I’m going to say....you can be relax. This isn’t angsty at all. In fact, I think you’ll quite like it. Anyway, a special thank you to @katie-dub and @shireness-says for being so supportive. A thanks to @cssns and @drowned-dreamer whose gorgeous art will feature at the bottom of this epilogue. And as always, a huge thank you to @aerica13, my amazing beta. I couldn’t have done it without you babe! Word Count: 4,100+ AO3: [LINK] Chapters: Prologue | One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Epilogue Rating: T+

The Vineyard Sound was calm, the surface of the water almost as smooth as glass as Emma Swan sat down on the front porch of the yellow beach house. There wasn’t a single soul on the beach across the road, but it was only May and she could only imagine how crowded it got once the vacationers arrived. She knew from what Granny Lucas had told her that the beach was a private one and meant only for the residents of the neighborhood but Emma assumed the majority of the houses here were rental properties and soon the street would be crowded with strangers.

Emma hadn’t expected to remain on the Vineyard past October but something had felt wrong about returning to Maine, especially with Killian in tow. Nothing was waiting for her there while Memensha was full of ghosts, full of history that she had yet to uncover. So, she had given up her shitty loft apartment and decided to stay. She had appealed to the Lucases to remain in the house, offering to pay extra in rent. Ruby and Granny were more than willing to let them stay in the house but had refused their money, claiming that the property should have been hers in the first place because it had been Ruth Nolan’s before it had fallen into their possession. Granny had even forced Ruby to return the rental money, something that Emma was certain had more to do with her guilt than the debatable ownership of the beach house. Feeling awkward about the situation, she had insisted on paying utilities which they relented on.

Emma had taken to working shifts at the diner over the winter on top of working as a freelancer investigator alongside Killian. The majority of their work was on the mainland but Emma sensed that he enjoyed their near daily-ride over to Hyannis, his eyes glued to the ocean. He had yet to go near the water since he had lost his hand. More than once she had caught him looking out over the Atlantic with a mixture of longing and anxiety.

Two fur pelts were waiting in the top dresser, dark and sleek next to white and fluffy; one much larger than the other. They never talked about it but Emma knew it was only a matter of time.

Killian placed a whiskered kiss on her cheek as he placed her hot chocolate down on the table and sat down in the chair beside her, knee bumping into hers. Emma gave him a soft smile, mug in one hand and placing the other on top of his truncated wrist. She had taken to touching his injury in hopes of helping him become more accepting of it. In the first few weeks since the incident, he had taken to hiding it from view. If he had been a normal person with an actual driver’s license and health insurance, Emma was certain he would have been in therapy for it. Since none of those things were available, it was up to her to help him heal from his injuries and trauma. All the websites had recommended she treat his injury as it were normal and that she didn’t see him as less for it. It had been a long and rough road over the winter, yet they were both getting there slowly but surely. Rather than shake her off, as he had done in previous months, today Killian just stiffened briefly at the contact. He relaxed when he turned his attention on the water. Emma took this as a small victory.

“It’s calm out there today,” he said quietly as he drank from his own mug.

“I was just thinking that. And how it won’t be long before it’s swarmed with people.”

“Aye,” he placed his mug down, jaw tightening. “Which is why I think now is the time.”

“Time?” She looked at him uncertainty.

“Time,” he repeated. “Time for us to take a swim.”

“Now? In May? Are you serious? The water is probably freezing!”

“Perhaps to a human, but not to us,” he said quietly. “The ocean is a part of us, love. It’s our home.”

Emma hesitated, placing her hot chocolate on the table and straightening her shoulders. This is a conversation she had played over and over in her head during the past months. They should have talked about this sooner but she had been so happy to have him in her life and so desperate to keep him after everything that had happened, she had allowed them to play house while keeping her fears trapped in the back of her mind.

“It is your home,” she said, looking him in the eye. “But I’m not sure it’s mine.”

“What do you mean, love?” He was looking at her with such concern that it almost hurt.

“I was born a selkie but I’ve lived the last thirty years of my life as a human being. The only time I’ve really spent around the ocean has been when I came here. I don’t even know how to swim, Killian, that wasn’t necessarily a priority for kids in foster care, you know?” She took in a deep breath. “And my pelt...you’ve seen it...it belongs to a baby…what if my connection to it is broken? What if I can’t connect like you can?” Her voice wavered slightly on the last question.

Killian met her gaze steadily, taking her hand off her mug and entwining it with his hand, interlocking their fingers and giving them a small squeeze.

“Been thinking about this for awhile now, have you?”

She bit her lip, not wanting to tell him that she had been thinking about it since October. When she didn’t answer his question, he sighed and spoke again.

“Emma, what happened to you...was unprecedented to say the least. I understand why Granny did what she did even though I don’t and could never agree with it...I don’t know what will happen if you tried to slip into your sealskin but what I do know is that no matter what happens, I’m not leaving.”

“I can’t keep you from the ocean, Killian,” she whispered.

“I can’t promise that the tide won’t call to me - I will need to leave at times, but there is something that I can promise and that promise is that I will always, always come back to you. You are as much part of me as the ocean is, love, and I don’t think I could bear being separated from you any more than I could being separated from it.”

He squeezed her hand again before bringing it up to his lips and placing a kiss on her knuckles.

“Well okay then, you’re certainly no Mr. Darcy,” she responded with an uneasy laugh. She expected him to give her his patented curious look but much to her surprise, he gave her a small smirk and quirked an eyebrow at her.

“I’ll take that as a compliment, love, he was quite a wretched orator. I would have been insulted by that proposal as well and would have hit him for good measure. Much better writer.”

Emma blinked, not expecting this response. “You know who Mr. Darcy is?”

He gave her a slightly condescending look, as if she had dribbled on her shirt.

“I’ve been on dry land for nearly eight months now, love. I know how to read and have plenty of spare time to catch up on all the delightful references you seem to make…” he paused for a moment, smirk growing on his lips. “So, if I’m not Darcy, then who am I?”

“Mr. Collins,” she drawled.

“Hey!” He pushed her shoulder lightly. “That’s not nice! I’m Mr. Bingley at worst.”

“So you would rather to be the guy who can’t make his own decisions and is easily persuaded by his sisters and best friend?”

He frowned at that. “Perhaps not. I’m more of a Mr. Knightley kind of man anyway.”

Emma’s eyebrows knitted in confusion as she tried to recall a Mr. Knightley character in Pride and Prejudice. When she came up short, she frowned at him.

“There isn’t a Mr. Knightley in Pride and Prejudice.”

“No, there isn’t. I’m afraid he’s in character in another one of Jane Austen’s works. The novel he’s in is probably my favorite of her books. I think we both have a lot in common, particularly in regard to women.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, he happens to be in love with the titular character, a woman who is headstrong and a complete force of nature. Her name fits her perfectly.”

“Oh, what’s her name?”

He gave her a fond smile. “Emma.”

She almost hated how much her heart leapt in her chest when he said that. It didn’t seem to matter how many times he had expressed his feelings to her, every time felt new and sent a jolt through her system. It didn’t seem like a reaction that was going away anytime soon.

She leaned forward, giving him a brief kiss before pulling away and bumping his nose with hers.

“You’re a sap.”

“Perhaps, but I’m your sap,” he replied, squeezing her hand again. “And I think we’ve drifted dreadfully off course with our conversation in regards to swimming.”

She shook her head.

“It’s way too cold. It’s practically still ice. We had frost on the ground last week for Christ’s sake.”

“And as I said before, it’s too cold for a human but not for us.”

“And as I said before, we don’t know if I’m selkie enough for it.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out.”

She studied him for a moment, taking in the earnest expression on his face before sighing and getting up from her chair. She stretched out her limbs, raising her arms and rolling her shoulders.

“Alright, fine, but if I freeze to death, I’m going to kill you.”

“Don’t worry, love, if you get too cold, I know more than a few ways to warm you up,” he replied with a leer, eyebrows dancing.

Emma gave him a whack on the shoulder in response, but the reproach in her actions was negated slightly by the small smile that was tugging at her lips.

It was while she was rummaging through the dresser that Emma realized that not once in her life had she owned a bathing suit. The revelation heightened her anxiety, another reminder that Emma had been completely separated from the ocean, from Killian’s world. She pulled on a sports bra and a pair of running shorts, hoping that they would suffice.

Her fingers trembled slightly as she opened the top drawer, revealing the pelts that had been left untouched since October. She ran her fingers through the fluffy white fur, relishing in the calm feeling it always seem to provide her whenever she felt stressed. She pulled it out, staring at it with mixture of fondness and dread. It would barely suffice as a shawl, let alone cover her entire body. She didn’t have a lot of optimism in that department. She sighed as she placed it in the beach bag she had pulled out of the closet. At least she would finally have answers.

She was worried about touching Killian’s pelt, remembering how he had reacted the last time he had caught her with it. Though it had been eight months since that incident, the look on his face when she had hesitated in returning it was still fresh in her mind.

“You gonna pack it up or what?” He called over her shoulder, causing her to jump.

She turned, fixing him with a glare.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Apologies, love, but you seemed to be taking a while to get ready,” he responded with a frown.

His eyes darted between the pelt in the drawer and the fear on her face. Emma watched as understanding seemed to dawn on him. He stepped forth, placing his hand and wrist on her shoulders, smoothing them down her arms.

“You can touch it,” he said quietly.

“I didn’t know if I was allowed,” she responded. “I’m still kinda new at this.”

“You’re more than allowed...it’s as much yours as it is mine.”

“I don’t want your pelt, Killian. It’s yours. I don’t know how to make it more clear that I don’t want to trap you.”

“And I don’t know how times I have to tell you that I love you and I’m not leaving you. You’re not trapping me. It’s just a gesture of trust. I trust you.”

“I don’t need it, okay?”

“Okay,” he sighed, kissing her forehead. “Now, grab the damn pelt and let’s hit the water.”

They walked across the street, fingers interlocked and hands swinging between them. Emma paused as they got nearer to the shoreline, her eyes darting up the coast and towards the Gold house which still stood imperiously on the hill overlooking the street. There was no one there but she couldn’t help but shiver every time she saw it, thinking of the horror show basement and the jar of teeth on the mantle. The house technically now belonged to Gold’s estranged son but no one had heard anything from him since he had left the Vineyard and the radio silence had continued even after his father’s death.

She still had nightmares about the incident. Her dreams were plagued with shrill laughter and red ocean water. Even the discovery of Gold’s mangled body fifteen minutes away on South Beach near Katama had done little to assuage her fears. Only Killian’s presence beside her at night seemed to help - though still, every once in a while, she woke up screaming and they would both sit outside with hot chocolate and stare at the water.

Killian seemed to follow her line of thought, loosening her hold on his hand so that he could wrap an arm around her shoulder and pull her close. He placed a kiss on her temple.

“Hey, he’s gone. He can’t hurt us, you know that.”

“I know,” she replied quietly. “I just want to burn the place to the ground though. I can’t look at it...without thinking of my parents...of Milah...of all the people he’s murdered and the selkies he’s skinned...He deserved a lot worse than he got.”

Killian flinched slightly at her words. He was still coming to grips with everything Gold had done in the past, as she was herself. They had spent more hours than they could count talking about the gravity of what he had done to them, to the people they loved. There was still a lot of anger and pain buried in them that they needed to work out but Emma hoped it would lessen with time.

“I don’t know, Swan, getting mauled to death by a shark is a selkie’s worst fear. I can’t think of a more fitting death aside from it being at one of our hands - well, in my case, hand.”

She was silent for a moment, choosing her words carefully.

“I’m glad.”

“About what?”

“I’m glad that it wasn’t us. I’m glad that we didn’t kill him because then his blood would be on our hands and we would have stooped to his level.”

“I think I’m going to disagree with you on that, love, and table it there. It’s not worth the argument. That man isn’t worth any more of our time than he’s already taken. Now, I’m going to teach you to swim.”

Emma reached to grab the pelts from her bag but Killian stopped her, placing his hand gently on her arm.

“I was thinking I would teach you the human way first. There’s no need to rush into this head on. Shifting form can be uncomfortable and I want you more comfortable in the water before we add to that…”

She nodded, dropping the beach bag on the sand and shifting around the beach towels to cover up the pelts. There wasn’t anyone on the beach but Emma felt more comfortable covering them, hidden from view should anyone walk by.

It was Killian who hesitated this time, just short of where the waves were gently lapping at the shore. His shoulders were tense and squared up, as if he was facing the enemy rather than the place he called home.

“You okay?” she placed a hand between his shoulder blades.

“I…” he paused, a muscle jumping in his jaw. “I haven’t been in the water since it happened.”

Her heart clenched in sympathy and it was then that she realized that she wasn’t the only one anxious about this. Killian had frequently mentioned that getting caught by a shark was a nightmare scenario for a selkie and it was a nightmare he had barely survived. Emma had always figured that his reluctance in the past months to return to the ocean had been about his missing limb but now she realized it was only a part of it.

“Hey,” she murmured, smoothing her hand down his back. “I got you and you got me. We’re going to be okay.”

He laughed at this but Emma could hear some strain in it.

“Aye, I’ve seen your shark fighting skills up close and personal, Swan. If anyone’s going to save me from the finned devils, it’s you.”

“Exactly,” she grinned. “So what are you waiting for?”

The water was cold but not nearly as bad as she had been expecting and the longer she waded in the water, the more she got used to it. Killian gave her a smug grin as she followed him farther into the waves.

“Not too cold for you?”

“Yeah. It’s not too bad. What is it, like, 70 degrees?”

“I don’t know how your garbage American temperature systems works but it’s like 13 or 14 degrees celsius.”

Emma did the math quickly in her head, eyes widening in realization. She looked down at the water then back at his face in astonishment.

“Jesus Christ, so this is like 45-50 degree water we’re in! How are we not freezing?”

He laughed. “How many times do I have to tell you that selkies don’t work the same way humans do? Our bodies are designed for this. I’ve happily stayed in these waters during the winter when it’s much colder than this.”

“I guess I just didn’t expect it would be the same for me…”

“Hey,” he said softly. “What happened to you doesn’t make you any less, okay? You might have been out of the water for a long time but you were born one of us. You were always one of us...Now, want to see something else we can do that they can’t?”

“Ummm...sure?”

He laughed, head disappearing under the waves. She stared in confusion, not comprehending what he was doing. A few moments passed and nothing happened. His head broke the surface of the water and he gave her a frown.

“You were supposed to follow me…”

“Killian, I’m barely swimming as is, I don’t need to go under.”

“You’re fine and yes, you do.”

“Why?”

He gave an annoyed look. “Can you just trust me please?”

“Fine, fine,” she replied, rolling her eyes.

She closed her eyes, dunking her head under the waves. With her head submerged, it felt slightly warmer and she waited for something to happen. When something touched her face, she opened her eyes without meaning to.

Clear vision.

Emma had never stepped foot in a pond, lake, pool or any body of water to speak of but she was very much familiar with the fact that normal people generally couldn’t see that well in water and that old filmmakers had used wax paper to show that effect. She found no difference in vision between land and sea.

Killian smiled at her, pulling his hand away from her cheek and holding up three fingers. Slightly confused, she copied him. His smile widened as he brought up his pinkie and spread his middle and ring finger to make a Vulcan salute. Again, she followed suit. He did a few series of hand motions, each more complex than the last, changing it up every time she finally did each one. When she copied the last one, which was a simple cross of fingers, he moved forth to kiss her.

It wasn’t nearly as romantic as the movies made it seem, nose banging into hers, lips sliding awkwardly and teeth clacking when he pushed forth with a little too much effort. It was how Emma imagined kissing in space would be like - a cute idea but hard to maneuver in reality. It got better when he anchored his hand in her hair. It didn’t last long however, as Emma’s lungs practically screamed for air. She couldn’t help but laugh as she broke the surface.

“That...that was something!” She chuckled.

Killian tugged her closer, bringing her in for another kiss that was more successful than the last one and had more heat to it. She was constantly falling in love with the soft sound he made when she would nip at his bottom lip.

“You could see,” he murmured, smiling at her and resting his forehead against hers.

“I could,” she grinned.

“That’s good sign. Are you ready to try the pelt?”

“Honestly no but it’s better to do this now rather than speculate on it any further.”

It wasn’t until they reached that shore that Emma felt her nerves kick into overdrive, heart hammering in her chest and adrenaline coursing through her veins. Killian grabbed both of their pelts and handed hers over with a soft smile.

“Whatever happens, we are going to be okay,” he reminded her gently.

They dived back into the surf, swimming further out than where they had been last time. Killian spread his pelt in front until the head was facing in his direction. Emma followed suit, her pelt looking slightly larger in the water than it did on land.

“You’re going to want to press your foot in,” he said quietly, demonstrating.

Dubiously, Emma copied the motion, slipping her foot into her sealskin. She had expected resistance, as it was only the fraction of her size but amazingly enough it stretched to envelope her entire leg. She looked back at Killian in amazement. He merely chuckled in response but pushing his other leg in. She followed his demonstration, lifting the stretching skin over her shoulders and finally her head.

A strange sensation to hold of her, bones shifting and clicking. It wasn’t painful so much as uncomfortable, shifting without her conscious thought. Her skin stung and she let out a small whimper, feeling like a thousand little needles were biting into her skin and sewing the pelt to her. Something wrapped itself around her, making comforting noises. She opened her eyes. A large seal was pressing its face against her, rubbing affectionately. She moved what she thought was her hand, only to realise her arm motion was limited. It took her a few seconds to realise she no longer had an arm but a flipper.

A flipper.

She was a seal.

Killian continued to circle her, nuzzling his head against her body and making small noises which she instinctively knew meant love and affection. As much as she returned his feelings, his constant circling was getting in the way of her learning to use her new limbs properly and she made an impatient nip at him. He seemed to get the message but only just barely, practically vibrating with excitement.

Moving in the water somehow was freer than walking on land and she revelled in maneuvering so effortless, letting out small trills of happiness. Never before in her life had she felt so free. Killian followed her, copying her movements and moving soft noises that were affectionate but different than his original message. It took Emma a few moments to figure out what he was communicating to her.

Welcome home.

#captain swan #cs ff #cs fic #cs fanfic #cs fanfiction #cssns #seal of fate #my fic #my shit

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